THEY'RE back! The giants that is.
The big talk on the streets is that the man, the girl and their friendly chien from Nantes will be walking tall around Liverpool next year as part of the commemorations to mark the centenary of the start of World War One.
Negotiations are at a delicate, but advanced stage, insiders have excitedly confirmed to Confidential.
The little matter of something like a million quid needed to pay for the colossal adventure is still exercising the minds of city decision makers.
Oversized figureHowever, an independent report into the impact of Sea Odyssey concluded it was the most successful event in Liverpool’s history. The report showed that 800,000 people took part in the event, which resulted in an economic impact of £32 million.
The idea is for the three oversized models, which were created by French artists Royal De Luxe, to pound the streets over the 2014 Spring Bank Holiday weekend. They will be here as part of the programme of events alongside the highly anticipated International Business Forum taking place in and around Liverpool.
Some people say a repeat of the giants, albeit with a fresh story linked to the Great War, will not attract the hundreds of thousands who flocked to Liverpool to shed tears over the Sea Odyssey story, linked to the Titanic, last year.
Others say a giant comeback would attract even more people, especially those who missed out on the events of 2012. That event was, without question, one of the biggest pieces of street theatre ever staged in the UK, if not Europe, delivering world-wide publicity for Liverpool.
A mass audience watching the giants when the giants of industry are in town for their international pow-wow will boost the city’s image and the feel-good factor generated may well attract investment.
Confidential understands Royal De Luxe who were responsible for bringing the Uncle and his niece to Liverpool, are in advanced talks with culture officials here to negotiate l'encore.
Despite the city being skint and facing bankruptcy in a couple of years, the stars of the greatest free show the city had ever seen, was worth its weight in gold. It was paid for (£1.5 million) from legacy funding from the city's tenure as European Capital of Culture in 2008.
Spectacle for 800,000Liverpool’s appetite for Gallic spectacle was whetted that year when La Princesse, the giant Nantes spider from Royal De Luxe's near neighbour La Machine, cast its net across the city. Few people who saw that ever imagined watching something even bigger within a few years.
The net gain from this event is bound to be a giant of a decision for Mayor Joe Anderson as he launched his public consultation over savings he has to make next year to balance the books.
Further reading here:
The One to Watch: The Little Girl Giant
And: It's Time We Dared To Dream
