now on bbc news, anne—marie tasker and kofi smiles look back at the highlights of hull 2017 and find out what impact this year long festival of arts and culture has had on the city. hello and welcome to hull, britain's city of culture as we review 12 months of cracking events. that's right, it's been an absolutely phenomenal year. we have so much to look back on. across four seasons, hull took art out of galleries and theatres and into the streets. 365 days of events changed the way the city has been seen by the rest of the world. the year has gone by been so quick,

i cannot believe it's almost over, and i hope these guys get to stay. this is the latest installation for 2017 called where do we go from here. these robot arms brought out of retirement to do some dancing here in the city of culture. and it sort of mirrors the start of the back in january when the whole of the city centre was filled with lights and sounds. that was amazing that was how we started this season made in hull. crowd: eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. 2017 really did start with a bang.

with three and a half tonnes of fireworks. and made in hull, a spectacular light show telling the story of the city and its people. what do you think to this unbelievable display? i thought it was amazing. absolutely fabulous. i've got family in canada and they're watching it live now. i'm from london and i think if this was in london... the reaction you get is absolutely fantastic. it's amazing. fantastic, i thought it was really very moving, very emotional. i am from brazil and i spent two new years in copacabana and it's the same quality here. it's amazing. i am so proud of hull. it's absolutely amazing. i think it will launch a really positive year. and the centrepiece of a season called made in hull, something that was.

a huge wind turbine blade handmade and the city's siemens factory. an incredible 75 metres long and to put that into some perspective i am about six foot so i would fit along this 41 times. that's a lot of kofi. getting it in was a big job. 50 lamp posts, traffic lights and barriers were taken down for its four hourjourney from factory to city centre. and it drw in the crowds, one in five and it drew in the crowds, one in five people who came to see it were from outside hull and east yorkshire. caroline quentin and mark addy starred in the world premiere of the hypocrite. i've spent the last two days running round inside a cardboard box which represents a commode for reasons too complicated to go into. the play was by award winning hull

born writer richard bean and told the story of hull's role in the start of the english civil war. shutting the city's gate on the king. who will make the first advance? i'm really looking forward to the people of hull seeing this play. there's so much great stuff in it. some of the jokes, they are so deeply entrenched in the culture here, they are going to love it. upon your conscience! the show had the theatre's biggest cast, biggest set and spectacular special effects and it won a new audience, one third of them had never been to this theatre before. february brought another world premiere. 6,000 pipes, written by britain's most popular living composer, sir karljenkins. music: starman by david bowie. weeks later the orchestra made way

for one of david bowie's old bandmates, the spider from mars woody woodmansey. the last surviving member of the band from hull performed the rise and fall of ziggy stardust album live and in full for the first time ever. it is somewhere that bowie wanted to play himself. so to come back now, to hull the city of culture is amazing. made in hull also celebrated pioneering women of the city of culture. from the world's first woman conductor to the first women's world boxing champion barbara buttrick. i think all this talk about girls not boxing is old—fashioned. girls are not the delicate flowers they used to be and anyhow my boyfriend doesn't mind. art's original bad girl

from her performance art collective and one of hull's most famous daughters, maureen lipman, on inspiring the next generation. if there's one kid out there watching who thinks, if that white—haired woman with spectacles can be on telly, so can i. and even if you are not famous and from hull you could pretend to be, as photography shows hollywood icons letting people take on the favourite film roles. and other ways to get involved, people choosing coloured filters for flats as part of this community project, called i wish to communicate with you. i think is brilliant, it makes you feel good that you are part of the city of culture. by march nine out of ten people in hull had been to a city of culture event and with 60 community projects in 2017 many were even taking part. that was one of the community projects put together

by people from hull. for people from hull. really a great way to get everyone involved. the woman who masterminded it is sharon darley. before 2017 some people might have thought art is not for me, is just for the cultural elite. has this project changed that? yes! in what ways, what have you seen. the whole year has changed that, the project we were involved with definitely helped oil the wheels. what changes have you seen, explain to people who don't know hull, the problems in the estate where you started that work. lots of the usual inner—city challenges, lack of employment, lack of prospects. lack of aspiration. sometimes. although i like to say that i work with a really creative, innovative, funny community. do you think 2017 has drawn that out?

i think so and it doesn't take a lot. how can you keep these things going for the people who might not have the time or the money to go to theatre or the art gallery. i'm going to say the l word, legacy. this year is a beautiful launch pad. it is now up to us to keep it going and going and make it, if it is around for a long time, the more chance you've got of seeing stuff. sharon, thank you so much. and so many more community events stretching into season two called roots and routes. my favourite was seeing katy perry at big weekend, she was for me one of the highlights of season two. season two looked to hull's place in the world. and you don't get much more global than katy perry.

dozens of stellar pop acts came to burton constable near hull for radio 1's big weekend. in a festival environmentjust outside of hull is crazy. it is so cool. to have this on your doorstep. we keep running into people we know. it is like all the city in a big place. it's great. just from the crowd you can always tell what type of energy is out there and it sounds like people really appreciate the music, it seems like a real freedom here. music should be somewhere where people can come together no matter what background you are from. we need music to connect and i don't think that should ever be something people are afraid to come together for. we saw stormzy earlier.

are you a grime fan? i'm interested in that scene and he's one of the best. i saw little mix earlier, they are trained, they are in the dressing room next to mine and theirvocalwarm—ups were quite impressive. i'm going to stay at the french level, below that. but that was not the only festival in town. north atlantic flags celebrated hull's historic ties to scandinavia —— north atlantic flocks.

—— flux. and was created by the musicianjohn ground. hull is a place that has been on my radarfor some time, some of the artists i admire have connections of hull. i think you will see what hull has two off and also things from the north atlantic, it is quite scandinavian. another event with sound at its heart, height of the reads as a sonicjourney across the iconic humber bridge. the swans spend their necks backwards to see god. they know the magnetism of the blue space. listening through headphones they are hearing a piece of work which combines poetry with the sound of the bridges and sways in the wind. 0pera north's chorus and orchestra married with sound recordings of the bridge itself. look up. and a hull schoolgirl who guided the audience. it will be weird hearing myself but it will be pretty cool. australian company circe brought circles, dance and sound

to a hull graveyard. a horse, horse, my kingdom for a horse! and more world—class theatre with matt fresia —— mat fraser. in richard iii by shakespeare. i'm a deformed actor playing a deformed character for the first time in britain, which is extraordinary that it should be the first but exciting that i get to do it. thousands came to see the weeping window poppies from the tower of london. and revealed in more ways than one more than 3000 people from around the world who took part in sea of hull. in april they saw the final artwork unveiled in the gallery. i'm about there.

you have only one life, just livid. —— just live it. i don't care if anyone sees me or not. # i've got the eye of the tiger # dancing through the fire #. if big weekend was a highlight of season two it was the perfect warm up for a season of festivals in the city of culture. we are now halfway through the year and it is clear that hull is getting pretty good at putting an unexpected, innovative and exciting events like this installation and that that is changing perceptions of the city. it was not that long ago when hull was voted britain's most rubbish town but if you look in the papers today you will see that is no longer the case and whether some are packed full of events to come things got better and better. —— and with a summer packed full of

events. # what are you thinking? #. summer was a season of festivals. more than 100 local bands at the humber street set. we are sitting on an amazing wealth of talent in this region and it is about time that the rest of the country was aware of that. the tenth annual freedom festival with a lecture from former united nations secretary—general kofi ayn rand. —— kofi annan. art and cultic is very much part of life. it brings people together, they may not understand what the artist is saying that they will stop and look at it and question something within themselves. the city's first children's literature festival,

the big malarkey. they all live at number 41 fairfield rd and their next—door neighbour is nigel mcnulty, a grizzly bear. and hull was even on show at the world's largest arts festival, the edinburgh fringe. we are representing hull, the uk city of culture this year. the proms came outside london for the first time in more than 80 years. and hull hosted the first ever uk pride parade marking 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of former sexuality. —— homosexuality. after all these years. as part of lgbt 50 radio 2 to brought the i feel love to town. i feel i stand on the shoulders of great

people who have done, one artist is amazing, an amazing advocate for lgbt people. why would i not say no to being in the company of these people. hull took over the airwaves again in september with contained strong language, a festival celebrating poetry and spoken word. it's exciting to see the hull accent and taking its place on this global stage. here, domes and statues spire, cranes... you mentioned philip larkin and andrew marvell today, reading them today, who is hull's best. i never compare, i never compare poets all others, i never compare music, it's just different. i'm glad we don't have oscars for poets, it's ridiculous enough for actors!

then the weird and wonderful, bill bailey invented tales about strange items in his cabinet of curiosities at the maritime museum. are you the first comedian to have curated a museum exhibition? i don't know, i'll see us. -- i will —— i will say yes. it certainly seems like new ground. in the spirit of this exhibition, i, bill bailey, bill of bailey, am the first comedian to cure an exhibition of this kind anywhere in the world! and an immersive experience like no other, from high—tech shopping and captured by the police of 1980, south korea, in a performance called one day maybe. if i don't make it out to my mum, dad, and brothers that you can't touch my stuff. you see that, he doesn't want! one of the season highlights, special gala performance

by the world—famous royal ballet. its principalsjoined a handful of top ballet dancers who had all taken their first lessons at skelton hooper school of dance in hull. so many wanted tickets, 5000 people watched on screens in a nearby park. the gala showing of the great dancers who started theirjourney to the top in the city of culture. well, you may have noticed in there somewhere, some of the army of 2,500 turquoise coated volunteers who are working for city of culture. and joining us, this is special, three generations of volunteers, how many hours of volunteering have you done between you this year? 1300 hrs of volunteering. between the three of us. incredible.

what are the highlights. mine was one day maybe. it was long shift but worth the effort. one of mine was the gay parade, i really enjoyed that. i was lucky enough to be in flood. we will be seeing some of that later in the programme. and you will stick at it next year as well? and longer to come. we have really enjoyed it, everybody. just like one big family. thank you so much of a coming down. we are getting to the end of our review, season four is called tell the world. the final season of 2017 and the

world premiers kept coming. maxine pea ke's play, the last testament of lillian, told the story of four hull women who fought the government for better safety for fishermen and women. the winner of this year's turner prize... this year's turner prize was awarded in hull to the oldest winner in its history, and the first black woman to win the prize. thank you, panel. first, to the people who stopped me in the streets of preston and hull to wish me luck, thank you, it worked. the show at the gallery featuring the short listed artists has drawn huge crowd more than doubled and usually gets in the most second visited turner prize show ever. another treat for lovers of visual art was hull portrait of a city.

every shot taken by world renowned photographers martin park and olivia arthur in the city of culture. but the contemporary art was not confined to galleries, it took over the streets of the city with huge installations like flow and a hall for hull. and mythical mystical beasts roamed the streets for the land of green ginger unleashed parade. it took charge out to the communities of the city. fantastic, well worth the wait, i want to see it again. i didn't know what to expect, i didn't know it would be like that. itjust shows with the amount of people who are here that we all wanted it and long may it continue. art even found its way into hospital. the footprint of every baby born

in hull has been taken in 2017 and along with the handprint of the midwife made a huge mural reflecting every new life in the city of culture. it's lovely that he was born in 2017 and the little footprints are a great idea, they will be a gorgeous little tribute to him and to all the staff as well. 0n 0ctober1st, all of hull's cream phone boxes rank and the public took calls from the future. the live experience was part of we made 0urselves over 2017. -- 2097. it rank alongside five short sci—fi films and an interactive ad. and another vision of a possible

future came from one theatre company with a year—long performance called flood. the dystopic story emerging europe flooded and its citizens as refugees. told online, on tv and a series of live performances in one of hull's old docks, its ambition reflected that of hull's entire year as city of culture. those were some of the fantastic moments from season four‘s tell the world. the man who made 2017 happen as its director, martin green. when you moved to hull three years ago, martin, did you ever imagine that 2017 would be as successful as it has been? never in a million years. i don't think anyone would have that ego. it has been the most extraordinary year in the life of this great city. how would you sum up the changes you've seen in that time. what we have seen is how art force of the city and apart from the many —— how art is the life force of the

city and apart from the many exhibitions and performances, you have seen the re—finding of the voice of the city and its pride. you will leave soon and hand over the reins to the management, what is the one thing you would like to see carried on. i think it's that ambition. we have done the unexpected, really interesting cultural experiences. i think this city has a great ambition to be different and if hull can continue to be a city of the extraordinary that will be one of the many legacies from this year. thank you so much martin, that is it false, reveal 2017. —— that is it for us and our review of 2017. this year has been incredible, can you believe there has been at least one event every single day. and we have been to most of them. to take a look back, good our website. there's been so much going on, here are some bits we haven't managed to squeeze in. bye— bye. see you. if you haven't heard of buzzfeed

whether hell have you been? —— —— where the hell have you been? if you like your coffee hot let me be your coffee pot! i am a loose cannon. a lot of cloud around today. count yourself lucky if you are seeing sunshine. there are sunny spells in north—east england. look at the pictures from our weather watchers.

you can see the story of today's whether online on photographs. quite ready for some across the north of scotla nd ready for some across the north of scotland and this rainbow edge southwards. if you are heading out this afternoon, here's the picture at three o'clock. misty and murky across the hills of wales and west of england. in eastern parts of wales and north—east england, you see some sunshine. there are a few brighter breaks in northern ireland and western scotland. but it is rather windy in western scotland and the rain is on its way southwards. this evening, outbreaks of rain in the central belt then putting into southern scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england. there are north later on. and the winds pick up again. the bulk of england and wales will be dry. if you are clear for any and wales will be dry. if you are clearfor any period and wales will be dry. if you are clear for any period of time and wales will be dry. if you are clearfor any period of time in and wales will be dry. if you are

clear for any period of time in the east, single figures. a frost free area to the south of this weather front. but this front will be hanging around parts of scotland, northern ireland and northern england on christmas eve and christmas day. but several hours of quite heavy rainfall christmas eve into western areas of scotland. pushing back across much of northern ireland and turning heavy into cumbria. south of that, a lot of cloud and brighter breaks north of the rain band areas in scotland will brighten up. if you are going out on christmas eve evening, here's the rain, in the same place. a breezy picture, going into christmas day. quite windy, very mild to the south of the weather front. wet and cooler weather pushing in with the rain band to parts of southern scotland, northern england wales and then the rain clears —— where the rain clears

the temperatures had down. boxing day, look at this, single figure temperatures. mild and this is a foremost than the temperatures heading down for a good few days, even the risk of slow. we work if you updated. we will keep you updated on the forecasts of snow online. this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at two o'clock. a man has appeared at york magistrates court, charged with the murder ofjodie willsher at an aldi supermarket in skipton. and aardvark has been killed and four meerkats are missing after a large fire broke out at london's this morning. staff were treated for smoke inhalation and shock. an aardvark was killed and four meerkats are missing. we are all really really upset by this incident, because this is one of our most loved animals in the zoo, misha — and the meerkats are also, great affection for all of us who work here. a devastating tropical storm has

torn through the southern philippines, triggering flash floods and landslides. more than 130 people are known to have died. california's deadly wildfire has now become the largest in the state's recorded history, scorching an area greater