WIRRAL has officially been handed the title of Liverpool City Region's Borough of Culture at a ceremony.

Taking the baton from St Helens on Saturday, December 8, Wirral will now receive £300,000 to help support cultural events throughout its year-long reign.

This is all happening as part of the city region's 1% for Culture programme.

Leader of Wirral Council Cllr Phil Davies said: “We are thrilled that Wirral has been awarded the title of Borough of Culture for 2019.

"We’ve had a fantastic response to the highlights we’ve revealed so far but we know that there is so much more to come and we’re looking forward to unveiling the full programme in the new year.

"We have set ourselves a high bar following the success of this year’s Imagine Wirral programme but I am confident that 2019 will be bigger and even better.”

The 1% for Culture programme saw Liverpool City Region become the first in the country to commit to spending the equivalent of 1% of its annual £30 million devolution funding from Government to support cultural activities.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “It is very exciting to see Wirral officially take over as our Borough of Culture for 2019.

"I know that they have a very exciting programme of cultural events planned for the year ahead.

“It has been a great year for St Helens, as they have celebrated their 150th anniversary, and this event was a fitting finale.

“Culture and creativity are an integral part of our city region’s DNA.

"They are what we are known for and integral to achieving our vision for a prosperous, fair and exciting place to live, work and invest.

"The Borough of Culture celebrations are just one element of boosting culture and creativity across the whole of the city region.”

A competition has now been launched to find a design for the official logo for the Borough of Culture.

It is open to anyone aged 16 years or over living in the city region.

For more information on how to enter visit http://liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/logo-competition

For the full schedule of planned events for Wirral's Borough of Culture year click here.