The city’s European Capital of Culture plans have transformed te landscape. “Never before has so much effort, money and intelligence been committed to urban regeneration. Yes, you can mention Barcelona and Berlin, but they were nothing like so far gone as Liverpool circa 1980, when all hope had been abandoned in an inferno of official neglect and wilful self- destruction. The turnaround amazes: the city centre population has risen by 21 per cent since 2000.”