Made in Hull

[15] The installation, known as Blade, was not announced in the programme and was a surprise to the general public until the small hours of Sunday 8 January, when the giant artefact was slowly driven through the centre of the city and put in place.

[16] In an installation devised by artist Nayan Kulkarni, the blade is set at an angle so that the tip is 5.5 metres (18 ft) above the ground, allowing double decker buses to pass underneath.

[18] After the blade was installed in Victoria Square it was discovered that there was no planning permission for the structure, required because it was to be in place for more than 28 days.

[19] City of Culture chief executive Martin Green said that because the installation was a surprise it had been agreed that planning permission would be sought retrospectively.

[5][6] The day after the opening, some tabloid newspapers chose to focus on isolated examples of bad behaviour seen by their reporters, instead of on the actual launch event.