Liverpool Chinese New Year celebrations revealed
Year of the Dog will be welcomed in among Europe’s oldest Chinese community with traditional celebrations and spectacular illuminations.
Liverpool’s Chinese New Year celebrations take place next month and also herald the start of China Dream, a nine-month programme showcasing the best in contemporary Chinese culture.
Thousands of Chinese lanterns are set to appear in the streets surrounding Chinatown from February 8, in a line stretching from Great George Square and Berry Street to the historic museum quarter of William Brown Street – where the China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition opens on February 9.
Liverpool ONE and Exchange Flags will also be decorated, while eight huge lanterns will appear in Bold Street courtesy of Kazimier Productions, along with a red laser shone from the tower Bombed Out Church, accompanied by a newly-commissioned soundscape created in collaboration with Pagoda Arts.
The Liverpool Hung Gar Kung Fu Friendship Association will perform a traditional Lion Dance on February 10.
And the main Chinese New Year celebrations kick off on Friday, February 16 with a special 12-minute lumiere display in Chinatown over three nights.
The city council commission, led by Illuminos and with music by Jah Wobble, is called Jingwei’s Legacy and will be shown four times between 7.30-8.30pm on Friday and Saturday, February 16-17, and once at 6.30pm on Sunday, February 18.
There will also be evening entertainment on Friday and Saturday while on Sunday New Year festivities will kick off at 11.30am in Great George Square.
The event is being organised by Liverpool City Council and is supported by the University of Liverpool, Liverpool BID Company, Liverpool ONE, Stagecoach, Pagoda Arts, First Take, Arts Council England and the COoL Collective.