Liverpool - The Route

Liverpool, cradle of British pop music, home to one of the most successful clubs in the history of British football and European Capital of Culture 2008, celebrates its 800th birthday in 2007.

During the eight centuries since King John first granted Liverpool's charter events in the city have woven a rich and colourful history and it is heading for another renaissance in the lead up to the celebrations to mark its status as European Capital of Culture next year.

Liverpool is one of fewer than 900 UNESCO World Heritage sites, ranking it alongside the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Australia's Great Barrier Reef and the Great Wall of China as a location of great cultural and historical significance. The official listing, Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City, explains why the Dock Front was chosen for its vital role in expanding trade and British influence during the nation's age of Empire, and also because of the specific architecture and innovations it pioneered.

Around 600,000 visitors seek out the city every year purely to visit the birthplace of arguably the world's greatest band - The Beatles. The Cavern Club, where they played their early gigs and started making a name for themselves, celebrates its fiftieth birthday this year. But The Beatles weren't the only band to come out of Liverpool, officially the capital of pop. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records because more artists from the city have reached the top of the charts than from any other single place, scoring 56 Number Ones to date!

Musical records aren't the only ones Liverpudlians are famous for. Liverpool Football Club is the most successful club in the history of British football having won 18 League Championships, five European Cups, three UEFA Cups, seven FA Cups and seven League Cups.

It's easy to see why Liverpool beat off some stiff competition to become European Capital of Culture 2008. It is home to the oldest Chinese and African communities in Europe; more than 60 languages are spoken in the city today; the Anglican Cathedral is the largest in Britain and the fifth largest cathedral in the world; Liverpool has the largest collection of Grade II listed buildings outside of London; the Calder Stones in south Liverpool are older than Stonehenge; and Princes Park in Liverpool and Birkenhead Park, on the other bank of the Mersey in Wirral, were used as the models for New York's Central Park.

The Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race will set off from Albert Dock in Liverpool on 16 September 2007, returning to the city as part of the European Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations on 5 July 2008.