Liverpool to host 2008 MTV Europe Awards

LIVERPOOL, England, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Next year's MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony will be at Liverpool's new environmentally friendly Echo Arena, the BBC reported.

The event is scheduled for Nov. 6, 2008, and will mark the third time the 15-year-old event will be in the United Kingdom.

"Not only is (Liverpool) the European Capital of Culture next year but the influence of its rich musical heritage is still felt today," Richard Godfrey, the event's executive producer and MTV Networks senior vice president, told the BBC.

"It's pop music coming home. There was huge competition to stage these awards, so this is a major coup for Liverpool," said Bryan Gray, spokesman for the Capital of Culture celebrations.

"This event and the plans we have ... will provide a huge international platform for the city, the arena and the music scene in Liverpool today."

Liverpool counts among its luminaries the Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, the Christians, Echo and the Bunnymen, Cast, The Boo Radleys, Atomic Kitten, Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, the Zutons and Candie Payne.