It was all a bit tame really - no grubby beds or liver birds pickled in pink gin.
The Tate Liverpool announced the shortlist for the 'controversial' (I bet someone wished they had trademarked that word) contemporary Turner Prize today.
The artists are, as someone pointed out, quite a political lot. But this needn't be a bad thing.
I would be particularly keen to see Mark Wallinger's current Tate Britain exhibition State Britain which has a go at the curtailment of our freedom to peaceful protest outside Parliament.
This is a woeful infringement of our rights and one we've somehow allowed the government to get away with.
Wallinger has recreated the banners etc set up by peaceful protester Brian Haw in Parliament Square.
The other three shortlisted are a photographer who fled Idi Amin's murderous regime in Uganda, a man who covers models of churches and mosques in World War II relective paint, and a bloke who builds giant chicken coops.
The Turner Prize exhibition opens in October and will be free so I hope whether it's their 'thing' or not, everyone at least goes and has a look.
There will also be a comment wall set up where you can have your say on the artists and their work. I can see that being well-used.
Christoph Grunenberg, the head of Tate Liverpool and the chairman of this year's judges, reckons this is a fabulous lead in to 2008.
He told me today: "It's one of the biggest things happening in the contemporary art and we're quietly confident it will bring in a lot of additional press coverage and visitors.
"People will travel to see this - it will attract national and international visitors."
Incidently, the lazy London-centric arts correspondents failed to make in up the West Coast mainline for the launch - being pandered to with a live link up with the capital - so I hope they encourage their readers to do the trip they didn't.
Anyway, Christoph added: "In terms of the profile of the Tate and the whole city, people will go to other galleries and places and it's a showcase for the strength of the visual arts in Liverpool.
"It's a wonderful sign of things to come in Capital of Culture."
