Will the RL teams be able to take advantage of this to develop their profile amongst big business etc

Thought I would never see the words 'Hull' and 'Culture' in the same sentence.

Culture: the cultivation of bacteria, sounds right.

Hull is a hell hole, the only culture they have is an inbreeding one!

Why slag off a great rugby league city? Hull has plenty to offer, and at the heart of its culture is the famous Hull Truck Theatre Company, creators of fine modern drama like Bouncers and Up 'n' Under, to name just a couple. Not to mention Mick Ronson, David Bowie's long-term go-to man for guitar. I have no personal connection to Hull but stupid insults like this one just make Warrington fans look ignorant.

I have been to Hull many times and went to Uni there so am well placed to say whether it is a hell hole or not, one theatre company does not make it a nice place as it isn't.

I am cringing at a few of the comments on here.

Hull was a vitally important port in times gone by and has some superb architecture (see Wilberforce House) which survived the bombing of WWII.

It is Kingston Upon Hull as it was purchased by King Edward I in the late 1200s. Was a supporter of Republicanism in the Civil War. Birthplace of William Wilberforce who lead the anti-slavery movement and Phil Larkin worked as librarian at the Uni. Its has a historic old town, Museum quarter, marina and new theatre.

I appreciate some areas of Hull are not too nice on the eye currently. I can easily say the same about Warrington. However that should not make us forget the past.

Warrington is a hell hole too but I still love it, and I fully expect people from Hull to feel the same about their town.

Getting away from sporting rivalry ,the city survived one of thee worst blitzes of WW2 & as such deserves the respect of everyone & in recent years its fishing industry has been done to death by various EEC/EU directives which turned a thriving port into a backwater. Thankfully it is now recovering & i am sure its citizens are just like us ,with the same hopes & fears.

Well done Hull !

There's a blue plaque house 5 mins drive from me in which Wilberforce lived near the rising sun pub Mill Hill.

Hull is my least favourite place in England, still has someway to go for the UK though---Glasgow...what a toilet that place is.

I have lived in Hull for the past three years and completely disagree.

In the city centre you have a great array of museums, an art gallery and the home of William Wilberforce, all open to the public for free. The maritime museum in particular is superb. Moving on you have the old town, complete with a wide choice of vibrant bars (something Warrington seriously lacks) and the White Harte, where the civil war was essentially triggered.

From there you can walk over the new bridge and onto the waterfront, where you have the Deep and the marina as well as the recently redeveloped Fruit Market which hosts live music, comedy, street markets, niche cinema and much more. Every year there is the Freedom Festival, which this year was attended by over 80,000 people. Also you have the Larkin and Fish trails, for if you want to take a walk and lean more about the city and its culture.

So that is the city centre. Wander a little further afield you have the university and the recently refurbished library of Larkin fame and Newland/Princes Avenue littered with independent bars, shops and restaurants which completely blow Stockton Heath out of the water. Then there are countless other gems such as the Adelphi Club which is famous in the music industry.

All of the above is just off the top of my head. If you ask me, that is pretty incredible when you consider that 95% of houses in the city were destroyed or damaged during WW2 (something which only recently was officially recognised) and the decline of the fishing industry which the city heavily relied upon.

Once again I am utterly embarrassed by the puerile and ill informed trash which is spouted on this forum.

Oh, add to that the Truck Theatre, City Hall and Guild Hall. But what do I know eh!

I would never go as far as the inbreeding (everyone accuses everyone of that) comments but personal experience of some quarters of Hull have tarnished my opinion of the place and unfortunately that will stick longer in the memory than a few museums, a bridge and some out of work fishermen.

I'll stick to London as my preferred 2nd home

Great news for Hull. If it has half the impact that being European Capital of Culture had on Liverpool, then it will transform the city.

This really drives me mad with people who go off to London. Why constantly compare? One is a capital city and global destination, the other is a northern city which for decades was neglected and left to rot.

Of course, it is far from perfect and rough around the edges, but so what? Venture outside the centre of London and large parts of it are a dump. On our way to Twickenham last year we stopped off in Hounslow for a drink, say no more!