The Voyage Continues

Hull is to become Yorkshire’s Maritime City. But what is this exactly and what will it do for Hull? Tony Greenway finds out more

LAST year, I asked some friends and family in London what they knew about Hull. They didn’t know much. One knew that it was the place that The Housemartins and The Beautiful South came from. Someone else mentioned Philip Larkin, Maureen Lipman and John Prescott and someone else again mentioned the Humber Bridge and white telephone boxes. That was pretty much it. They probably wouldn’t know a huge amount about, say, Liverpool or Glasgow, either.

Closer to home, I put the same question to some non-Hull residents in Yorkshire. It was gratifying to discover that they did, at least, know about The Deep, The Ferens Art Gallery and Hull Truck Theatre; otherwise they gave the impression that the city had been a victim of its geography. In other words, it’s a long way away at the wrong end of the M62.

But that was last year. Thanks to its status as UK City of Culture 2017, Hull has spent the best part of 2016 increasing its national profile, while proving itself to be a hotbed of creative talent – a place that’s full-tobursting with must-see cultural events and fascinating history. It’s been quite a show: one that’s attracted people from across the UK, Europe, America, Japan and beyond who have seen Hull in a new light. ‘You can’t get a hotel for love or money,’ said Garry Taylor, City Manager for Major Projects at Hull City Council, when I spoke to him in July. ‘This year has been huge. All the analysis we’ve done thus far has surpassed our expectations.’ Quite. In the first three months of City of Culture Year, there were more than 1.4million visits to cultural events, exhibitions or activities in Hull while 70 per cent of residents agreed or strongly agreed that being UK City of Culture was having a positive impact on their lives.