RINGO STARR’S appearance at Liverpool’s Capital of Culture opening weekend cost the city more than £50,000, the Daily Post can reveal. Although he charged no fee for the event, the former Beatle and his entourage, which included Dave Stewart, racked up costs of £53,655 getting to the city and staying in the exclusive Hope Street Hotel.
Starr used the high-profile start to Liverpool’s showcase year to promote his new single Liverpool 8, which eventually charted at 99.
He played from the top of St George’s Hall, and a day later also appeared at the Liverpool Echo Arena for the opening concert in a well-received homecoming.
But within days the drummer had angered Liverpudlians with an interview with the BBC’s Jonathan Ross when he was asked if there was anything he missed about the city and said “no”.
Last week, his life-size topiary figure at Liverpool South Parkway station was vandalised only weeks after being unveiled. All the other Beatles were left untouched, prompting speculation his head may have been chopped off in revenge for his TV comments.
Liverpool Culture Company initially refused to say how much it had cost to get Starr to appear at the opening weekend, citing commercial confidentiality.
But the expenses were released following a Freedom of Informa- tion request from the Daily Post.
The £29,550 for flights included two first-class tickets from the US.
Starr and his entourage used a total of 48 nights at the Hope Street Hotel in across 14 rooms, costing £8,980. And while in the city Starr had his own personal car and there were four others for use by members of his crew. Ground transportation cost a total of £13,375. Hospitality and catering cost £1,750, bringing Starr’s expenses to £53,655.
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