In January 2008, a city was poised on the brink of uncertainty.

Liverpool's 12-month stint as European Capital of Culture was about to begin and there was no way we were showing the world anything but our finest face before the baton passed to the dual holders of Linz in Austria and Vilnius in Lithuania in January 2009.

And if anything was the centrepiece of that year-long celebration, it was the ECHO Arena at the Kings' Dock.

A much needed, long-anticipated addition to Liverpool's cultural offering, for the first time we had an indoor arena capable of hosting major events, concerts and broadcasts.

The company behind the ECHO Arena, the ACC Liverpool Group, said the financial year 2016-17 was a year of rapid expansion

When the arena hosted the opening ceremony of Capital of Culture year, it opened itself at the same time.

Ten years on and hundreds of gigs have been performed.

Sadly, any sense of celebration must be tempered by the blaze which engulfed the venue's car park on New Year's Eve but we can still look back at the past successes.

Time Line

Echo Arena: 10 years in the life of our waterfront venue

  1. 2008

    Liverpool's year-long reign as European Capital of Culture gets underway on January 12 with the opening ceremony in the city's brand new riverside arena. Ringo Starr, the RLPO and Pete Wylie were among the performers. In a busy opening 12 months for the 11,000 capacity venue, it welcomed Rihanna in March, Oasis in October and the first of the Australian Pink Floyd's 10 appearances so far in July. Away from the music, the World Firefighter Games came to the arena in 2008 along with the MTV Europe Music Awards in November. In December, it was the setting for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year award in the cheerful aftermath of Team GB's success at the Beijing Olympics. Chris Hoy took the top trophy.

  2. 2009

    The Arena was already cementing its status as a sporting venue as it hosted GB versus Poland in the Davis Cup. Despite a strong showing from Andy Murray, Poland took the spoils in a close 3-2 finish. Liverpool also found itself hosting the European Mixed Team Badminton Championships while musically the arena staged concerts from Lady Gaga in February, Beyonce in June and Bob Dylan in May. Things got even more iconic with Leonard Cohen's July gig and Morrissey's appearance in November.

  3. 2010

    The MOBO Awards came to Liverpool for the first time in another strong year for music at the ECHO Arena. Kiss were their usual understated selves in May while Leona Lewis brought an altogether different vibe later the same month. Rod Stewart was another big hitter, making his Arena debut in July and The Modfather himself. Paul Weller, appeared in November.

  4. 2011

    Liverpool has always seemed a natural home for the Labour Party Conference and this was the first year it came to the Arena. Things were a little different when 38 nations arrived in the city to compete in the GB Judo World Cup tournament. Paul McCartney made a hometown appearance in December while a young band, fresh from The X Factor and calling themselves One Direction, played in March, three days prior to a young Canadian singer called Justin Bieber. For fans of another vintage, The Monkees and Dolly Parton appeared in May and August respectively.

  5. 2012

    They must love Liverpool in the MOBO office as the awards were back here again in 2012. In what was an eclectic line-up of live shows, Snow Patrol in January and Cheryl Cole in October contrasted against Drake in March, Alanis Morrissette in November, Guns n Roses in May, George Michael in October and Steps in April.

  6. 2013

    Beliebers gathered in the city once more as Justin Bieber made another Arena appearance. Also appearing on the schedule thois year, the venue's fifth birthday, were Primal Scream and The Who in June, Arctic Monkeys in October and Bruno Mars in November.

  7. 2014

    Our very own Rebecca Ferguson performed a major gig at the Arena in March in another year of major concerts. Fans could also catch a glimpse of Elbow in April, Dolly Parton in June and both The Eagles and Sam Smith in July. The venue also had the honour of hosting the first night of Kylie's UK tour.

  8. 2015

    Paul McCartney made another hometown return in May. He was in good company throughout the year as the Arena schedule was jam-packed. The Kaiser Chiefs appeared in January, then Queen and Adam Lambert in February, Lionel Richie in March, Nicki Minaj in April and Mumford & Sons in December.

  9. 2016

    For the second time, the arena and convention centre became the home of the Labour Party Conference. Just to make sure there was variety to the schedule, Barry Manilow appeared in June. Electric Light Orchestra brought the blue skies in April - which was handy as Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds needed them later that same month. Also on the programme were The Corrs in January, Wet Wet Wet in February and Simply Red in November.

  10. 2017

    A poignant year for everyone at the arena. Take That's second of two nights in Liverpool was postponed following the horrific terror attacks in Manchester. Seven months later, as the International Horse Show was underway on New Year's Eve, fire ripped through the car park opposite the venue. Thankfully, nobody was injured although almost all of the 1,305 vehicles in the building were destroyed.

  11. 2018

    It was a tough start to the tenth anniversary year for the arena team. However, they vowed that the show would go on and the events calendar would not be disrupted. A celebration of The Beatles' Sgt Pepper album will mark the first decade of the arena's place in city life on January 13.

The team has assured the public that the shows will go on into 2018 and while this is not a time for flag-waving, there can still be a moment of reflection too.