Culture chiefs plan to spend £50m on Capital of Culture celebrations over the next two years.
More than £26m is being earmarked for major events in 2008.
And the budget for Liverpool’s 800th birthday stands at over £22m.
That's what I was told by Jason Harborow and his team shortly before Christmas, and I presume that is still their plan today.
I assumed - given the culture co's attitude of assurance - that cash was ring fenced by now, particularly since 61% was coming from the council itself.
In fact, Jason Harborow told me: "We are able now, and have been for some time, to plan for 2007 and 2008 knowing we had money available to us."
But today, if reports are correct, not all that money is the 'shoe-in' I (naively) believed.
It appears there is a big hole in the city council's overall budget, and Liverpool is facing either making swingeing cuts to other council services or going cap in hand to Gordon 'prudent' Brown and ask for a loan to help pay for culture year.
We may learn the full facts and the full budget later today, so maybe all this speculation is jumping the gun.
I hope so.
Because going to the Chancellor and asking for a bit of help could be the best solution.....or it could be a fiscal fantasy - and as a cynical old hack I fear the latter.
When money is being stripped away from the arts to pay for the burgeoning costs of the London Olympics (heading for being Tony and Gordon's new Dome), when Liverpool loses out on cash for a new tram system, and when Merseyside's appeal for more officers to police 2008 is dismissed, borrowing the odd £20m from central government isn't as easy as it sounds.
