Having made the shortlist Liverpool's Capital of Culture bid is now being judged, the overall winner will be announced in Spring 2003.

Isn't it City of Culture?
The award used to be called City of Culture but will change to Capital of Culture from 2005 to make it more prestigious. Cities which don't win in the final vote will be called Centres of Culture.

Why bother?
Capital of Culture can be extremely beneficial to a city in terms of tourism, investment and an increased profile. Glasgow was Capital of Culture in 1990 and benefited greatly from the title.

Sir Bob Scott is leading Liverpool's bid

Who are we up against?
Newcastle and Gateshead, Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, and Oxford are all amongst the shortlisted cities.

What are the benefits?
Economically being Capital of Culture means an increase in tourism, boosting local business and creating more jobs.
In social terms there would be a redevelopment and improvement of local facilities, for example transport links.
Press interest in the region will also increase, hopefully encouraging people to come to the area to visit, live and work, leading to increased investment.
And culturally there will be many opportunities for people to become involved in e.g. art shows.

What do we have to do to win?
Liverpool has been organising a long programme of events involving local communities. Extra points are given for involving people who would not normally have access to cultural events, and for involving diverse communities. In addition the long term benefits of these events must be demonstrable.

What's happened so far?
More than 500,000 people have become involved in community arts based projects. Meanwhile more than 20,000 schoolchildren have been using art and music to explore Liverpool's culture and role as the World In One City.

Is it really going to effect me though?
It should do. In simple terms it could mean more cash in your pocket. If Liverpool wins then 2008 will be a very busy year, and should encourage all businesses in Merseyside.

If we win what happens?
If Liverpool wins then the plan is to run events from September 2007, Liverpool's 800th birthday. However many events and initatives will have been started before 2008, and hopefully many of them will turn into annual events or continuously running projects.

So who is in charge of the bid?
An independent company called Liverpool Culture company, headed up by Sir Bob Scott who ran Manchester's Olympic bid.

Who supports us?
Liverpool City Council, North West Art's Board and the North West Tourist board are all backing the bid.

And who pays for all this?
A £2million pound package has been put together, half is from Liverpool City Council and the private sector, the other half from the European Objective One funding.