Event type: Festival

Christmas LIVE!

Join the team on 17 November from 4-8pm for Liverpool ONE Christmas LIVE! Expect an evening full of non-stop music, singing and dancing from hundreds of local schoolchildren and community groups as they perform across multiple stages, helping to spread the yuletide cheer as Christmas swings into action at Liverpool ONE.

You will be wowed by aerial performances who will take over Paradise Street, showcasing their skills 13ft high off the ground! Enjoy the return of the much-loved pop-up pantos, giving you a sneak peek to the festive performances from some of the best well-known venues across the region this Christmas.

The event will see three additional areas becoming a focal point for up-and-coming local talent over on Thomas Steers Way, Peter’s Lane and the Galleria by the entrance of ODEON featuring 100 youth theatre performers, three community choirs, 30 Christmas elves, and appearances by Santa too!

Visitors can also expect to see the return of much-loved Christmas reindeer light installations throughout various locations, neon trees on Paradise Street, festive angel wings and plenty of twinkling Christmas lights and decorations across Liverpool ONE.

Event

This is the perfect opportunity to get the whole family together to start getting into the Christmas spirit.

Halloween Party at Liverpool ONE

Liverpool ONE will be bringing a fancy dress competition, scary characters and all things frightful this October for Halloween!

On Sunday 29 October, Liverpool ONE will be hosting a special spooky event with Radio City from 12pm – 5pm. This will include a spooky fancy dress competition, ghoulish guests and zombie dancers.

Witches, wizards and zombies are all welcome, as are scary versions of Paw Patrollers or Peppa Pigs or anything our creative younger customers would like to add to the mix.

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For more information visit: https://www.liverpool-one.com/event/halloween-party/

Smithdown Weekender

Help raise money for the Whitechapel Centre! Free music all weekend at the Smithdown Weekender.

A free weekend of music across your favourite venues on the street, the Weekender also features DJs, art and literature.

Click here to donate to the Whitechapel Centre.

Homotopia Festival 2023

This year’s festival, themed Gods & Monsters, marks 20 years of Homotopia. From 11 November until 2 December 2023, visitors can expect a range of cutting edge entertainment – from visual arts to theatre, live music and performances, with a focus on queer history and heritage.

For 2023, Homotopia is asking visitors to consider how to “foster a sense of community and mutual care in the face of an increasingly intolerant society – and how to build a space of love and respect for those within the LGBTQ+ community  who are often most demonised within the mainstream”.

Homotopia Festival 2023 Programme Highlights

Clash of the Titans: Homotopia Opening Party
Saturday 11 November – Content, Cain’s Brewery Village

Forget everything you think you know about wrestling shows and feast your eyes on FIST CLUB – a London based queer cabaret and pro wrestling night, coming to a ring near you. Bringing a dynamite mash-up of fantastical comedy, sensational drag performers & hard-hitting live wrestling from the most exciting grapplers around – we’re here to prove that wrestling isn’t just drag for straight people, it’s drag FOR EVERYONE!

Exhibition: Bernice Mulenga
Tuesday 14 November to Sunday 17 December – Open Eye Gallery

Bernice Mulenga is a British -Congolese photographer with a distinct aptitude for archiving, documenting and interrogating the world around them. Mulenga’s work centres on their communities- Black queer global and local, Black British, London nightlife- and the experiences within them—most notably in their ongoing photo series #friendsonfilm.

Their work also explores reoccurring themes surrounding identity, sexuality, grief, darkness and family. Their work continues to influence the development of queer aesthetics and documentation of LGBTQIA community.

Young Homotopia: Aladdin Love
Tuesday 14 November – Unity Theatre 

Step into a whole new world of enchantment and laughter with Young Homotopia’s dazzling twist on the classic pantomime, Aladdin. Prepare to be spellbound as we take you on a journey through the bustling streets of Agrabah, where love knows no boundaries and the power of self-acceptance reigns supreme.

Liv Wynter: How To Catch A Pig
Tuesday 14 November – District

How To Catch A Pig, is a sell out night created by artist and activist Liv Wynter as a celebration of creatives who also organise against the state, with a focus on queer and trans performers. Their band press.release are residents, alongside resident artists Toby and Aidy Evans Jesra, and DJ’s Sad Queers Club and Basura.

Really Fabulous Family Cabaret
Saturday 18 November – St Helens Library

For this specially curated event for Wonder Arts, St Helens Libraries and Homotopia we get interactive. A group of marvellous highly skilled performers bring you a rip-roaring ride of fabulousness. Song, dance, and specialty acts share the stage to bring you a joyous fest of a show.

Ally Activation Workshop
Sunday 19 November – Granby Winter Gardens

In this workshop, we will explore how to stand up as better allies for our trans siblings, particularly in a time when trans identities and trans lives are often under attack in the public sphere. We’ll explore the basics concepts relating to gender identity, reflect on where we hold power to create change and how we can come together as a community to champion trans rights and ensure all members of our community feel safe and supported to be their true selves.

EAT ME Weekender: Cave
Friday 24 and Saturday 25 November – Williamson Tunnels

EAT ME presents CAVE: a two-day occupation of the Williamson Tunnels where participants and audiences will “create, play, rest and party” through an innovative programme of workshops, installations, discussion groups, cabaret and club nights.

Documentary Film Night: Tops
Tuesday 28 November – FACT 6.30 pm

Self-proclaimed future award winning documentary filmmaker Amy Pennington presents their landmark documentary series TOPS. On the question that defines trans masc experience in the UK today…

“What TOP did you wanna wear after TOP surgery?”

Quiz with the Queers
Thursday 30 November – Sefton Park Palm House

Join the queer pub quiz by Liverpool duo, German drag king Franz Genau and Dan Chan as they test your knowledge of myths and legends. Guests are encouraged to dress up as monsters or gods for extra points to win the prize.

View the full Homotopia Festival 2023 programme here.

Liverpool Irish Festival 2023

Liverpool Irish Festival 2023 will take place from Thursday October 19 to Sunday October 29, 2023, across the city. The festival celebrates Irish culture and heritage through a variety of events, including music, theatre, film, spoken word, visual arts and academia.

Liverpool Irish Festival celebrate its 21st Festival this year. In honour of this, the theme for this year’s Festival is ‘anniversary’.

The line-up includes an array of Irish artists and contributors including internationally acclaimed Irish folk singer and actor, Lisa Lambe, who shares her new project, NightVisiting at The Tung Auditorium.

Fun activities for families can be enjoyed at Museum of Liverpool and the Liverpool Irish Centre on the Family Day and the Samhain Céilí.

Deep dives into anniversaries are made across the Festival:

  • The London Lasses, one of the best traditional Irish bands on the scene today, kick off the Festival, following the official Festival launch (6pm, Thurs 19 Oct), themselves celebrating 25 years as a band and the release of their sixth album – LL25 – marking their milestone.
  • The Good Friday Agreement’s 25-year anniversary is marked in an event, hosted in partnership with the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Irish Studies, followed by Green & Blue, Kabosh Theatre’s (Belfast) community developed two-hander about The Troubles (both Thurs 26 Oct).
  • 100 years since his birth, Brendan Behan is celebrated in Fat Dan Productions’ Brendan: Son of Dublin (Sat 28 Oct). 90-years since the United States District Council ruled Ulysses to be publishable, we celebrate experimental writing with a half-day session with Pascal O’Loughlin, and National Poetry Librarian, Chis McCabe.
  • Referencing the release of The Yellow Wallpaper, written 130 years ago, Dublin vocalist and composer Sue Rynhart returns to the Festival with her folk and jazz influences in what promises to be a dazzling performance at Sefton Park Palm House.
  • The programme offers connection to poignant anniversaries, such as its commemoration of An Gorta Mór (The Great Hunger) with a memorial gathering (Sun 29 Oct). The Liverpool Irish Famine Trail (self-guided tour) reflects on Irish migration, settlement  and legacy.

See here for the full line-up of events for Liverpool Irish Festival 2023.

ReCharged Music Festival

St. Helens, UK – ReCharged Music Festival invites music enthusiasts to a journey through time celebrating St Helens’ music scene, past and present. Taking place on September 16th, 2023, this event promises to be a soul-stirring celebration of the Borough’s rich musical heritage.

The ReCharged Music Festival is presented in three distinct parts. The main event takes place in the evening of the 16th of September at The Citadel in St Helens, transporting music lovers back to the late 80s and early 90s, a pivotal era that birthed iconic bands and artists who emerged from the heart of St. Helens.

The evening lineup includes renowned acts such as Poisoned Electrick Head, Android 80, The Bordellos, Dan Wilson & The Counterfactuals, and TUT. These legends, hailing from the very fabric of St. Helens, are set to grace the stage once again, igniting nostalgia and rekindling the fervour of yesteryears.

The historic Citadel Theatre, known for its cultural significance and pivotal role in the artistic landscape, serves as the perfect backdrop for this unforgettable voyage into the past. 

Brian Carney, of Android 80 and also a founding member of Poisoned Eletrickhead, who now resides in Belgium is returning to his home town for the gig. He said: “I am excited to take the stage at the ReCharged festival, where we will celebrate and validate the creative eruption that defined St. Helens during the 80s and 90s. The Citadel has hosted many of my memorable performances, making ReCharged an immensely nostalgic gig for me.

Liverpool Biennial 2023 – Last c...

Liverpool Biennial is the UK’s largest festival of contemporary visual art. The 12th edition is still open until 17 September 2023, giving viewers a last chance to see the excellent exhibitions.

There are a host of exhibitions still running, including ones at FACT, Tate Liverpool, Bluecoat and Tobacco Warehouse. Below are some of the festival highlights still open to view.

At FACT

Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński’s ‘Respire (Liverpool)’ (2023) references the precarity of Black breathing and proposes breath as a means of individual and collective liberation.

Discover LuYang’s vast digital universe in their retro-futuristic arcade installation. Combining their own understanding of Buddhist teachings with aspects of neuroscience and digital technology, LuYang’s exhibition makes you question: how is a physical life different to a digital existence?

Join FACT for an evening of music and conversation centred around Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski’s Liverpool Biennial commission.

This event is inspired by the soundscape that Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski and Bassano Bonelli Bassano created in collaboration with participants from Liverpool who all work with their breath. The group includes actors, singers, teachers, activists, and therapists, amongst others.

At Tobacco Warehouse

In Unit 1, visual artist and poet Julien Creuzet presents a series of suspended abstract forms and intricate sculptures, grouped together to create a complex installation which threads together a range of source imagery including historical African sculptures, abstracted landscapes and compositions inspired by engravings and paintings.

Melanie Manchot’s new film project, ‘STEPHEN’ (2023), blurs the lines between fact and fiction to examine addiction and recovery. Commissioned by Liverpool Biennial, the film was created with a mixed cast of professional actors and local people from the recovery community.

Rahmi Hamzi’s painting, ‘Parasite’ (2021), emerges from her examination, deconstruction, and reconstruction of botanical shapes, creating associations with the human body, femininity, and sexuality.

Tate Liverpool

In the Wolfson Gallery, Torkwase Dyson’s abstract work ‘Liquid a Place’ (2021) is composed of three striking structural objects, which appear as both static and fluid simultaneously. The curved constructions are excavated by triangular voids within their centres, signifying a gateway, a shelter, or the sailing route upon which 2.4 million enslaved Africans lost their lives.

Fátima Rodrigo Gonzales presents several works from her ‘Holograms’ series (2020-2022), alongside a newly commissioned textile work, ‘Contradanza’ (2023). Both explore how fashion photography often copies and extracts from aesthetics and traditional dress of indigenous people and cultures for commercial purposes.

Guadalupe Maravilla’s ‘Disease Thrower’ series (2019) are autobiographical constructions which are at once sculptures, shrines, wearable headdresses, and healing instruments, reflecting on the artist’s own experiences as an undocumented migrant and cancer survivor.

Bluecoat

Kent Chan’s ‘Hot House’ (2020 – ongoing) is an installation and project space which questions the relationship between climates and cultures, and the influence of heat and humidity on our bodies and minds.

Benoît Piéron’s work deals with the uncertainty of life, death and immunity. His practice reappropriates and transfigures the medical environments and materials that surround him – hospital sheets and gowns, IV drips and waiting room furniture – to create something new, joyful, and full of life.

Raisa Kabir’s work, titled ‘Utterances: Our vessels for the stories, unspoken. Subaqueous violence. Sea. Ocean…’ (2016-present) encompasses woven text, textiles, sound, video, and performance to convey and visualise concepts concerning the cultural politics of cloth, its associated labour and networks of extraction.

Strawberry Field Fest 2023

Join them for an unforgettable two days of Beatles magic at the Come Together Strawberry Field Fest, organised by Beatles Liverpool and More and Beatles International.

On the 24th and 25th of August, between 10am and 5pm, we’re bringing you the ultimate celebration of the Fab Four’s iconic ‘Come Together’ spirit. Immerse yourself in a captivating world of music, poetry, stalls, and more, all set against the backdrop of the legendary Strawberry Field.

Get ready to groove to the timeless tunes of the 50’s & 60’s, played by the likes of the Fab Twins, Jade, Rob Jones & Rob White, and the fabulous Grace Allwood,

Choir Leader & Organiser with Wall of Sound – Community Choir. Also, the very talented Joseph Roberts, Spoken Word Artist.

Indulge your senses in a bustling marketplace, featuring stalls adorned with exclusive Beatles CD’s, books, memorabilia, arts, crafts, and handmade jewellery and not forgetting Strawberry Fields own gift shop. Plus, the opportunity to meet Len Garry and Colin Hanton of the Quarrymen.

And that’s not all! Explore the beautiful grounds of Strawberry Field, immerse yourself in the rich history of this iconic place, and take in the vibrant atmosphere that inspired one of the greatest songs of all time.

Don’t miss out on this spectacular two days of nostalgia, music, and Beatlemania! And the good thing is, it’s free! See you at the Come Together at Strawberry Field Fest!’

 

BlackFest 2023

BlackFest’s award-winning festival programme spans iconic venues across Liverpool that will showcase music, spoken word and poetry, theatre, introducing a fashion segment and celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop. In addition, they have a special classical music concert headlined by the phenomenal queen YolanDa Brown OBE DL.

Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, support Black artists and performers, and celebrate the beauty of Black culture.

BlackFest are continuing to celebrate, cultivate and nurture black artists and communities this year through the claiming of historic buildings and spaces for art, trade and culture.

BlackFest 2023 Programme

In the Park

Liverpool has long been home and host to a series of exciting and diverse music events over the years, and 2024 is set to be another chapter in this cultural journey as ‘In the Park presents’ returns to Liverpool’s stunning Sefton Park from Thursday 11 – Saturday 13 July 2024. 

With a 40,000 capacity each day, In the Park will be bringing together some of the best live music from various genres for what promises to be a firm fixture in the festival calendar.

On Thursday 11 July multi platinum-selling, BRIT Award-winning, arena-filling giants Catfish and the Bottlemen will open the festival.

First headliner to be announced is Jamie Webster – undoubtedly one of the UK’s most successful independent artists and one of Liverpool’s biggest musical success stories in recent years.  His headline appearance at In the Park presents on Friday 12th July 2024 will be his biggest show to date and comes fresh off the back of two sell out 12,000 capacity shows at On the Waterfront last month and coincides with the announcement of his third album ’10 For The People’ slated for release early 2024.  Fans can expect the usual proud and emotional performance that one of the cities most loved sons has become widely lauded for, an electric atmosphere under the mid-summer sky.

Following its Sefton Park debut in 2019, Saturday’s headliner has been revealed as Cream Classical and the 50-piece Kaleidoscope Orchestra. The show that started it all attracted over 35,000 people who witnessed one of the city’s most spinetingling and iconic performances. With a set list curated by dance music duo K-Klass delivering a soundtrack for the dance music generation like you’ve never heard it before, joined by an array of vocalists and performers and fresh off the back of another two sell out shows at Liverpool Cathedral, In the Park presents Cream Classical offers a unique outdoor experience with the city’s Sefton Park as its setting – a show not to be missed!

With a 30-year history of staging award-winning festivals and events in Liverpool and around the world, Cream and Live Nation are excited to build on its reputation as a global leader and establish a world class event and where better to do this than their home city of Liverpool.

Thursday 11 July
Catfish and the Bottlemen
Age: 14+ (Under 18’s must be  accompanied by an adult over 18 at all times).

Friday 12 July
Jamie Webster
+ more acts TBA
Age: 14+ (Under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult over 18 at all times)

Saturday 13 July
Cream Classical & Kaleidoscope Orchestra
+ more acts TBA
Age: 18 and over (Challenge 21 in operation / valid Photo ID required)