New details have been revealed regarding the Eurovision Song Contest fan zone to be set up at Liverpool’s Pier Head.
After the city won the honour to host the European music event in October, it was confirmed a month later the iconic waterfront would be home to a fan zone throughout May. Now, a licensing application made to Liverpool Council has revealed how the area would operate.
A plan has been lodged for a time-limited application between May 1-20 for 24,999 people. On five occasions in this period the licensing application seeks permission to stage plays, films, live and recorded music, and dance from 9am to 2am.
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All other days the licence would operate from 11am to 11pm Monday to Sunday. Under the terms of the licence, alcohol would be available for sale on and off the premises from 9am to 2am on five occasions.
On all other dates, sales would take place from 11am to 11pm. It would allow late night refreshment would be available indoors and outdoors from 11am to 2am on the same five occasions.
Last year, the council went out to tender for a stewarding and security firm to oversee the site it will manage at the Pier Head from May 5-13 next year. The semi finals are scheduled to take place on May 9 and 11 before the grand final on Saturday 13th.
The Pier Head fan zone is one of many being planned by the BBC for the duration of the contest this summer. Before the official Insignia Handover on January 31 at St George’s Hall, a group of industry heads took part in a private lunch briefing ahead of the show.
The Eurovision fan zones will allow hundreds of people gather from all around Europe to soak up the atmosphere and party the night away. The free-to-access area broadcasts the live shows from the contest to an outside audience.
Fans can expect the Eurovision zones to be on the same scale as those for the World Cup. The event has courted controversy this week however, with Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson criticised for her defence of an advert calling for hundreds of volunteers while the city stages Eurovision.
Liverpool Council's own post about these opportunities prompted plenty of anger, with many stating that people should be paid for their efforts to support a huge commercial event like Eurovision. The comments led to a response from the Trades Union Congress, which stated: "We’ve had a number of people ask questions about this scheme and we’re contacting the council to find out more.
"Workers should be paid, and these advertised roles look like more than people might expect from volunteers."
The countdown has officially started. Join our Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool Facebook group
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