Liverpool City Council have confirmed the return of its annual Chinese New Year celebrations with an in-person spectacle.
After last year's virtual affair, this year will be marking the Year of the Tiger with a bang.
The in-person spectacular will celebrate Europe’s oldest Chinese community by bringing together traditional celebrations such as the dragon and unicorn parades and combining them with new, free commissions such as 3D projections, fire performances, new artwork, dance and live music.
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The ambition is for the contemporary element to excite, inspire and delight the thousands expected to head in to the city centre.
Culture Liverpool has commissioned all the new pieces of work to complement the free traditional Chinese New Year celebrations which includes dragon, unicorn and Lucky Man parades, firecracker displays, family workshops, Tai Chi demonstrations, a small fairground and food stalls.
From Friday, February 4 until Sunday, February 6, a 3D animated Water Tiger will prowl around the tower inside St Luke’s Church, commonly referred to as the Bombed Out Church. Taking place from 6pm until 9pm each night, the projections will transform the tower into a Chinese pagoda, complete with lanterns designed by local schools and community groups.
The show, which lasts for 10 minutes and will run on a loop each evening, is free but there is an ask for donations for the venue. The work has been created by Focal Studios, Scenegraph Studios in collaboration with the Bombed Out Church.
Work is also underway on a new mural, which will take pride of place in Great George Square playground courtesy of Zap Graffiti which is bringing together an award-winning Beijing artist, Tang Shou, and local young people who will create a piece of art which aims to symbolise what the Year of the Tiger means to them.
Events taking place on Sunday, February 6
- Pagoda Arts will shine a spotlight on Tian – an up-and-coming young band made up of east/southeast Asian artists who perform a blend of original east-meets-west tracks. They will take to the stage in Great George Square at 2.20pm and 3.50pm, and will play a ticketed event at the Liverpool Philharmonic’s Music Room that evening.
- From 5.15pm, Bring The Fire Project will showcase their skills at the Chinese Arch with a specially created Chinese New Year performance which will incorporate traditional martial arts. They will be joined by Hung Gar Kung Fu’s illuminated dragon and lion.
- Dance company Movema explore the cultural history of Chinese New Year and have produced contemporary work which embraces our diverse communities and celebrates what makes Liverpool so unique and special. A series of pop-up performances will take place in the afternoon, in and around Chinatown with on-stage activity at 3.10pm and 4.25pm.
- Visually stunning Feng Huang (Chinese Phoenix) street animation will appear at the Bombed Out Church from 1.45pm.
- The Black-e Youth Circus present, Triumph of the Tiger, a short story told through circus skills, illuminations and costume involving young people aged six to 18 years. Involving ground-based and aerial performance, it will create an illuminated spectacle to tell a simple tale of how we can overcome adversity. The costumes and LED illuminations will be coloured to represent the five tigers from Ancient Chinese myths. The performance involves a collaboration with Bring The Fire. Throughout the day, The Black-e will also be offering circus skills taster workshops on Nelson Street for members of the public to participate in, as well as a beanbag making workshop.
Building up to the main day of activity, from this week thousands of Chinese lanterns will adorn the city centre streets, and from Sunday, January 30, a number of buildings will be illuminated in red in honour of the new year – signifying good fortune and joy to everyone.
These buildings include the Cunard, Port of Liverpool, Liverpool Town Hall, St George’s Hall, Central Library Picton Colonnades, Toxteth Library, Everyman & Playhouse Theatres, the Martin Luther King building, Mersey Gateway Bridge and University of Liverpool’s Yoko Ono Centre. The Royal Liver Building and the Radio City tower will light up on Tuesday, February 1 which is Chinese New Year.
For those who can’t make it in person, there will be plenty to enjoy online with suggested activities and archive footage. Follow the conversation on social media channels with #CNYLiverpool.
The event has been organised by Liverpool City Council’s Culture Liverpool team in partnership with the Liverpool Chinese Business Association.
Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for Culture and Visitor Economy, Councillor Harry Doyle said: “It feels so good to be bringing events back to the streets once more. Our Chinese New Year event has always proved hugely popular and there is a real feel-good factor around people coming together in celebration of our much-loved Chinese community.
“The new elements to this year really give the whole programme a different, exciting dynamic and it’s wonderful that we can work in partnership with local arts and cultural organisations to produce such unique, high-quality experiences for everyone to enjoy.
“It’s a packed, free programme and I can’t wait to see the return of the sound and colour explosion that will bring in the Year of the Tiger.”
Secretary of Liverpool Chinese Business Association, Ming Wang, said: “I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year. We are now entering the Year of the Tiger and the tiger is seen as brave, confident and trustworthy.
“This year we are very glad to have our celebrations back in the traditional way in Chinatown. Please come and join us on Sunday, 6 February."
Activities will take place from 11am until 5.30pm on Sunday, February 6.
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