Liverpool: Where the Beatles came from

As Liverpool prepares for its year in the spotlight as European Capital of Culture, it'll be picking up its Enjoy England Award for Excellence with a bit of a wobbly-shaped mouth. Yes, it's nice that it's been recognised as a tourist spot, but having spent ten years spending millions trying to promote the idea there's more to the place than just The Beatles, it's having to share the award with Paul McCartney. The citation, too, is quite Fab Four heavy:

Sir Paul said that he was honoured to receive the award.

"It's great to think that in some small way I've done something to help tourism for the place of my birth, which I'm so proud of," he said.

Hugh Taylor, England marketing advisory board chairman, said Sir Paul had done "great things" for his home city, which has seen visitor numbers more than double in the last five years.

"For many visitors, the emotional draw is that it is the home of the Beatles, and while Sir Paul modestly describes himself as 'just this kid from Liverpool', his influence on the success of Liverpool's tourism cannot be understated," he said.

"He remains one of the most successful musicians and composers in popular music history," he added.

Perhaps the city ought to bow to the inevitable and just replace the whole of William Brown Street with a giant, hollow John Lennon.

Visit England, who organise the prize giving, claim the awards are known as the "oscars of tourism" - assuming, of course, that the Oscars only allowed people from one country to enter and nobody knew who won the prizes.