Visitors to Liverpool could soon be able to see holograms of the Beatles perform in an “immersive experience” after £2m worth of Fab Four funding was announced.
Money for the new Beatles attraction on the River Mersey was largely down to the work of the Liverpool-born Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said.
But Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said the announcement was the “culmination of many years of hard work” in developing the project.
He said: “We’ve been working on something for three years and I’ve spoken to people in Government.”

Comparing the investment to cash that has been spent on promoting Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon, he added: “It’s not a museum. It is an immersive experience that we want. We think the Beatles are a huge global attraction for the UK and we should have something of significance in the Liverpool City Region.

“That’s what we’ve been working on. We want something other than just looking at old artefacts – John Lennon’s underpants in a glass case. We want something really that people will be attracted to.”

Liverpool, which was stripped of its World Heritage Site status by Unesco in July, already has several Beatles attractions including The Beatles Story at the Albert Dock and a statue of the Fab Four on the Pier Head.

Other regional museums that will benefit from Budget cash include £125m for a Natural History Museum research centre at Harwell in Oxfordshire.
Up to £3m will also be spent over three years in boosting culture in Glasgow, if a business case is approved. The funding will be directed by the city’s Burrell Collection, which contains more than 8,000 objects.