Derry Journal Editorial: A decade on, did the first City of Culture capitalise on 2013 accolade?

It is now over a decade since the year of celebrations got under way, and it was indeed a year to remember. Highlights included the All-Ireland Fleadh, One Big Weekend, The Return of CholmCille, the Sons & Daughter concert, all memorable and joyous occasions, but when the music died down and the crowds departed, what happened with the long-term legacy? With the hindsight of 10 years, it may well be a good time for a fresh, independent evaluation.

The targets published in the bid document were big, bold and ambitious: thousands of new jobs; the city becoming a world renowned cultural capital; a step change in good relations through ‘world class’ culturally led regeneration. The potential of the trans-Atlantic Project Kelvin was hailed.

Most would agree the City of Culture year was a huge success in terms of raising the city’s profile.

There has been a steep rise in international visitors and a knock on boost for the hospitality sector across the north west in the years since.

But what about the other aspects? Was there an adequate plan in place to develop Derry post-2013?

Was there even a workable long-term strategy and did the government departments and specialist funding bodies provide enough support and funding beyond the year to realise the potential of 2013?

There have been reviews in the year since and legacy projects, but were opportunities missed and if so, can they be revisited?

Derry has improved physically over the years, but it remains a city with high levels of poverty and unemployment, lower than average student numbers and connectivity with the rest of this island remains an issue. The City of Culture accolade was never going to fix all of this in isolation but what impact did it have?

Surely the time is now right to look at all this to see what lessons can be learned for the future.