Fifty years after the group’s separation, the effects of “Beatlemania” persist. And benefit the cultural and tourist development of Liverpool, birthplace of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. In 2028, The Beatles Story Museum, currently located at the Royal Albert Dock, will move to the former St John’s Market Hall. Expanded on this occasion, it will strengthen the tourist offer dedicated to the four musicians, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the port city each year.
The museum, now owned by Merseytravel, a public body linked to transport in the metropolitan region, will come under the control of Apple Corps, the company responsible for managing the rights and commercial interests of the Beatles. The current establishment, which attracts nearly 300,000 visitors per year, has received awards of excellence from the English national tourist office VisitEngland for its contribution to the city’s reputation. If the financial details are, for the moment, unknown, the project to move and expand the museum to the glory of the Beatles is supported by the public authorities, at the municipal, regional and governmental level.
The new premises will allow the Beatles Story to reach four times the size of the current building, or more than 9,000 m². Apple Corps plans to deploy a chronological journey, punctuated by the significant stages of the group’s life and career, and retracing their crazy rise over several hours. From their childhood in Liverpool to the final concert on the roof of London’s Savile Row in 1969, visitors will be able to discover the full story of the ‘Fab Four’. Another iconic location in Liverpool, the St Johns Beacon tower should also be developed to become an exhibition venue dedicated to Yellow Submarine (1968), animated film inspired by the famous Beatles song.
According to Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool, the opening of these new places of homage to the Beatles promises to be very positive for the economic and cultural development of the city, which will only become more attractive. The economic model of the project led by Apple Corps also includes a support system for the local music scene. For every entry ticket purchased, the Apple Corps Liverpool Trust charity will receive a portion of the proceeds and will use these funds to fund initiatives led by emerging musicians.
The link between the Beatles and the influence of Liverpool is far from anecdotal. In 2016, a study showed that the group contributed £82 million a year to the local economy. “People are already traveling half the globe to visit the hometown of the four boys who shook the world”enthused Steve Rotheram. Over the years the group has become an integral part of the city’s cultural identity, with guided tours of the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, preserved by the National Trust. Two other Beatles-related museums are located in Liverpool, one opposite the Cavern Club, where the group used to perform in their early days, and the other hosts an exhibition dedicated to the song Strawberry Field Forever.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham welcomed the Apple Corps initiative. In his policy speech, delivered last July, the Liverpool-born PM made “decentralization” his mantra, supporting the idea that cultural industries and regional arts projects could be powerful engines of development. For Andy Burnham, the future Beatles museum embodies “the type of ambition that (I) want to see more of across Britain”.
