UEFA Report Leaves Unanswered Questions

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 16th Jun 2008

Liberal Democrat Councillors in Manchester have welcomed a Council report into last month's staging of the UEFA cup final in Manchester but believe that some questions remained unanswered by the report.

Manchester Lib Dem Leader Cllr Simon Ashley said:

"I have met senior Council Officers and told them we agree with some of the key recommendations in the report:

that Piccadilly is an unsuitable venue for a large event;

that there should be ticketed entry to control numbers;

that there should be better communication with city centre businesses and residents;

that there needs to be better signage, more toilets, bins and better and quicker cleaning."

Cllr Ashley added:

"However, I think the report fails to answer three questions:

1) Why weren't more viewing screens made available throughout the City when number estimates kept increasing, to better disperse the crowd numbers?

2) Did the U-turn on the communications strategy on the 8th of May (when instead of saying 'Don't come without a ticket', the city said "Everyone welcome") contribute to the increased visitor numbers?

3) Was the decision making process transparent and did the organising committee rely too much on intelligence and information received from Strathclyde Police and Glasgow Council?"

Cllr Ashley concluded:

"This report isn't perfect but is a good start. Manchester needs to learn the lessons of the Uefa final so that the people of Manchester can regain the confidence they have lost in its Council bidding for future events."

Ends.......

A copy of the Manchester City Council investigation report is available:

http://www.manchester.gov.uk/downloads/UEFA_Cup_Final_14th_May_2008.pdf