Derry Looks Back As Hull Takes Up The Baton

Whilst reminding everyone that they retain the title of UK City of Culture until the first day of January 2017, Londonderry is starting the process of looking back over the last year. It’s a twofold exercise really, firstly to remember wistfully the ups and downs of an exceptional year, but perhaps, more importantly to see what they have learnt about themselves in that time.

This period of debate and discussion has been brought about as the four candidates for the award for the UK City of Culture in 2017 travelled to Derry to hand in their submissions.

Derry has experienced a year of ups and downs

Leicester, Hull, Swansea Bay and Dundee have all been competing to hold the title in 2017, with an announcement having revealed that Hull has been successful. Representatives of each of the shortlisted bids had been on hand not only to learn their fate, but also to have a chance for the cities to learn lessons from those involved in running 2013's events. It will interesting to chart over the next four years what ideas that Hull may have.

The government set up the UK City of Culture competition after the success of Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture in 2008, and those who have been the brains behind Derry's bid happily acknowledge they were "guinea pigs" for the concept, but say that there was no shortage of enthusiasm in the city.

“You could multiply the official programme by about a factor of four," says Sharon O'Connor, chief executive of Derry City Council.  The community here just came out en masse and started doing events."

Tens of thousands of people attended BBC Radio One's Big Weekend, while hundreds of thousands travelled to the city for the Irish music festival, the all-Ireland fleadh. It was the first time the event had ever been hosted north of the Irish border.

Also marking a first, The Turner Prize took place in the city, the first time that it had been held outside England. To many people however, the success of the celebrations came with the number of smaller events that have  added to the general sense of wellbeing.. There have been attempts to set world records for the longest Riverdance, the greatest number of Annies and the greatest gathering of brides. Nothing too serious there then!

That sense of coming together has been very important in a city where wall murals can still give an impression of sectarian division.  Even the fact that the bid was lodged in the joint names of Derry/Londonderry 2013 highlighted the age-old disagreement about what to call the city.

Getting wide support for events across both unionist and nationalist communities was seen as vital. "It has done amazingly well - it has brought both sides together," said one woman about Derry's year as City Of Culture. It has made the town and community one and it has put us on the map for a change."

However, there is some navel gazing going on, with some hoping that millions of pounds of funding would have had a greater impact on Derry's economy. It continues to be a city that has suffered during the downturn, having fought long battles with issues such as unemployment and deprivation.

"Whilst we had great marketing around City of Culture it has had no impact on jobs," says Conal McFeely of Creggan Enterprises. "The jobs situation has actually got worse."

There is also suggestions that maybe more could have been done to attract “outsiders” to join in on what was effectively a 12-month party for Derry The organisers counter by saying that businesses have benefitted.

"We already know that there have been over 75 nationalities represented in the city over the year," said Shona McCarthy, the chief executive of the Culture Company 2013.  "From May right through to September we have broken all previous records for hotel occupancy. So that tells me we have got visitors. That tells me people are coming here."

However, on occasions the City of Culture has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons. There have been artistic frustrations. Rita Duffy, who set up a gallery in an old shirt factory, almost walked away from the project over funding issues.

"It wasn't the most welcoming place," she said. "I had major problems with individuals from Derry City Council. I couldn't get money to the project. In fact, at one stage I was leaving."

She was critical, in particular, of the high levels of bureaucracy that existed between the Culture Company and Derry City Council, although for its part, the council said that it did deliver on what it set out to achieve.

It is unavoidable however to notice that there had been some very public rows between the two organisations responsible for making 2013 a year to remember.  "I think you need to be very clear from the outset," says Shona McCarthy of the Culture Company.  "If you are going to have an independent company (to run events), have an independent company to do it. If it is going to be run by the local council, let it be run by the local council. But I think this hybrid model has not really worked."

As the festivities draw to a close, the focus is moving to the future. There is liberal use of the word “legacy” amongst those who have been involved in organising events, and the best ways to build on what has been achieved. Cash will undoubtedly be at the bottom of it all, after all, it has been an issue all year.

But some believe that it is too easy to forget the simple feelgood factor created by Derry's success in becoming the first UK City of Culture. “I think the legacy of it, is that it has changed Derry," says Mickey Bradley of the Undertones, one of the city's most famous bands.

"There is not another one for another four years, so it is a bit like Brazil winning the World Cup. We are the UK City of Culture until 1 January 2017."

                                                           Derry City of Culture 2013