Bold Street festival postponed following violence in city centre

This weekend’s Celebrating Bold Street festival has been postposed by organisers following the violent disorder that broke out across the city on Saturday.

The event was due to take place on Sunday 11th August, one week after Celebrating Castle Street, which was also cancelled due to the scenes we witnessed on Saturday in Liverpool City Centre.

Bill Addy is CEO of Liverpool BID Company which represents over 800 levy paying business in the city centre and he says with the situation remaining unpredictable the best course of action is to postpone the events.

Last year Celebrating Bold Street seen thousands attend a day of entertainment and activity to mark the street’s distinctive character, celebrating the breadth of local businesses in the city centre, blending food, drink, entertainment, culture, family fun and more.

© Liverpool BID Company - Celebrating Bold Street — Last years event © Liverpool BID Company – Celebrating Bold Street

The full statement from Bill Addy, CEO of Liverpool BID Company, is below:

“Liverpool is a vibrant and diverse city. It’s important we say that because we cannot allow violence to undo and undermine the work that has been done to build and regenerate a city.

The modern Liverpool is the culmination of a lot of work by many different partners. It is the result of vision, investment confidence and hard work.

We have made the decision to postpone Celebrating Bold Street this coming weekend, after we took the decision on Saturday to postpone Celebrating Castle Street. After speaking to our businesses we feel this is the sensible course of action. The city centre is a place for everyone to enjoy, but we feel it is prudent as the situation remains unpredictable.

At Liverpool BID Company we have always said our work is about making this a city where everyone can thrive, be they resident, business, visitor or tourist.

The resilience of our city centre businesses in the face of violence and threats cannot be understated. Our businesses showed real love and strength in protecting their customers and staff. The truth is they shouldn’t have to show such strength and be so concerned about their staff and customers. This shouldn’t happen.

What do we need to do in the coming days, weeks and months? We need a frank conversation about what happened on Saturday and why both businesses, shoppers and visitors of all ages were subject to a dangerous situation. Criminal and violent activity on this scale should not be something our city has to tolerate.

As a voice for and a partner with those who have businesses and organisations within the city centre it is so important to make sure we can communicate quickly and effectively. We will push forward with the city partners, Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council to provide regular and clear communication, ensuring our city can run as openly and safely as possible.

We have come through difficult times together before. All we know is how to work together, and that is what we will continue to do.”