Budget: Rishi Sunak pledges £ 2 million for the Liverpool Beatles attraction

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has pledged to provide £ 2 million for preliminary work on a new Beatles attraction on Liverpool’s waterfront as part of its 2021 budget.

The sum will allow the Combined Authority of the Liverpool City Region to develop a business case for attraction.

Future funding for the project will be considered subject to such a business case, Sunak announced Wednesday.

The proposal has sparked widespread reaction from those who believe the money could be better spent.

City Councilor Andrew Makinson was among his critics, saying that the project is one “no one in Liverpool is aware of asking”.

According to Liverpool Underground Mayor Steve Rotheram, the attraction will be a “meaningful” and “exciting” global experience.

“It has the potential to become an incredibly important tourist attraction, unlike any other offer in the world”, told the Liverpool Echo,

The announcement was enthusiastically received in Parliament by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, a native of Liverpool.

“What a result! Even more investment in art and culture”, he wrote on Twitter, post a gif of his thumb-up reaction.

Ms. Dorries went on with another celebratory post that made numerous references to a string of Fab Four hits.

Oh! Treasure. The government has gathered to invest £ 2 million in a major new Beatles attraction. With a little help from my friends a @hmtreasury and taxpayer support, we are initiating the development of the Liverpool waterfront. This is something that Twist and Shout for. pic.twitter.com/kizHhhO6wp
– Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) October 27, 2021

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View the original tweet on Twitter

Yet the news received a more hostile response elsewhere, with many pointing out that Liverpool is certainly not short on Beatles-themed attractions.

The city already hosts The story of the Beatles, the Cavern Club, where the band performed, and the neighbor Beatles Museum in Liverpool.

The childhood homes of Sir Paul McCartney and John Lennon are preserved by the National Trust, while Strawberry field – a former Salvation Army children’s home where young Lennon played – has its own exhibits.

The Liverpool waterfront area already hosts a musical attraction in the form of British music experience, even if it is not exclusively related to the Beatles.

According to the Eco, the news “has left many in the city wondering if what Liverpool really need right now is another Beatles attraction.”

These sentiments were widely echoed on Twitter, with users describing the project in various ways as “a joke”, “useless” and a “waste of money”.