The Farm’s Peter Hooton is to lead on Beatles Legacy for the city…

Liverpool musician Peter Hooton is to take the helm of a brand new group aimed at helping the Fab Four’s tourist offer reach its full potential.

Peter will be Chair of The Beatles Legacy Group which has been established following a report released earlier this month which revealed that The Beatles legacy is worth £81.9m to the city’s economy and supports 2,335 jobs.

The report is the first study of contemporary value to examine the impact of The Beatles on the city, and although it recognised the popularity and success of the current visitor offer, it also noted the challenges facing its future and the need to find a way to curate and maintain the authenticity of The Beatles heritage for both existing and future fans.

Joining Peter on the group will be Director of Culture Claire McColgan MBE, Marketing Liverpool Director Chris Brown, Chief Executive of the Liverpool BID Company Bill Addy and Dr Mike Jones who was co-author of the report and is from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Popular Music.

An initial meeting has already taken place which established that the aim of the Legacy Group is not to represent individual interests, but to look at the wider remit of the offer, working with key stakeholders such as organisations linked with The Beatles and residents who live in and around key sites such as Penny Lane and Mathew Street. Forums will be held for the wider Beatles industry where people can feed in and have their say on certain proposals.

Explorations will also be made around licensing and control of operators, and a kite mark that certifies a particular Beatles experience is a quality one will be established in the forthcoming months.

Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “The Beatles legacy report was a fascinating insight, and although it was encouraging to see just how successful the current offer is, if we want to build on this we need to look at the bigger picture and improve the experience across the board.

“Setting up a Legacy Group was one of the main recommendations of the report and from the outset, I wanted an artist to be the Chair and Peter was my first choice – he understands the industry, and the value of the Beatles to Liverpool and will always look at the bigger picture in terms of making decisions that are best for the city and the city’s reputation.

“After an informal meeting the wheels are already in motion – each member of the group brings different expertise to the table which will result in us building on what is already in place and introducing new initiatives to make sure that fans from the UK and across the world have an unforgettable Beatles experience for all the right reasons.”

The Beatles Legacy Group is set to have its first official meeting in March.

Peter Hooton said:  “’I’m delighted that I’ve been asked by the Mayor to Chair the Beatles Legacy Group.

“I’ve always been passionate and proud of Liverpool’s musical heritage especially our most famous sons The Beatles.

“I hope the Beatles Legacy group can come up with strategies and ideas to enhance the already superb attractions the city has to offer, in order to attract even more visitors in the future to our ‘City of Music’.

“The report highlighted the need to work with and engage with young people so I look forward to exploring all options around this with the group.”