Liverpool Loves 2017 Festival Hailed A Phenomenal Success

This weekend saw the welcome return of award-winning festival Liverpool Loves, which organisers Orb CIC are hailing as an overwhelming success with thousands of people in attendance across its 2 new locations.

The free two-day event returned for its 3rd year and Liverpool city centre was awash with festivalgoers, all taking advantage of the jam-packed programme of free entertainment.

Top quality music, family fun activities, wellbeing workshops and a delicious array of food and drink form the city's best local independent establishments were all part of the line-up to deliver a fantastic celebration of everything that is great about Liverpool.

New for 2017, Liverpool Loves took place across two locations, Derby Square and Liverpool ONE.

Audiences at Derby Square, which housed the main stage, enjoyed a huge selection of the finest musical talent from established and up-and-coming local artists. Highlights across the weekend included spectacular performances from Milo Tain, Stillia, Sub Blue, Red Rum Club, as well as Liverpool legend Edgar Jones and a headline performance from singer-songwriter Robert Vincent, plus many more.

The Sunday evening also saw an unexpected and surprise performance from Liverpool band Cabuzedos, when Liverpool Loves organisers stood in and offered them a set on the main stage after their slot at Hope and Glory festival was cancelled.

Whilst in Liverpool ONE, thousands of families relished in the wealth of activities and performances on offer. Yoga, Tai-Chi, Bushido Karate, Samba Dancing and Cheerleading were all part of the well-being programme getting people up and active to get their adrenaline pumping. And there was plenty on offer to keep the kids entertained with demonstrations from Bring the Fire Project showing off their finest Circus Skills and Liverpool company Stay Beautiful illustrated the beautiful art of Hoop Dancing.

The steps at Thomas Steers Way were full to the brim; reminiscent of an open-air theatre, spectators soaked up performances from the very best local and international music, dance and community groups. Highlights included Liverpool's Liv Pritchard, sensational ukulele band D'Ukes of Hazzard, Viva Brasil Samba and The Anahis, and a special performance from Liverpool Loves Superstars - a huge Lottery-funded initiative bringing children and young people together from across North Liverpool for a masterclass in dance and performance.

As well as the weekend's festivities, Liverpool Loves Business, which took place on Thursday 13 July also saw a fantastic turn out with in-excess of 400 delegates attending. The event at Liverpool's Hilton Hotel offered a programme of free seminars and keynote speeches aimed at assisting and supporting delegates to rediscover their cutting-edge skills, and empower them in all areas of generating business.

Festival Director Josh Boyd said: "Liverpool Loves has firmly established itself as a key festival in the city's annual events calendar - and this year the crowds again turned out to support the event. Liverpool Loves is the people's festival, giving new talent and independents a much-needed platform and opportunity to showcase what they're all about. This year we moved to two new sites at Derby Square and Liverpool ONE which proved popular with festivalgoers, so we'd like to thank everyone for their continued support. We're already planning for next year so we look forward to coming back bigger and better for a fourth consecutive year."

Another triumphant year for The People's Festival which aims to showcase the best of life in the region across four core themes of business, culture, food and well-being. All that is left to do now is look ahead to 2018's festival.

Website: www.liverpoolloves.co.uk

Facebook: Facebook/Liverpool Loves

Twitter: @LiverpoolLoves

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