Even though it is only March, Liverpool City Council’s Culture Liverpool team is already planning for Christmas.
After the huge success of the Christmas Market outside St George’s Hall in 2023, which drew over 750,000 visitors in the course of 36 days, there are preliminary plans in place to explore the possibility of expanding the offering in 2024.
The City Council is considering ways to enhance the Hall’s market by giving Liverpool’s Pier Head a festive makeover. A tender process is now live, which asks organisations to submit ideas around re-introducing an Ice Festival, with the emphasis on providing an ice rink and other entertainment in keeping with the surroundings.
The closing date is Friday 12 April 2024 and the tender document can be found on the Gov.uk website.
An independent report has evaluated the impact of the 2023 Christmas market, and found that:
- 93 percent of visitors surveyed would return.
- An impressive 100 per cent of those surveyed enjoyed the event, with public transport links and the friendliness of staff receiving praise.
- Nearly 50 per cent of visitors surveyed were on day trips to visit the market, while 18 per cent had organised an overnight stay in Liverpool around their visit.
- Couples were the most prolific visitors and the most popular age profile was 25 to 34 years old.
- It was a first-time experience of Liverpool’s Christmas markets for 47 per cent of visitors.
- As well as visiting the market, 56 per cent of visitors also spent money in a city centre eatery, and the next most popular activity was city-centre shopping.
- In terms of growing and expanding, 22 per cent of people would like to see more gift and craft stalls, along with more vegan and vegetarian food options.
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