The £146m Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) in Liverpool opened on schedule to kick off the city’s year as European Capital of Culture with a musical ceremony.

Ringo Star opened the sell-out Liverpool the Musical event on 14 January, which also featured the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra as well as 700 other performers.

The ACC, which comprises the 10,600-seat waterfront Echo Arena and adjacent 1,350-capacity BT Convention Centre, aims to attract major entertainment and sporting events. In 2008, it will host the Winter Pops music festival, the World Firefighter Games, the MTV Europe Music Awards and conferences for the Royal College of Nursing and the British Chambers of Commerce.

Tim Banfield, general manager of the Echo, said: “It was a massive technical challenge to deliver a show as good as the opening of Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture Year.

“The people of Liverpool have lacked a world-class music and entertainment venue and we now hope to offer them some of the best in the world of music, sport and entertainment with our top line up of music, sports and entertainment for 2008.”

Bovis Lend Lease developed the project according to designs by architects Wilkinson Eyre.