ABSTRACT
In 1991, the Arts Council of England established Awards where, through a bidding process, any town, city or region in the United Kingdom bid to host a twelve month celebration of nominated art forms in the years leading up to the millennium. The bidding process was in two stages with judges nominated from the Arts Council and professionals in the section shortlisting two or three initial bids each time. It has a nationally recognised visual arts festival, Visionfest, promoting the work of architects and those artists working in the built environment. There was also a strong feeling that maybe it was Liverpool's turn in some way to win such an accolade. Events such as the series for the Arts 2000 Initiative by the Arts Council of England focus attention on the arts, on local community identity and on national identity in an international community.
