The Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced in January 2003 that Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City was the UK's nomination to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for World Heritage Site status for 2003, as the "supreme example of a commercial port at the time of Britain's greatest global influence".     

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee met in Suzhou, near Shanghai   on 28^th June -7^th July 2004to consider a wide range of issues, including Liverpool's bid for World Heritage Site status.  Liverpool's nomination was approved by the World Heritage Committee on 2^nd July 2004.     

Liverpool is therefore now proud to be a World Heritage City!     

After the announcement, the Heritage Minister Lord McIntosh said: "This is wonderful news for Liverpool. I congratulate all those who worked so hard for the success of this nomination and indeed the city and people of Liverpool."   

Councillor Mike Storey. Leader of Liverpool City Council said "It is another great boost to the city's image and confidence and recognition of the importance of the city's unique architectural legacy. We have demonstrated that not only does the city have unrivalled architecture, with an outstanding waterfront, but that we have place in plans to manage the site in a way which will maintain its grandeur and attraction without stifling development."

Sir Neil Cossons, Chairman of English Heritage and a long-term champion of Liverpool's claim to World Heritage status said: "This excellent decision is outstanding news for Liverpool. England's finest Victorian city, Liverpoolhas now been accorded her proper place on the world stage. As a world city and a gateway to the world Liverpoolis the supreme expression of the vigour and self-confidence of the mercantile age. Liverpool's proud heritage lives on in its great buildings - her famous waterfront, docks, commercial offices and grand civic estate.   

John Hinchliffe, Liverpool's World Heritage Officer, said: "This decision is the culmination of many years hard work by very many people. The support of Liverpoolpeople and the pride they showed in the city was crucial in helping us achieve this status. It has also shown what can be achieved when many different organisations work together."   

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency said: "This is fantastic news for Liverpooland the entire Northwest region. I am delighted that Liverpoolhas received the recognition it deserves for the many world-class culturally inspiring buildings located here and the acknowledgment of its rightful place in world history. Together with the European Capital of Culture title, this accolade will continue the transformation of Liverpool's image to an international audience."   

Thomas O'Brien, Chief Executive of The Mersey Partnership said: "World Heritage Site Status is an entirely fitting and appropriate recognition for the city and it presents us with another unique opportunity to market the Liverpool City Region as a world-class location to live, work, invest and visit."
 

The Liverpool Decision   

The World Heritage Committee's debate about Liverpool's nomination took nearly an hour, compared to 13 minutes for the simplest sites and an average of around 32 minutes discussion per nomination.  There was little debate about the quality of the site, as this seemed to be accepted by all who spoke. 

  Discussion focused on:

·         The tradition of a cosmopolitan and diverse community in Liverpooland the racial harmony that results from its role as a world seaport

·         Liverpool's role in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. The Committee was reassured that Liverpool acknowledges the part that it played in that activity, with the exhibition in the Merseyside Maritime Museum (within the site) and participation in the annual Day of Atonement. It was suggested that the criteria for inscription could be extended to refer to the impact of Liverpool   on the lives of enslaved Africans and subsequent generations

·         The strong (perhaps over-) emphasis on the importance of the British Empire. However, the Committee agreed that Liverpool's influence extended beyond the British Empireand indeed extended throughout the world.

·         Extending the comparative analyses of the ports to Lisbonand Rotterdam

·         Mainly on the development pressures on the Site and in particular the potentially adverse impact of new developments on the historic integrity of the Site. After much debate on this issue, the Committee agreed to Liverpool's inscription, as the Committee was comforted by a) the UK Government's acceptance of its obligation to consult the Committee on major applications, and b) the Objectives and Vision of the Liverpool World Heritage Site Management Plan, which seek to ensure that new development respects the significance of the Site and is appropriate to its historic, spatial and townscape context. (The Committee's concerns about development pressures on urban World Heritage Sites are general and not confined to Liverpool.  Two years ago, they threatened to de-list Viennabecause of a proposed cluster of high buildings in the buffer zone which Vienna City Council then cancelled except for the one building already built.  Later in the 2004 meeting, Cologne Cathedral was put on the World Heritage in Danger List because of the threat of proposed 100 - 120m high buildings in the setting of the Cathedral.)

After the debate, the decision of the World Heritage Committee was:

The World Heritage Committee

1.   Inscribes Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City, United Kingdom,  on the World Heritage List on the basis of cultural criteria (ii), (iii) and (iv):

Criterion (ii): Liverpoolwas a major center generating innovative technologies and methods in dock construction and port management in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  It thus contributed to the building up of the international mercantile systems throughout the British Commonwealth.

Criterion (iii): The city and the portof Liverpoolare an exceptional testimony to the development of maritime mercantile culture in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, contributing to the building up of the British Empire.  It was a centre for the slave trade, until its abolition in 1807, and for emigration from northern Europeto America.

Criterion (iv): Liverpool is an outstanding example of a world mercantile port city, which represents the early development of global trading and cultural connections throughout the British Empire.