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Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Jilted?

This morning's Daily Post reports that the multi-million-pound Capital of Culture celebrations are not bringing the benefits to North Wales which were mooted when Liverpool beat off rival bidders, including Cardiff.

The claim is made by North Wales Plaid Cymru AM, Janet Ryder, who says that there was no sign of the Capital of Culture event 2004 at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod yesterday, even though a formal tie-in was suggested by the Liverpool bid’s leader in 2004:

Ms Ryder said: “North Wales has been wooed and then dumped with no ceremony.

“To be blunt, we’ve been conned. It’s deeply disappointing but perhaps not surprising because this seems to be a pattern whereby Wales is promised spin-offs but, when they actually materialise, we see no benefits at all.

“This happens time and time again. It’s about time we woke up to the fact that we’re being used.”

Llangollen’s MP, Martyn Jones (Labour, Clwyd South), claimed the Liverpool team had flagged up the benefits to Wales to bolster its own bid.

“I don’t see any positive spin-offs for Wales,” he said.

“It was obviously a ploy, because now is the time we should be getting the benefit and there’s nothing there.”

Personally I would not be surprised if this is true. It is notoriously difficult to deliver benefits for a wider area when such landmark events are planned as is evident from the Olympics. I wonder why those evaluating such bids ever believe that it can be done.
Comments:
then again it was decided in wales not to get on the back of liverpool and hold the eisteddfod there as was suggested. perhaps a score draw?
Liverpool don't seem to be making the most of it though, hardly any uk wide cooverage, unlike glasgow years ago that seemed to have loads
 
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