Cities should not have to compete for arts cash, Liverpool mayor says

Arts Council England said the ENO "ran a rigorous assessment process to decide on their new city base"

A mayor has said cities should not be pitted against each other to compete for arts investment.

Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram said the English National Opera's (ENO) decision to relocate to Manchester rather than his city was "disappointing".

Birmingham, Bristol and Nottingham were also on the relocation shortlist.

The opera company was told last year to move its headquarters out of London or risk losing Arts Council funding.

Liverpool's bid was understood to have focused on bringing opera to places it would not normally be expected.

The ENO staged a successful concert as part of the fan village at the Eurovision Song Contest which was held in Liverpool in May.

It included a collaboration with singer Sonia who represented the UK at the contest in 1993, and with opera singer Russell Watson.

'Second fiddle'

Mr Rotheram said ENO's move to Manchester left Liverpool in "an impossible position".

"We were able to satisfy every request by the ENO team and feel that we set out the strongest, most sustainable case that would allow the company to flourish as it enters its next chapter," he added.

His city currently has no opera provision after the Welsh National Opera, which used to perform frequently, had its funding cut.

The mayor said the ENO decision "again highlights the impossible situation facing areas like ours", but having no opera in the city should not have counted against Liverpool.

"We had never hosted Eurovision before this year's event, but demonstrated that we have the capacity to make a huge success of such opportunities," he added.

"Cities should not be pitted against each other to fight for much-needed arts investment."

The ENO will continue to own, manage and stage a "substantial ENO season" at the London Coliseum after the move

Liverpool councillor Carl Cashman, who leads the city's Liberal Democrat opposition, said the city lost to Manchester "yet again due to both a lack of vision and a lack ambition".

He added that it was time for the city "to stop playing second fiddle" to its North-West neighbour and for Liverpool not to be the "back up or gamble option".

Announcing the move, ENO interim chief executive Jenny Mollica said Manchester, which is currently the biggest city in Europe without a resident opera company, had offered "an emerging vision for the future of ENO and operatic work" and had "a shared ambition to open up new possibilities for opera in people's lives".

Arts Council England said the ENO "ran a rigorous assessment process to decide on their new city base" and had excited by the "close strategic alignment of Greater Manchester's values and vision with its own".

It added that the Manchester bid also showcased the "potential opportunities to collaborate with the region's vibrant arts ecology, and the chance to inspire and create work with and for new audiences and communities in Greater Manchester".

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