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The year that was
A look back at some of the successes and achievements of 2009
Royal visit
Thousands took to the streets early in March when Her Majesty the Queen visited Hull.
Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen arrived by royal train at the Paragon Interchange where she unveiled a plaque.
She also visited Queen Victoria Square, Castle Hill Hospital and The Guildhall.
In the spotlight
Later in March, the city's first-ever Spotlight Awards were presented at the KC Stadium in recognition of children and young people who achieved amazing things.
Whether it was helping others, showing courage, or overcoming barriers to succeed in sport, arts or at school, dozens of nominees attended a glitzy ceremony along with celebrities including Roland Gift, Michelle Dewberry, Debra Stephenson and Hull City manager Phil Brown.
The awards were also presented to adults who went beyond the call of duty in their work with children and young people.
Stars in your eyes
In the same month, Hull City Council was awarded a rating of three stars (out of a maximum of four) by the Government – compared to a zero-star rating in 2002.
Inspectors from the Audit Commission were impressed with the drop in crime rate, better exam results, improved recycling rates, and the fact that more older people were living independently.
Truck goes forward
Theatre-goers had said goodbye months before to the former Hull Truck Theatre on Spring Street.
Its leaky roof had allegedly been held up with gaffer tape – in stark contrast to the brand-new, £15m theatre which opened on Ferensway in April.
It was revealed that the 440 seats in the main auditorium cost £700 each and are identical to those at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.
Tigers fight tooth and claw
Hull City AFC survived its first season in the Premier League – by one point.
The battle for survival ran right up to the final day of the season, when despite the Tigers being beaten by Manchester United, it was rivals Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, and West Brom who faced the drop.
New homes boost
In July it was announced that more than 1,700 new homes were to be built on Orchard Park, after Hull City Council beat off other local authorities to win £156m in Government Private Finance Initiative (PFI) funding.
Building work will start in 2014 on the energy-efficient homes, with the first ready to move into by 2016.
Top class
Year 11 pupils smashed all previous records with their GCSE results in August.
A total of 37 per cent of pupils achieved grades A* to C, including maths and English, compared to 27 per cent in 2008 – making Hull the fourth most improved authority in the country.
And 65 per cent of pupils achieved five GCSE passes (not necessarily including English and maths) compared to 52 per cent in 2008.
City of freedom
The two-day Freedom festival, which took place in September in and around the city centre, was Hull's biggest-ever celebration event.
It involved live music, street theatre and dance, and included the start of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race from Hull Marina.
In the same month, Hull's Wilberforce 2007 Petition was handed to the Government.
The petition called for an end to modern-day slavery, and contained more than 100,000 signatures, mostly from local people, but also from world leaders, famous actors, musicians and artists.
Not a load of rubbish
Towards the end of the year thousands of households across the city were receiving new brown and blue bins, and kitchen caddies, as part of the council's brand-new £9m recycling scheme.
A competition to help promote recycling was won by Gillian Beadle and her daughter Leah, of New Bridge Road, who became the city's official eco family.
The scheme aims to raise the city's recycling rate to 45 per cent.
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