A free park and ride service is to be laid on for music fans attending this weekend’s Big Eurovision Welcome.
At least 1,000 vehicles will be able to access the Stanley Park car park, next to Anfield stadium, for those heading to St George’s Hall for the massive live show. Around 30,000 people are expected to descend on the city centre for the 90-minute National Lottery event on Sunday.
The surface-level car park will be accessible from Priory Road, opposite Anfield cemetery, opening at 12pm with buses taking concert goers on a 15-minute journey from Arkles Lane, to Queen Square bus station. Once the live show finishes at 10pm, buses will begin departing from Queen Square bus station.
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The Anfield car park will remain open and accessible until midnight. Drivers will need to show their concert ticket to gain access.
Gates open at 5:45pm for the massive Eurovision welcome, which will feature a historic reunion performance by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, as well as The Real Thing, The Lightning Seeds and many other stars.
The park-and-ride service is one of a number of special public transport arrangements in place for Eurovision. Event goers are urged to plan their journeys to help make their night a success.
Information and advice is available on the Merseytravel website and direct from transport operators.
The outdoor concert, which mirrors Liverpool’s opening ceremony of the European Capital of Culture in 2008 is the single biggest event for Eurovision. The show will include aerial and dance performances from House of Suarez, Zoo Nation and Motionhouse.
Liverpool’s iconic Cream will present a unique collaboration with 2023 Brit Award winner Becky Hill, as well as a performance from Ukrainian Eurovision winner Jamala and Eurovision superstar Conchita Wurst. Cameos and contributions from Ricky Tomlinson and Shirley Ballas are among those contributing on the night.
A proportion of tickets have been reserved for Ukrainian residents in the UK, including refugees supported by National Lottery-funded organisations, as well as community groups from Liverpool. From 00.01 on Sunday to 6am on Monday, there will be no access to Lime Street via Islington, London Road, Lord Nelson Street, Skelhorne Street, St Johns Lane and Elliot Street.
There will be no access to William Brown Street during these times. During the EuroFestival, Liverpool Council has also moved to make all of its city centre car parks operational 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Ken Prior, head of parking services at Liverpool Council, said: “It’s absolutely vital we provide as many travel options as possible for those attending The National Lottery’s Big Eurovision Welcome concert on Sunday. The free park-and-ride service in Anfield aims to minimise congestion in the city centre on the day and reduce the stress for those attending the event and complements the wider public transport offer, which will be providing additional services.
“It’s a small gesture to concert goers to make the park-and-ride free and fits the overall aim of the warm welcome we want to give people arriving in Liverpool for Eurovision.
Richard McGuckin, executive director for place, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, added: “We want everyone to enjoy this fantastic occasion and enabling people to travel around is part of the success story. As the excitement builds in the run up to this global event, we’re asking people to think ahead and plan their journeys, with park and ride being one of a number of options that are in place to help people get from A to B with ease.”
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