Liverpool Football Club have today announced they will hold a victory parade, regardless of how the season finishes.
The Reds are still chasing Champions League and Premier League glory, but having already secured the Carabao Cup and following Saturday's FA Cup victory, the club and council have decided to go ahead with a parade through the city no matter what.
The club has accepted Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson's offer to hold the parade on Sunday May 29, the day after LFC take on Real Madrid in the Champions League. This is the only time all players are available due to the majority of them traveling on international duty to represent their respective countries immediately after this date.
READ MORE: Liverpool will hold victory parade regardless of Champions League and Premier League fortunes
The parade will also include include Liverpool FC Women, who clinched the FA Women's Championship trophy last month. As the event falls on the day of the anniversary of the Heysel Stadium Disaster, the morning will see special tributes paid to 39 supporters who lost their lives on that day. The full cost of the parade is being met by Liverpool Football Club.
Parade route, times and road closures
The 13.5km victory route, the same as the 2019 parade, will start at Allerton Maze in the south of the city. It will then travel north bound on Queens Drive towards the Fiveways roundabout (in Childwall) and on to the Rocket flyover. From there it will journey along: Queens Drive, Mill Bank, West Derby Road, Islington, Leeds Street and The Strand.
The parade is planned to start at 4pm and it is expected to last for a number of hours. The city council says it cannot predict the end time of the event and requests the public and businesses take this into account.
In terms of road closures, The Strand will be closed northbound on May 29 from Leeds Street/Old Hall Street junction to Blundell Street from 7am until it is safe to reopen. The southbound lane will be closed from around 1pm, subject to crowd safety requirements.
The closures for Allerton Maze, Queen’s Drive, Millbank, West Derby Road (outward bound), Erskine Street, Islington, Hunter Street and Leeds Street will not be put in place until the parade approaches unless the size of the crowd at any point causes a safety concern. West Derby Road city bound will also be closed from Sheil Road at 4pm until the conclusion of the parade in this area.
A statement from the city council said: "As a consequence of the event and in the interests of public safety, there will be a number of roads closed (as stated above) to allow the route to proceed. The route itself and roads directly off the main route will be closed for the minimum length of time to allow safe passage of the bus and spectators.
"These rolling closures have been designed to allow the minimum length of road closures that is possible. General pedestrian access will be maintained at all times. Traffic orders are in place to support these measures. We strongly advise anyone wishing to view the parade to do so close to your home and walk rather than drive as there are a number of road closures throughout the day and we expect extremely large crowd numbers.
"All closures will be signed and staffed. Where at all possible access will be maintained for residents/businesses. Please remember, the Rocket will not be a pedestrianised route – you will not be able to follow the bus as it goes over the flyover."
