Liverpool has won the search to find England's Most Musical City. After six weeks of campaigning across ten cities and with thousands of votes cast, the home of The Beatles, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Zutons surged to victory with 49 per cent of the public's vote.

Ten cities from across the country were short-listed at www.mostmusicalcity.co.uk by the Arts Council’s ‘Take it away’ scheme, which makes musicianship accessible and affordable for all. Celebrity ambassadors for each city, included Sting, Jamelia and Richard Hawley, who led the debate for the Most Musical City until voting closed on 30 May 2008.

The ten competing cities were: Birmingham; Brighton; Bristol; Colchester; Leicester; Liverpool; London; Manchester; Newcastle; and Sheffield.

Almost forty years after Merseybeat, 2008's European Capital of Culture snatched the number one spot from Sheffield, which had been leading online voting until the last week. Rivals Manchester finished third.

Gordon Ross, Music Coordinator for the Liverpool Culture Company which endorsed Liverpool's bid said: "Liverpool's music scene is renowned the world over - this award is great news for the city and should serve to encourage those seeking to build on that legacy. The city today has a phenomenal pool of talent and it's exciting that now, more than ever, it has the venues, the studios, the promoters and the festivals to nurture new ideas and faces to carry on the city's best musical traditions."