The Opening Weekend
11th – 13th January
St George’s Plateau & Liverpool
Echo Arena
The city will become a stage with an amazing weekend of events celebrating
Liverpool’s status as European Capital of Culture.The weekend will start
on Friday 11th January with a free open air spectacular on St George’s
Hall Plateau. On Saturday Ringo Starr, Dave Stewart, Vasily Petrenko and a host
of stars will come together for a one off performance of ‘Liverpool -
The Musical’. The celebrations will continue throughout the city on Sunday.
Akram Khan – Bahok
7th & 8th March
Liverpool Playhouse
Bahok is the long awaited new group choreography by Akram Khan that will open
the Leap Festival ’08 in spectacular style. In collaboration with China’s
classical ballet flagship company, The National Ballet of China, with music
composed by Nitin Sawney, Khan brings together a company of nine dancers from
different cultures, traditions and dance backgrounds to represent a present
day version of the tale of Babel.
Dreamthinkspeak – One Step Forward One Step Back
7th April – 10th May
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral
ONE STEP FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK will weave a magical journey for intimately
sized groups through areas of the cathedral previously unseen by the public.
Throughout, the company’s visual language of film, music, installation,
models and live performance will interlink and echo to create a vivid and rich
voyage through this remarkable building.
Liverpool Streets Ahead Weekend
24th - 26th May
St George’s Hall
A weekend of fantastic street theatre, music, dance and puppetry featuring
leading artists from all over the world, the UK and Liverpool itself.
Klimt Exhibition
30th May – 31st August
Tate Liverpool
To celebrate 2008 as European Capital of Culture Tate Liverpool present the
first comprehensive exhibition of Gustav Klimt’s work ever staged in the
UK. The exhibition has been described as ‘bringing the bling to Liverpool’s
big year’ and will include over 100 decorative, ornamental works.
Liverpool Sound
1st June
LFC, Anfield
A unique once in a lifetime festival to celebrate Liverpool’s global
status as the World Capital of Pop, featuring Sir Paul McCartney. A spectacular
show at Liverpool Football Club’s ground, Anfield with world famous contemporary
stars who have been inspired by the Liverpool music scene.
Go Superlambananas
June – August
Various venues across Liverpool
Follow a dedicated trail around the city to find up to 100 superlambananas,
one of Liverpool’s most iconic and best loved pieces of public art, that
have been painted, decorated and adorned by local and regional artists, community
groups and celebrities.
The Beat Goes On
12th July – 1st November
World Museum
Liverpool’s unique place in popular culture is the inspiration behind
this exhibition. It will showcase Merseyside’s vibrant music scenes, bands
and fans that over the past 60 years have played a major part in the city’s
life. From the Cavern to Creamfields, from Billy Fury to the Zutons, the exhibition
will pay tribute to our very own ‘Capital of Pop’.
The Tall Ships’ Races
18th – 21st July
Liverpool Docks
The arrival of the Tall Ships fleet will trigger a four-day free maritime jubilee
celebrating the port’s 800 -year history on a spectacular World Heritage waterfront.
The start of the Tall hips’ Races is expected to attract a million spectators
to the banks of the River Mersey.
Carnival Weekend
1st & 2nd August
Various Venues
Highlights of the Carnival Weekend include; the Emperor and the Tiger –
a beautiful firework folk story, the Brouhaha Carnival Procession – the
region’s largest multicultural parade and the Samba School bringing a
Rio style carnival parade to the streets of Liverpool on the Saturday night.
Imagine
1st – 10th August
St George’s Hall
An imaginary city will mysteriously appear at the beginning of August transforming
the area around St George’s Hall into a fantastical fairytale world at
the start of a ten day family festival.
Sir Simon Rattle – Berliner Philharmoniker
4th September
Philharmonic Hall
Sir Simon Rattle will return to his Liverpool home to conduct the Berliner
Philharmonikerat the Philharmonic Hall where he began his stellar music career.
His worldwide reputation for compelling and memorable orchestral concerts will
make this an eagerly anticipated event for 2008.
Outdoor Spectacular
26th – 28th September
All over Liverpool
This two day event will be huge in scale and utterly unlike anything seen in
Liverpool before: an unforgettable piece of live theatre, played out against
the landmarks of a great city. The company that brought the spectacular Sultan’s
Elephant event to London is planning a magical new show, created especially
for Liverpool 2008.
Eric’s -The Musical
October
Everyman Playhouse
Mark Davies-Markham, Liverpool -born author of the hit musical Taboo, turns
his attention to the notorious 70’s Liverpool punk club, which sparked
a cultural revolution and inspired a generation.
Le Corbusier
2nd October – 18th January
The Crypt, Metropolitan Cathedral
The life and work of the most famous and influential architect of the 20th
century, Le Corbusier, will feature in a major, new international exhibition
premiering in Liverpool.
MTV Europe Music Awards
6th November
Liverpool Echo Arena
Liverpool will be the host city for the 15th annual MTV Europe Music Awards
in 2008 at the Liverpool Echo Arena. This will be the third time that the UK
has hosted the Awards.
Public Art
Throughout 2008
Various Venues
A year long programme of public art will surprise and inspire throughout the
city centre and surrounding neighbourhoods.
