WHEN it was announced that Hull would be the UK City of Culture in 2017, the decision raised a few eyebrows.

Kingston Upon Hull, to give it its full title, is not as well associated with arts and culture as many other UK cities, and for many the title seemed like a major gamble.

However, as anyone who has lived in Hull will tell you, the city has an incredibly strong sense of identity, and scratch the surface and you will find just as strong a cultural scene as any other city could boast.

The pessimism meant that as soon as 2016 came to a close, all eyes were on the port city to see how it would cope with the pressure of being the jewel of the UK’s cultural crown for 12 months.

Judging by the first week of the year, Hull will not disappoint.

On January 1 Hull kicked off with a dazzling fireworks display over the River Humber. The spectacular show lit up the city and the Humber Bridge - itself an iconic landmark that would be hailed as a national treasure if it were anywhere near the country’s capital.

As well as amazing locals, the event put the city in the spotlight in the national news.

However arguably more impressive was what followed. Made In Hull was a ambitious sounding, week long public art installation that saw some of the city’s most prominent buildings become the canvas for soundscapes, and animations.

While Hull is not the first place most people would think of when it comes to grand architecture, its City Hall and Maritime Museum, both of which face onto Queen Victoria Square, are just as impressive as you would find in any European capital.

These buildings formed the backdrop to the first part of Made In Hull. At regular intervals throughout the evening of January 1 to 7, the square filled up with spectators to see the striking shows projected onto the buildings. In a few minutes the light and sound spectaculars took in Hull’s maritime history, David Bowie’s links to the city and football club Hull City’s recent successes. For me the most memorable part was when newspaper front pages from the outbreak of the Second World War were projected onto the buildings, accompanied by the infamous radio address of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announcing that the country was at war with Germany.

The impact of the Blitz on the city was then highlighted with flames projected from the buildings, as plumed of smoke poured out of their roofs.

Elsewhere on the trail, less grand buildings became canvases for moving artwork. And the trail ended at Hull’s most striking modern landmark - The Deep aquarium. Jutting out into the Humber, which countless ships have passed through as they head to and from the North Sea, it was fitting that a visual history of how immigration and international trade had made Hull the city it is today was projected on its side.

A sound installation transformed Zebedee’s Yard, a city centre car park into an “invisible” football stadium.” Chants, cheers and jeers played over a series of speakers meant that if you closed your eyes in the centre of the yard it sounded just like being at the KC Stadium for a Hull home game.

And empty shop units on Whitefriargate, the main pedestrian shopping street, became temporary art exhibitions and urban cinemas.

The cultural events continued apace this week, with a gigantic, 75 metre long wind turbine blade installed in Queen Victoria Square. It is the first piece in the Look Up programme of temporary art in public spaces.

The 25 tonne piece is the largest single-cast product in the world.

The city’s Ferens Art Gallery re-opened on Friday following a 15 month, £5 million refurbishment.

The re-opening saw the unveiling of a 14th Century painting by Pietro Lorenzetti. Later in the year the gallery will host the Turner Prize.

And The University of Hull’s Brynmore Jones Library welcomed touring exhibition Lines of Thought, featuring drawings by Michelangelo, Rembrandt and other masters.