Spider-fan

Something a bit special happened in Liverpool at the weekend.

And it's a hard to explain why a giant mechanical puppet brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the street - including around 20,000 into the monsoon-like conditions on Friday night - but La Princess worked her magic, just as the organisers said she would.

If there were any lingering doubts about whether local people had really bought into 08, they were emphatically blown away over the last few days.

This time last year things weren't looking at all good for Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture - The Mathew Street Festival had been cancelled, the Culture Company's head honcho, Jason Harborow, was beginning gardening leave and the city centre was a building site.

The outside world and local doom-merchants loved it.

But slowly, the events began to speak for themselves … The Liverpool Nativity, The opening nights on Lime Street and the Echo Arena, Holocaust Memorial Day at the Phil, Street Waves in the shop windows along Bold Street, McCartney at Anfield, Klimt and Art in the age of Steam at Tate Liverpool, The Mathew Street Festival, the Berliner Philharmoniker and lastly, La Machine.

And I for one have loved every one.

If you've not been wowed by this year's offerings, you're either dead or just not making an effort.

At the end of last night's finale some of the 300-strong La Machine crew emerged from the Mersey Tunnel to cheers and applause from thousands of Liverpudlians. At the end of 08 the Liverpool Culture Company deserves no less.

Next stops: the Tour of Britain, AudioVision, Feast and the Biennial.

See you there.

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