We have all just about come back down to earth after the fantastic excitement of last week. It was a tremendous achievement for Derry to be crowned UK City of Culture for 2013, everyone in the city should be very proud.
However, we will not be judged on last week’s success but on whether or not we deliver on all the plans and promises we have made.
It is notable that after the highs of last week the media has now turned their attention to the key word –‘delivery’. It is reasonable for people to question our ability to deliver. It is understandable for them to believe that it’s an impossible task. Let me put this as simply as I can, we will deliver!
There were a number of key reasons why we were successful last week. One of the most important of those was that the judging panel believed that we had the right structures, people and resources in place to make it happen. The judges placed their confidence in Derry to become the first ever UK City of Culture because they know we can do it.
People have said ‘the hard work starts now’, but the hard work has already started. The bid team has been preparing for this for months and we are well advanced in our preparations. Two and a half years is not very long however. It is a big task but I believe it is one that we can easily complete. If the city stays united and determined we will meet the deadline.
We do have some major challenges ahead. We have to deliver a physical infrastructure program that will not only be fit for purpose for 2013 but that will provide a lasting legacy far beyond that year. We need four or five new hotels, a major new venue and that’s just for starters.
This is all very possible if we are focused and determined and if we are supported by the private sector and agencies such as Planning Service. From all the indications so far there is huge support from all these people so we now need to harness that support.
Some in the media have suggested that Derry will not be able to host events like the Brit Awards – that these events will have to go to Belfast. As far as I am concerned that is a non-starter. Derry can and will host these events.
There are plenty of sites and buildings capable of hosting such events in the city. For example we are already talking to the London Olympics team about using a portable venue like the one they will be using as their basketball arena. There are also lots of disused buildings that could easily be converted and plenty of available development sites.
This will be a difficult process, with many expectations and egos to manage. But we can deliver and we will.
A very inspiring piece Colum, I have to say, in commenting myself on the need for a clear strategy to deliver, I think you are the only public representative to set alot of minds at ease, thanks!
Congratulations to all involved in the bid and those who persuaded our councillors to go for an ambitious and potentially massive score for Derry and the NW. We kinda scored it!
we didn’t win a prize, we volunteered. Because of our history, the craic and character of the Derry people a lot of people put their faith in us and gave us the opportunity to show Europe and ourselves that we are rich, we should be proud and vissitors should come.
the challenge is to tidy up the place, have a few key areas that magnify the craic of the city centre and spin people out to the beautiful and interesting regions that bred the Derry people.
we need to frame what makes us a cool place for a night out, or an interesting place to walk or drive around. and make it presentable to European tourists, inviting not intimidating or dirty, interesting, easy to navigate and good looking not cheesey or half assed. we need a city centre intiative festival where all the bars put their best acts on in the guildhall square and ebrington with the footbridge as the artery between the two. we need an international marching band festival that goes round the walls sometime round the twelth, made up of american brass bands, japanese african, european, scottish, and orange bands. Marching season could become March for stuff your all in dey season. Gay pride, free palestine, knitting club, cancer fundraising. we have to turn the twelth back into a multicultural festival and not a sectarian one. halloween is amazing. we need an amelia earhart aviation festival that buzzes shantallow and galliagh, not eglinton where nobody lives. we need community gardens run by local schools and old peoples homes in every patch of grassround the estates. we need roof gardens on the roofs of the quayside and foyleside carparks and that crap bit next door to strandbar. we need free stalls for anyone interested in selling stuff in the walled city markets. get that submarine out of the foyle! get a famine ship docked in the quay. culture? our immigrants made america, london, liverpool and glasgow!
essential is diversity and opportunities for everyone to be involved. we need the ambitious volunteers that already exist in our community groups and interests; grannies, skaters, djs, gardeners, party heads, wharehouse raves, classical music sessions, trad, jazz, cyclists, bikers, football teams, rugby, gaelic clubs. We all have our interests that should be represented in a city of culture, we should all be dying to get an event that showcases our cultural richness to the world. communities speaking up for their interests and taking their future into their own hands gave us our amazing history.
For once everyone will be looking at derry to see how good we are, we need to smarten up, be proud and make a plan thats not cheesey. We all know that if it’s left to consultants or elderly councillors it will be embarassing. balloon models, facepaintin? we can do better than that. leave us to it. step forward community leaders, artists and LegenDerry heads.
[...] Day (documented in these fine photos), in addition to Mayor Colum Eastwood’s excellent piece on this website, to convince me that the foundations were already being [...]