H U L L C I T Y O F C U L T U R E 2017

A couple of weeks by my surprise i received a phone call from a close friend, "you'll never believe it... we got the bid for 2017". Best believe that the whole day after that phonecall was all sunshines and unicorns. Okay, maybe not so much unicorns because that's a bit corny but i must admit the smile on my face didn't leave and before you know it my twitter and facebook feed was full of people getting excited about Hull. Every four years the UK government invest 15 million pounds in a city that they see has a future and this time it was Hull's time to shine.

To be very truthful, i wasn't sure if Hull was going to get it, the contenders that we were against were pretty big (Dundee, Swansea and Leicester) and already i thought Leicester had it in the bag. Don't get me wrong i was rooting for Hull but already with the amount of criticism that we were getting i thought that we completely had no chance and we were getting forgotten about.  I even think more emphasis on the fact that Hull is a failing city came more personal to me whilst i was reading The Telegraph about how ministers came together to discuss about cities like Hartlepool, Middlesborough and Hull. 
Instead of speaking positivity and discussing how to invest in these cities that they can see are failing  they wanted to forget about them. Merely, push them to the side until they were a complete mess and instead invest more in cities that were already booming. Does that even mean sense? I was insulted because living in Hull as a student has made me realise of all the capabilities and opportunities that Hull has. Staying in Hull over summer where i worked with mental patients, the elderly and the locals gave me an insight to what Hull really is about and how the lack of employment has great influence on the locals behaviours which in some cases result in alcohol and drug abuse. Yes, it is not the same as close cities like Leeds or Manchester, but it is something.

It's historical value is not just of the past tense, it is of the now and ever since World War II, Hull was the second most damaged city in the UK during the the blitz) it has never fully been able to recover. Not to mention, the leader who paved the way for the emancipation of slavery in the United Kingdom, William Wilberforce was born and breed here in Hull. The fish industry also was booming in the 1700s and was the main trade in the world to places like Norway and Russia. The list for Hull could go on and on.

  Luckily enough at this time my university tutors felt the same way, as i arrived late to my lecture, literally had 20 minutes left (not a great way to start my day). They wanted to do something that would push Hull in being recognised instead of being forever lost and doomed and as we got into the semi finals of the bid, this was the perfect time. So as a group they got us on board on a secret project and boy, do i love secret projects, but this one was different. They showed us a live project that they had started and wanted my year to finish it off.

After many weeks of keeping it hush hush, we got together brainstormed and got building and after many efforts of painting, striping, nailing and measuring; our final live project had finished and it was now time to build the rest on site. I can't say that i wasn't freezing my toes off, but i can say that people really worked hard and as myself and my friend Demi sat in the car laughing and trying to get every inch of warmth in the car, which was not a lot, the men were climbing, cutting wood and calculating on site and before we knew it, the time on my phone was 11:15 and i was back under my duvet covers.

I heard the lads stayed out until 6 am with the last finishes and bottles of beer to celebrate and news reporters had come on hearing about our project on the day of the bid. The project was to signify Hull's presence, that not only will we explode and become better, but Hull's rich culture is just waiting to seep through to the rest of the country. 



So i guess the secret has been out for a while now but, just in case you haven't seen it, it is still placed on top of the Adelphi club, on De Grey Street off Beverley Road. Winning the bid has not only allowed us to be recognised but has also unveiled our worth in society, that Hull isn't just a stop off, it will continue to evolve and that there is so much more to come.