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Author Archives: ihughes

23 Jan 2026

Calling experienced festive and destination operators

Liverpool City Council is exploring two major festive opportunities at two of the city’s most iconic locations – Pier Head and St George’s Plateau. Liverpool is one of the UK’s leading winter destinations and Liverpool City Council are inviting ambitious, creative operators with proven delivery capability to join our supplier engagement session on Monday 09 February at midday, to learn more about the scale, vision and commercial model behind these opportunities. If you deliver large‑scale Christmas destinations, winter attractions or seasonal experiences, […]

23 Jan 2026

New strategy to attract, develop and grow more major cultural, sports and business events in Liverpool City Region

Liverpool City Region is on a mission to attract more major events under a new strategy agreed at today’s Combined Authority meeting. The City Region enjoys a global reputation for delivering high-quality, high-profile cultural, sporting and business events such as Eurovision, the Open Championship and the Labour Party Conference. The sector generates an estimated £900m a year for the City Region, creating jobs, raising the area’s profile and fostering civic pride and wellbeing. But the global market for attracting major events is becoming increasingly competitive leading to today’s approval of a more unified, proactive approach. Aligning major cultural, sporting and business events and recognising their role in tourism and investment, […]

22 Jan 2026
Panache Travel names Liverpool among the world’s top ten destinations for 2026

LIVERPOOL NAMED AMONG WORLD’S TOP TEN DESTINATIONS FOR 2026 BY PANACHE TRAVEL

Liverpool’s status as a leading global destination has received a major boost after Panache Travel placed the city in its newly announced top ten world destinations to visit in 2026. The recognition follows a recent luxury‑focused educational visit organised by the Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership, in partnership with VisitBritain. The trip brought high‑end Indian tour operators to the region to experience its premium cultural, hospitality and experiential offer, including Municipal Hotel, The Art School Restaurant, the Liverpool FC Stadium […]

22 Jan 2026
Southport Jazz Festival

Music lovers coming from all four corners of the UK to enjoy 2026 Southport Jazz Festival

Music lovers are making their way to Southport from all four corners of the UK to savour this year’s Southport Jazz Festival.  They are looking forward to enjoying 10 superb shows across three days and nights at The Grand, on Lord Street, to see headliners including Clare Teal, Liane Carroll, Emma Holcroft, Claire Martin and others with female stars at the forefront and shows to suit all tastes. Southport Jazz Festival takes place from 30th January – 1st February 2026 […]

21 Jan 2026

Culture 26: Made in Halton Launches

Winter DeLight at Victoria Park in Widnes saw the official public launch of Culture 26: Made In Halton – made possible by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham. It is part of the Mayor’s 2% for Culture initiative, which is ringfenced funding from the Combined Authority’s budget that goes directly to support cultural initiatives across the city region. With lanterns, puppetry, choirs, bands and young soloists, the community was treated to a free event thanks […]

21 Jan 2026

New report from VisitBritain/VisitEngland shows tourism worth £147 billion to UK economy – Including LCRDP Response

Tourism’s importance to the British economy is highlighted in major new research from national tourism agency VisitBritain/VisitEngland, demonstrating the industry’s significant economic contribution to local communities nationwide and its potential for growth. The report ‘Economic Value of Tourism in the United Kingdom‘ shows tourism is worth £147 billion annually to the UK, about 5 percent of the national economy, when including both direct and supply chain impacts. Tourism is larger than the insurance and pensions sectors put together and employs […]

21 Jan 2026

Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership Announces 2026 Visitor Economy Summit

Liverpool City Region Destination Partnership (LCRDP) will host its 2026 Visitor Economy Summit on Thursday 19 March 2026 at Liverpool Town Hall (map) The invitation‑only event will bring together members and key stakeholders from across the region’s visitor economy to hear updates on LCR DP’s work to date, alongside insights into future plans, priorities and opportunities for collaboration. The morning will include refreshments from 9.30am, followed by a programme of guest speakers and a panel discussion running from 10.00am to […]

21 Jan 2026
Strawberry Field VL

Strawberry Field Liverpool achieves Gold Standard for Sustainable Tourism

The Salvation Army’s Strawberry Field Liverpool centre has been awarded Gold Green Tourism certification, placing it among a small number of leading sustainable visitor attractions in the Liverpool City Region. The internationally recognised accreditation confirms that Strawberry Field has exceeded rigorous sustainability standards. Green Tourism assesses organisation against robust criteria aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including energy use, waste management, biodiversity, health and wellbeing and inclusion. Achieving Gold status demonstrates that Strawberry Field is performing at the […]

20 Jan 2026

Royal Liver Building 360 Launches New Interactive Exhibition Bringing Liverpool’s Icon to Life

Liverpool’s most recognisable landmark has unveiled a new state-of-the-art interactive exhibition at the Royal Liver Building 360 Tour, using cutting-edge digital technology to bring the building’s extraordinary history and cultural significance vividly to life. Delivered by Conductr, a Manchester-based creative studio specialising in immersive experiences, the new exhibition features a striking projection-mapped clock face and a large-scale video wall, combining heritage storytelling with the latest visual technology. At the heart of the exhibition are five bespoke short films, each exploring […]

19 Jan 2026
Lightport - Credit_ Lucid Creates

Chase the Rainbow: Southport Lights Up February Half Term with Free Immersive Art Event

Southport is set to glow this February half term as Lightport, a brand-new free immersive light art experience, takes over the town’s iconic Lord Street for three magical evenings to mark the start of Southport 2026, a year-long cultural calendar of events in the town. Running from 14–16 February, Lightport will invite families, friends and visitors of all ages to step into a vibrant world of colour, sound and movement. Stretching across a 400-metre route in the heart of the […]