After Eurovision: what’s still to come in 2023 for Liverpool

Liverpool’s just about beginning to recover from Eurovision after a fabulous fortnight that saw the city well and truly buzzing.

But if you think it’s time to put your dancing shoes away and get your feet up for a few weeks just because Eurovision is over, then think again, because there’s loads going on over summer – and here’s a bit of what’s still to come in Liverpool…

Aintree Music Nights

Aintree’s Music Nights are back on track with some great acts following an afternoon of racing at the famous course. The Sugababes are leading the way this Friday when the original line-up of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy will be taking to the Red Rum Stage with iconic hits from ‘Freak Like Me’ and ‘Round Round’, to ‘Push The Button’, and  more; and after that it’s Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics that’ll get you moving on Friday, June 16. You might not back the right horses, but when it comes to a fab evening, you know you’re onto a winner.

Find out more here.

Baltic Weekender

Jade Edwards, 4am Kru, Alan Jose, Alien Izz, Amber Rose, Bakey … and the list goes on. The annual festival takes place across the Baltic Triangle on Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3, with loads of venues taking part from Camp and Furnace, 24 Kitchen Street, District, Brick St, and more. Presented by Abandon Silence and 24 Kitchen Street, there’s a mega line-up of house, techno, grime, bass music and everything in between, with some great headliners and loads of local talent to enjoy too.

Find out more here.

Liverpool Biennial

The largest free festival of contemporary visual art in the UK, Liverpool Biennial has been transforming the city through art for more than two decades. It’s taking place this year from Saturday, June 10 to Sunday, September 17, with new venues and sites including the Tobacco Warehouse, the Cotton Exchange, and Liverpool ONE, joining venues like Tate Liverpool, Bluecoat, FACT Liverpool, Open Eye Gallery, Victoria Gallery and Museum, and World Museum with free exhibitions, performances, screenings, community and learning activities and fringe events. Titled ‘uMoya: The Sacred Return of Lost Things’, it addresses the history and temperament of the city, and is a call for ancestral and indigenous forms of knowledge, wisdom and healing.

Find out more here.

Africa Oye

Africa Oyé is back at Sefton Park on Saturday and Sunday, June 17 & 18, with thousands set to celebrate the music and culture of Africa.  It’ll be an amazing weekend with two free days of fantastic music, workshops, DJs, dance, food stalls, and traders in the Oyé Village. Local harmony group AMBA will be launching the music action on Saturday, with South Liverpool trio, Black Borough, kicking things off on Sunday.

Find out more here.

Liverpool Soul Weekender

Tuff Love Soul Club’s ready to get you dancing ‘til your feet ache and leave with a massive cheesy grin’ with three days of boss music from some of the world’s best soul DJs from Friday, June 23 to Sunday, June 25. The line-up includes George Rodriguez from Hipshaker, Minneapolis; Hector Gallegos of Tighten Up, San Antonio; Michael Saretsky from Alcatraz Soul Club in San Francisco, and Joe Cristando, from Los Hitters, Brooklyn, and others – alongside loads of top local names. There’ll be three daytime parties and two night time dances at different venues in town, as well as the legendary Thursday night warm-up.

Find out more here.

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival’s marking its 25^th anniversary of celebrating Arab art and culture this year, and it returns across the city from Thursday, July 6 to Sunday, July 16. The festival will bring a collection of visual art, performance, music, dance, film, theatre, literature, and more to the city, with artists from around the world, as well as some closer to home. Performers already named are Somali-British singer-songwriter, Aar Maanta, who brings his eclectic music blend and celebration of Somali culture to Liverpool Philharmonic’s Music Room, Syrian composer and musician, Maya Youssef, and Arab comedians Esther Manito, Fatiha El Ghorri, Farah Sharp and Talal Karkouti.

Find out more here.

Southport Flower Show

Countdown’s Rachel Riley, Strictly’s Pasha Kovalev, star cookery couple John Torode and Lisa Faulkner, This Morning chef Phil Vickery, and Garden Ninja Lee Burkhill are among the star guests at this year’s Southport Flower Show. Plans are already being nurtured with thousands expected to head to the seaside resort for a fantastic mix of garden and floral displays, cookery demonstrations, shopping, arena entertainment, live music and more. It’s on from Thursday, August 17 to Sunday, August 20.

Find out more here.

International Beatleweek

Seventy of the world’s best Beatles tribute acts will be in the city for Liverpool’s International Beatleweek Festival 2023, which takes place from Thursday, August 24 to Tuesday, August 29. There’ll be exhibitions, memorabilia, guest speakers, video shows, sightseeing tours, a convention, and live music every day on the Cavern’s three stages. Highlights include shows from America’s ‘The Fab Four’ and ‘The Analogues’ who’ll be on at the Philharmonic Hall, and Beatles historian and author Mark Lewisohn will present his one man show at The Yoko Ono Lennon Centre.

Find out more here.

Reminisce Festival

The ultimate Old Skool disco party everybody loves is back at Sherdley Park on Saturday, September 9. DJ Lee Butler and the team will be introducing acts across three stages at the St Helens park venue. Boyzlife super-duo Keith Duffy and Brian McFadden have already been named and that’s one act already worth the ticket money.

Find out more here.

Arena gigs

It’s not just Eurovision that’ll get the M&S Bank Arena douze points from us – there are tons of acts on their way to the waterfront venue set to get us singing, dancing, and laughing. June welcomes The Pet Shop Boys, Andre Rieu and Jack Whitehall; Ricky Gervais will be there in July for his Armageddon show, and August and September will see Olly Murs, Echo & The Bunnymen and Busted at the Kings Dock arena.

Find out more here.

On the Waterfront

Its 2021 debut was a huge success with more than 40,000 people descending on the Pier Head, and On the Waterfront festival returns this summer with a powerhouse of legendary bands lined up for the four-day event. Tickets are sold out for Jamie Webster’s shows on Thursday and Friday, June 29-30, but you can still get final tickets for Camelphat on Saturday, July 1 – appearing with Hot Since 82 and legendary producer Youssef – and James on Sunday, July 2, who’re joined by The Coral and Red Rum Club.

Find out more here.

For all the latest events in Liverpool check out our calendar here.