The city has planned an opening ceremony involving 3,000 volunteers and four ‘rivers of light’, which will also see elephants walk the streets of Hull alongside lost trawlermen, dancing white phone boxes and images of its rich past and creative future.
Mark Murphy, director of the forthcoming Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony, has planned an aerial spectacular with outdoor arts company Walk the Plank, which will form part of Hull's 2017 Freedom Festival.
The event will incorporate aerial choreography, a live music score and fireworks display to tell the story behind Hull. It will be themed around one of Hull's most famous alumni, poet and novelist Philip Larkin, and will embody one of his immortal lines: "What will survive of us is love."
Sonic Lumiere, a stadium event featuring Hull-based lighting designer Durham Marenghi, will feature 500 dancers in a digital sound and light concert themed around illusion and fairs.
It is estimated the UK City of Culture banner will deliver a £60m boost to Hull’s local economy in 2017.
Culture secretary Maria Miller revealed Hull had claimed the title of UK City of Culture 2017 earlier today, which was up against Dundee, Leicester and Swansea Bay.
An estimated 1,500 events are scheduled to take place across the year as well as 25 festivals, a programme of conferences and major broadcasting events, eight major community participation projects, 15 national and international commissions and 12 artists' residencies.
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