The event which sold out in record time last year also scooped the award for ‘Best Dance Event’ for the 2nd year running in the UK Festival Awards. Standard Camping tickets are on sale now at the Early Bird price of £100+BF, this offer ends at 7pm on Friday 4th March.

Creamfields returns to Daresbury in Cheshire on August Bank Holiday weekend. Today’s announcement coincides with the launch of the festivals new look website www.creamfields.com

Early Bird camping tickets on sale now from www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

The hotel will employ 55 staff and is expected to open this year. Management at the park hope the hotel will encourage families from further afield to visit the park and stay longer.

Last year the company opened a campsite at Gulliver’s Land in Milton Keynes.

Later this week properties across England will throw open their doors for free as part of the country’s annual celebration of local architecture, history and culture.

Supported nationally by English Heritage and run locally by an army of volunteers and community champions, Heritage Open Days takes place on people doorstops and is the country’s leading grassroots cultural event.

One million people are expected to take advantage of the four day event, exploring more than 4,000 properties of every style, period and function, many of which are normally closed to the public or usually charge an admission fee.

Participating properties in North West England include:

Barrow – Dalton Castle (Dalton-in-Furness)
Birkenhead – Birkenhead Park, Birkenhead Priory, Lady Lever Art Gallery
Blackpool – Blackpool Tower, Winter Gardens
Bolton – Bolton Steam Museum
Burnley – Gawthorpe Hall (Padiham), Queen Street Mill Textile Museum
Bury – Fusilier Museum, East Lancashire Railway, Peel Tower
Carlisle – High Head Sculpture Valley
Chester – Chester Racecourse, Grosvenor Museum, Little Moreton Hall (Congleton)
Kendal – Abbott Hall Art Gallery, Museum of Lakeland Life, Sizergh Castle
Lake District – Beatix Potter Gallery (Hawkshead), Blackwell (Windermere),
Liverpool – St George’s Hall, Cunard Building, Liver Building,
Macclesfield – Quarry Bank Mill
Manchester – Victoria Baths
Morecambe – Morecambe Town Hall
Oldham – Saddleworth Museum
Penrith – Acorn Bank
Preston – Samlesbury Hall
Rochdale – Healey Dell, Rochdale Pioneers Museum, Touchstones,
St Helens – World of Glass
Stockport – Hat Works, Staircase House, Air Raid Shelters, Bramall Hall
Warrington – Norton Priory (Runcorn)
Wigan – Museum of Wigan Life, Trencherfield Mill Engine

Creamfields also welcome back disco kings Hed Kandi who return to host the glamorous Hospitality Arena. Last year saw this exclusive ticket sell out in record time, and is set to repeat that success this year. The exclusive Tri Span structure returns along with some added perks, with Hospitality campers having access to their own exclusive VIP campsite which includes hot showers and those all important ‘proper’ toilets. Hospitality campers will also be able to take advantage of the complimentary new ‘Festibarrow’ service, for those laden down with rucksacks, just grab a ‘festibarrow’ and away you go! As well as the camping luxuries Hospitality ticket holders will have access to the exclusive Hed Kandi arena which includes a fully stocked bar, cocktail bar and plush indoor and outdoor seating areas!

Despite a jam packed salivating line up of talent to keep you occupied, the Cream team have also laid on an array of on site attractions. This year Strongbow returns in a new form as the Bowtime Bar. This all new structure is split into several areas including a live Stage featuring some of the UK’s best cutting edge artistes, an Outdoor Terrace for some dancing action, a garden Bar that has its own team of Masseuses providing free massages plus a chilled out ‘Garden’ to kick back in offering comfy seats and picnic benches. Another stage to pay a visit to is the JägerRock Truck which has been fancily converted into a strident orange mobile music arena and will be bursting out rock fuelled beat or for a more chilled out affair head to the Pimms Bus which returns in all its ‘white picket fence and deckchair’ glory. Creamfields has become renowned for delivering one of the widest range of culinary choices at a festival and this year is no different, the International Food Market returns to serve up everything from Mediterranean to Mexican grub and for those who like a bit of Italian pay a visit to the all new on site Pizza Express! After 2 days of arena hopping treat yourself to a pampering at the Vanity Van which will be offering everything from makeovers, spray tans, blow dry’s and more! We also welcome back the Fancy Dress Tent, which features rails upon rails of fancy dress costumes to ensure customers get into the full ‘festival’ spirit! If all the music gets a bit too much pop over to the onsite cinema which will be screening classic films throughout the evening, in addition throughout the day graffiti artistes will be showcasing their skills along with football freesylers and more. All brought to you as part of V’s Summer of Give campaign. Go to Vinspired.com to find out more”

Following the sell out success of last years festival which attracted a record breaking 60,000 people, the UK’s No.1 dance festival Creamfields returns to Daresbury in Cheshire. For full line up and tickets info go to: www.creamfields.com

SATURDAY 28TH AUGUST

Main Stage

David Guetta (Dance Festival Exclusive)
Deadmau5 (Exclusive)
Audio Bullys
The Japanese Popstars
Ocelot

Cream In Association with Bench

Armin van Buuren
Ferry Corsten (Exclusive)
Eddie Halliwell Presents ED-IT (Exclusive)
Judge Jules
Gareth Emery
John O’Callaghan
Gareth Wyn
Rob H

Chibuku 10th Anniversary

Richie Hawtin Presents Plastikman (English Festival Debut)
Erol Alkan
Crookers
Magda
Mix Hell
Luke Carr
Dom Chung
More to be announced

Pryda Friends

Eric Prydz
Pete Tong
Joris Voorn
Sébastien Léger
Popof
Funk D’Void
Jemmy

Ape – D&B

Andy C
High Contrast
Hype
Friction
Mad Professor
Ken Evil

Ape – Dubstep

Benga
Rusko
Caspa
Joker
Nero
Rich Reason
MC’s: MC Dynamite / Rod Azlan / GQ / IC3 / SP:MC / Mad Rush

Mixmag

Tiga
Switch
Kissy Sell Out
DJ Mehdi
Alex Metric
Jaymo & Andy George
Gramophonedzie
Zoo Brazil

Hed Kandi Hospitality

Phil Faversham
John Jones
Wez Clarke
Sarah Louise
Alan Hartley
Dean Oram On Drums
Lady V on Saxophone

Strongbow Bowtime Bar

Tom Middleton
Jesse Rose
Fenech Soler (Live)
Joe & Will Ask?
Crystal Fighters (Live)
Louis La Roche
May68 (Live)
Loz
General Jimmy

Residents Terrace

H2
DJ Ellesse
Ed Mackie
Tim Owen
Lee Ellis
CantMixWontMixShouldntMixDontMix
Rob Casson & Andy Currie
Prostitutes & Policeman
Kev McGowan

JägerRock Truck

Rich Furness
LMP DJ’s
Lee Rands
Chris Mimo
Andy Woods
Autophase

SUNDAY 29TH AUGUST

Kaleidoscope Main Stage

Tiesto (Exclusive)
Calvin Harris (Live)
Laidback Luke
Dada Life
Bang Bang Club
Kids On Bridges

Cream / Vandit 10th Anniversary In Association with Bench

Paul van Dyk (Exclusive)
Sasha
James Zabiela
Hernan Cattaneo
Nick Warren
Special Guests: Leftfield

Swedish House Mafia (Exclusive)

Axwell
Steve Angello
Sebastian Ingrosso
Dirty South
Kim Fai
AN21
Afro Jack
Max Vangeli
Anton Powers

Mixmag Presents Cocoon

Sven Väth
Dubfire
Marco Carola
Yousef
Raresh

Annie Mac Presents

Annie Mac
Major Lazer (Live)
MS Dynamite
Zinc
Riva Starr
Style Of Eye
Andy Mac

Goodgreef Xtra-Hard

Lisa Lashes
Showtek Live (Exclusive)
Kutski B2B Alex Kidd
Andy Whitby
Anne Savage
Bootek (Live)
A.S.Y.S
Dutch Master
Rascal

Strongbow Bowtime Bar

Evil Nine
The Subs (Live)
Grum
David E Sugar (Live)
Goldierocks
THe PETEBOX (Live)
Mr Paul
The Tea Street Band (Live)
Benji Boko
Dead Audio Boy
More to be announced

Hed Kandi Hospitality

Andy Norman
Dean Rigg
Sam Cannon
Stephanie Jay
Alan Hartley
Dean Oram On Drums
Lady V On Saxophone

JägerRock Truck

Cassette Jam
Thomas Tuft
Steve Parry
Andy Newland
Paul Nunn & James Glover
Michael Paterson
Mark Mac & Adam Helliwell

On receiving the award Cream CEO James Barton said: “We are thrilled and overwhelmed to win this prestigious award particularly when we were up against such world class festivals like Glastonbury and V. It highlights how far we’ve come over the last 12 years, and makes all the hard work worthwhile.”

This year the ‘Best Festival’ category was opened up to the public for the first time with the shortlist assessed by a panel of judges who were looking out for exemplary performance in everything from innovation, creativity and quality of service. This is the second award scooped by the dance festival in the last 6 months, having won ‘Best Dance Festival’ at the UK Festival Awards in November and follows the success of their sell out show last Summer which attracted a record breaking 60,000 people.

Creamfields returns to Daresbury in Cheshire on August Bank Holiday weekend and will see performances from the likes of Tiësto, David Guetta, Leftfield, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, Richie Hawtin Presents Plastikman, Paul van Dyk, Armin van Buuren, Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz, Sven Väth and Ferry Corsten to name a few.

Other winners at the Awards ceremony included: BBC Radio 1 – National Radio Station Of The Year, Abbey Road – Studio Of The Year, Atlantic Records – Promotions Team Of the year, EMI Publishing – Publisher Of The Year. For a full list of winners go to www.musicweek.com

Canadian born Tiga has risen the ranks to become one of the world’s most in demand electro DJ/Producers whose remix talents have been called upon from the likes of Depeche Mode, Human League, Scissor Sisters, and Soulwax to name a few. Tiga headlines this year’s Mixmag Arena and will be joining the likes of Switch, Kissy Sell out, DJ Mehdi, Alex Metric, and BBC Radio 1’s Jaymo & Andy George.

Other new acts announced include Jesse Rose, the Berlin based house music producer and DJ who is attributed with having kick started the ‘fidget house’ movement along with fellow jock Switch aka Solid Groove, Jesse performs on the Strongbow Stage on Saturday 28th August. Another addition is Kids on Bridges, the band which have previously supported the likes of Gary Numan and Little Boots were once described by the late Tony Wilson – founder of Factory Records – as having “the mouth of Liverpool and the swagger of Manchester”. Their electro pop sound has gained the band a loyal fanbase with their MySpace alone hitting well over a million, you can catch them performing on the Main Stage on Sunday 29th August.

Following the success from last year, the Jägertruck returns with a jam packed line up of talent. The strident orange truck which converts into a mobile music arena will see performances from the likes of Cassette Jam, LMP’s Adam K & Tom Dillon Koenig, Rich Furness, Lee Rands, Chris Mimo, Andy Woods, Autophase, Thomas Tuft, Steve Parry, Andy Newland, Paul Nunn & James Glover, Michael Paterson, Mark Mac, Adam Helliwell and one of Liverpool’s biggest DJ’s Anton Powers who joins the bill in the Swedish House Mafia Arena.

Following the sell out success of last years festival which attracted a record breaking 60,000 people, the UK’s No.1 dance festival Creamfields returns to Daresbury in Cheshire. For full line up and tickets info go to: www.creamfields.com

The multi award winning festival which won ‘Best Dance Festival’ at last years UK Festival Awards, will take place on August Bank Holiday weekend and returns to its idyllic countryside home of Daresbury in Cheshire.

ALL tickets including day tickets / weekend non camping and the much sought after hospitality tickets will be on sale from 9am Friday 26th March here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj5sT7W6lsY

Creamfields which scooped the award for ‘Best Dance Festival’ in the 2009 UK Festival Awards (the 3rd time the festival has won the coveted award) was granted the license last night by Halton Borough Council’ regulatory committee. Following last years sell out show which attracted a record breaking 60,000 people, the team behind the festival have increased investment into site infrastructure for 2010, which will see bigger and better arenas and increased space and capacity in the campsites.

Event Manager Jim King from Loudsound said: “This decision to grant the festival a 3 year license is a very important decision in that it clearly shows the confidence that the authorities have in Creamfields and its management team. The festival has now established itself at its new location in Cheshire as one of the largest, most popular and well operated electronic festivals in the world.”

In 2006 Creamfields relocated from Liverpool to its Daresbury home in the heart of the Cheshire countryside, and became a 2 day camping event in 2008.

The X Factor runner up will appear at Halo on Tuesday December 29th 2009 and perform songs from the popular show.

Tickets to see Olly can be purchased online at halowarrington.com.

The ®Evolution of Urban Art brings together work from 15 internationally acclaimed artists: Banksy, Blek le Rat, Gavin Turk, Adam Neate, David Choe, Faile, Lorraine Robbins, Antony Micallef, Ron English, José Parlá, Elbow-toe, Sam Taylor-Wood, Candice Tripp, Swoon and Takashi Murakami.

The exhibition runs until March 2010. Admission is free.

Stations featured in the independent Station Champions report include Stockport, Manchester Victoria, Preston, Wigan North Western, Liverpool Central, Warrington Bank Quay, and Crewe. They will each receive a share of £50 million to carry out urgent improvements.

Last week Network Rail announced a £3.25 billion 5-year plan for station improvements to over 2,000 stations. The Station Champions report identified ten that required vital modernisation. Work on these will start as soon as possible.

The Station Champions, Sir Peter Hall and Chris Green, were appointed by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis in May 2009 to review the condition of stations and to recommend improvements.

The event, organised by Warrington Rotary Club, has raised more than £125,000 for charity since its inception.

The schedule is as follows:

• Thursday October 29, 5.30 pm – 11.30 pm, live music by The Bottletops
• Friday October 30, 5.30 pm – 11.30 pm, live music by The Bad Dog Blues Band, Tim Critchley
• Saturday October 31, 12 noon – 4 pm, live music by Lazy River Jazz
• Saturday October 31, 7 pm – 11.30 pm, live music by No Stamp Required

The main sponsors of the event are Thomas Hardy Brewery, Manchester Fuels Terminal, Bowman Operations Ltd, and the Co-operative Group.

The event will be hosted by BBC presenter Ranvir Singh and is being organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

The finalists are:

Large Hotel of the Year

Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, Cumbria
Preston Marriott Hotel, Preston, Lancashire
The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
Malmaison Liverpool, Liverpool

Small Hotel of the Year

Peckforton Castle, Tarporley, Cheshire
Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel, Windermere, Cumbria
Mytton Fold Hotel and Golf Complex, Ribble Valley

Bed and Breakfast of the Year

Harrop Fold Farm, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Storrs Gate House, Bowness-on-Windermere, Cumbria
The Ashton, Lancaster, Lancashire
Brooklands Lodge, Sale, Greater Manchester
The Ambassador Townhouse, Southport, Merseyside

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year

Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
Walby Farm Park, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Blackpool Tower and Circus, Blackpool
Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, Liverpool

Small Visitor Attraction of the Year

Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire
Wordsworth House and Garden, Cockermouth, Cumbria
Helmshore Mills Textile Museum, Helmshore, Lancashire
Museum of the Manchester Regiment, Manchester
Acorn Farm, Liverpool

Self Catering Holiday of the Year

Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Hall Hills, Dalston, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Clough Bottom Farm Cottages, near Clitheroe, Lancashire
Blue Rainbow Apartments, Manchester
Premier Apartments Liverpool, Liverpool

Holiday Park of the Year

Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park, Keswick, Cumbria
Sunset Park, Hambleton, near Blackpool

Business Tourism Award

Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Warwick Mill Business Village, near Carlisle, Cumbria
Ribby Hall Village, Wrea Green, near Blackpool
The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
BT Convention Centre, Liverpool

Taste of England’s Northwest

Walk Mill, Chester
Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop, Kendal, Cumbria
La Locanda Ristorante Italiano, Gisburn, Lancashire
The Modern, Urbis, Manchester
Delifonseca, Liverpool

Tourism Experience of the Year

Roman Tours, Chester
Silverband Falconry, Penrith, Cumbria
Farmaggedon, near Ormskirk, Lancashire
Costumed Performers, Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester
Art in the Age of Steam, National Museums Liverpool, Liverpool

Customer Service Award

Janet Bradshaw, Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire
Jennifer Taylor, The Archway Guest House, Windermere, Cumbria
Hannah Lee, The New Holly, near Preston
Mahendran Mayan, Renaissance Hotel, Manchester
Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn Hotel, Liverpool

Sustainable Tourism Award

Carden Park Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, near Chester
Langdale Leisure Ltd, Ambleside, Cumbria
Malkin Tower Farm Holiday Cottages, Blacko, Lancashire
Radisson SAS Hotel Manchester Airport, Greater Manchester
Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool, Liverpool

Tourism for All Award

Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
Ullswater Steamers, Glenridding, Cumbria
Sandcastle Waterpark, Blackpool
The Trafford Centre, Greater Manchester

Tourism Event

Nantwich Food and Drink Festival, Cheshire
Westmorland County Agricultural Show, Milnthorpe, Cumbria
Blackpool Illuminations, Blackpool
Manchester Pride, Manchester
Creamfields, Merseyside

Public Space Award

Cockermouth Market Place Regeneration Scheme, Cumbria
County Square Environmental Enhancement Scheme, Ulverston, Cumbria
Pier Head Public Realm and Canal Link, Liverpool

Tourist Information Centre of the Year

Congleton TIC, Cheshire
Coniston TIC, Cumbria
Cleveleys TIC, Lancashire
Wigan TIC, Greater Manchester
St Helens TIC, Merseyside

Travel Journalist of the Year

Chris Moss, Time Out
Craig Fleming, Blackpool Gazette
David Atkinson, Freelance
Paul Croughton, The Sunday Times
Stephen McClarence, The Observer

The event starts tomorrow and runs until Sunday September 13.

Hundreds of attractions and properties in the North West are taking part. For more details visit the official Heritage Open Days website.

Highlights include:

Barrow

Furness Abbey – Impressive remains of a Cistercian monastery.
Barrow Town Hall
Dalton Castle, Dalton-in-Furness – 14th century tower.

Birkenhead

Birkenhead Park – Grade I listed public space.
Birkenhead Priory – The oldest standing building in Merseyside.
Oxton Village
Port Sunlight Museum

Blackburn

Haworth Art Gallery, Accrington – Tudor-style Edwardian house in 9 acres of parkland. Home of Europe’s largest public collection of Tiffany Glass.

Blackpool

Blackpool Tower – Guided tour of the aquarium, circus, and ballroom.
Funny Girls – Opened as the biggest Odeon cinema outside London. Now one of Blackpool’s premier entertainment venues.
Marton Mere Local Nature Reserve – Nature reserve on the outskirts of Blackpool.
Stanley Park
Grand Theatre Blackpool – 1100-seat theatre designed by Frank Matcham in 1894.
Winter Gardens
Lytham Hall, Lytham St Annes – Grade I 18th century manor house in 80 acres of mature parkland.
The White Church, Lytham St Annes – Fairhaven United Reform Church.

Bolton

Bolton Steam Museum – Houses 25 steam engines that once drove the cotton mills of Northern England.
Hall i’th’ Wood – Tudor wooden-framed house.
Smithills Hall – Manor house.

Burnley

Burnley Football Club – Tour of Turf Moor, home of Burnley FC.
Oak Mount Hill Engine House – Cotton mill engine house dating from 1887 with recently restored steam engine.
Queen Street Mill Textile Museum
Rourke’s Forge – Watch blacksmiths at work.
Towneley Hall – Historic house, art gallery and museums, natural history centre, woodland walks and nature trails.
Gawthorpe Hall, Padiham

Bury

Bury Transport Museum
Fusiliers’ Museum – Tour of the new museum
East Lancashire Railway – Tour behind the scenes at the East Lancashire Railway, including a ride from Bolton Street station to Ramsbottom.
Peel Tower – Climb to the top of Bury’s famous landmark, built in 1852 in tribute to Bury-born Sir Robert Peel.

Carlisle

Carlisle Castle

Lake District

Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead – Home to original watercolours and sketches of Beatrix Potter.
Hill Top, Hawkshead – 17th century farmhouse where Beatrix Potter wrote many of her stories.
Townend, Windermere – 17th century stone and slate house.

Chester & Cheshire

Bear & Billet – One of the oldest pubs in Chester.
Chester Racecourse
Grosvenor Museum
Grosvenor Park
Little Moreton Hall, Congleton – Cheshire’s most iconic black and white house.
Beeston Castle, Tarporley – Former Royal Castle perched high on a rocky sandstone crag.

Kendal

Sizergh Castle

Lancaster

Lune Aqueduct – Canal cruise from Lancaster city centre to the Lune Aqueduct.

Liverpool

Britannia Adelphi
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral – Roman catholic cathedral.
Liverpool Town Hall
St George’s Hall – Grade I listed building opposite Lime Street station.
The Bluecoat – The oldest building in Liverpool city centre.

Macclesfield

Silk Museum
Quarry Bank Mill, Wilmslow – Former cotton mill.

Manchester

Manchester Town Hall
Monastery – Restored monastery in Gorton.
Victoria Baths

Morecambe

Morecambe Town Hall
Morecambe Winter Gardens

Oldham

Saddleworth Museum & Art Gallery

Penrith

Acorn Bank Garden & Watermill – Tours of the herb garden and Acorn Bank house.
Penrith & Eden Museum – Local history museum and Tourist Information Centre.

Preston

Museum of Lancashire – Museum in Preston’s Old Court House.
Samlesbury Hall – Historic house dating back to 1325.

Rochdale

Greater Manchester Fire Museum – Official museum of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
Healey Dell Nature Reserve – Guided walk.
Hollingworth Lake
Rochdale Pioneers Museum – The world’s first successfully operated co-operative store. Now a museum with restored historic shop.
Three Owls Bird Sanctuary – Wild bird hospital.
Touchstones – Arts and heritage centre with museum, art gallery, local studies library, tourist information, shop and café.

St Helens

Dream – Spectacular sculpture designed by world-renowned artist Jaume Plensa.
World of Glass – Explores the history of St Helens and its glass making heritage.

Stockport

Bramall Hall – One of Cheshire’s grandest black and white timber-framed Tudor manor houses.
Hat Works – The only museum in the UK dedicated to the hatting industry.
Lyme Park – Mansion house, gardens, and ancient deer park.
Staircase House
Stockport Air Raid Shelters – Underground labyrinth of tunnels built for shelter during World War II.

Warrington

Norton Priory, Runcorn – 38 acre site with excavated remains of the Augustinian Priory and woodland gardens.

Wigan

Trencherfield Mill – Restored steam engine.

The budget hotel chain is offering 50,000 rooms at only £12. The rate applies for stays between January 1 and April 1 2010. Rooms are also available from £19 (book 21 days ahead) and from £29 (book 7 days ahead).

To take advantage of this amazing offer, visit this page on their website.

More than 520 guests joined the celebrations to recognise and reward the best of the best during a black tie dinner at the BT Convention Centre on the city’s UNESCO world heritage waterfront.

The Awards were organised by The Mersey Partnership (TMP) as the region’s official tourist boaard and this year’s event attracted record entries.

Eleven of tonight’s winners now go forward to represent the destination in North West regional awards and the chance to compete for national honours.

The annual event, organised by TMP and sponsored by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Merseytravel, Liverpool ONE, ACC Liverpool and BBC Radio Merseyside, celebrates quality and excellence in a sector now supporting 23,000 jobs across the City Region. BBC TV presenter Ranvir Singh hosted the ceremony.

The winners were:

• The Mersey Partnership Special Award – Liverpool City Council for Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008
• Guest Accommodation of the Year – The Ambassador Town House, Southport – Highly Commended: Mere Brook House
• Self Catering Accommodation of the Year – Premier Apartments Liverpool
• Hotel of the Year – Malmaison Liverpool – Highly Commended: Crowne Plaza Liverpool
• Small Visitor Attraction of the Year -Acorn Farm Knowlsey – Highly Commended: Mersey Tunnel Tours
• Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Liverpool Cathedral
• Excellence in Customer Service – Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn
• Excellence in Business Tourism – BT Convention Centre Liverpool
• Taste Liverpool – Delifonseca Liverpool
• Tourism Experience of the Year – National Museums Liverpool for Art in the Age of Steam – Highly Commended: Liverpool Biennial
• Tourism Event of the Year – Creamfields Halton
• Student in Hospitality & Tourism – Stephanie Arnold, St. Helens College
• Performance Venue of the Year – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
• Bar of the Year – Alma De Cuba Liverpool
• Tourism Marketing Project of the Year – National Museums Liverpool for Art in the Age of Steam
• Tourism Retailer of the Year – The Beatles Story Liverpool – Highly Commended: Lady Lever Art Gallery Shop
• Sustainable Tourism – Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool

Winners from the North West were:

• Best Restaurant sponsored by The Hospitality Association & The Restaurant Association – Ramsons Restaurant, Ramsbottom near Bury
• Best Bar sponsored by Brown-Forman – Residence Restaurant & Bar, Nantwich
• Best Pub sponsored by Northern Restaurant & Bar – Kirkstile Inn, Cumbria
• Best Newcomer sponsored by The Russell Partnership – The Church Green, Lymm
• Best Chef sponsored by Steelite – Marc Wilkinson, Fraiche, Oxton, Wirral

The event is now in its 4th year and is organised by Moorfield Media, a Manchester-based exhibition organiser.

Of 31 projects nominated the shortlisted entries are:

• Silver Cafe, Morecambe designed by Arca
• Midland Hotel, Morecambe designed by Union North
• Liverpool One Masterplan, Liverpool designed by BDP
• Chavasse Park, Liverpool designed by BDP in association with Pelli Clarke Pelli
• Bling Bling, Liverpool designed by CZWG
• 13b Paradise Street, Liverpool designed by Allies and Morrison
• Paradise Street Bridge, Liverpool designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects
• Wigg Island Visitor Centre, Runcorn designed by Hot Architecture
• Private House, Bramhall designed by MBLA Architects + Urbanists
• Alan Turing Building, Manchester designed by Sheppard Robson
• 3 Towers, Manchester designed by Union North
• BDP Studio, Manchester designed by BDP

The winners will be announced at ceremony at Urbis on May 20 2009 and will be eligible to be shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize.

The expansion plans for Gulliver’s World in Warrington include a new indoor play centre, Gully Town, and a water play attraction, the Splashzone.

Other appearances are:

March 13 – Empire, Middlesbrough
March 15 – ABC, Glasgow
March 17 – Kasbah, Coventry
March 18 – Pyramid, Portsmouth
March 19 – Forum, London

The band will be playing new material from their forthcoming album. Tickets go on sale Friday January 30 2009.