Culture
Events are back at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena for Christmas and 2021 looks bright too
3 years ago
Going into Tier 2 from next week means live theatre, comedy and music is officially back on in Liverpool.
And thatās big news for Liverpoolās M&S Bank Arena which isnāt just about to head into a busy Christmas of shows, itās looking at an amazing line-up for 2021.
Audiences are going to be limited to 1,000 and socially-distanced in households while weāre under the new restrictions, although hopefully we can move down to Tier 1 soon.
In the meantime, itās definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Arena and, of course, it wouldnāt feel anywhere near as festive without a panto.
Jack and the Beanstalk will be bringing panto to the auditorium from December 18-27, with X Factor and Iām a Celebās Jake Quickenden in the starring role as Jack, alongside Radio Cityās Leanne Campbell and comedy favourite Bippo.Ā Book tickets for theĀ Pantones here.
Thereāll be three shows a day, for reduced audiences of around 500, and as well as social distancing thereāll be a one-way system in place around the venue and foyer. For security reasons, anyone going along is asked not to take regular bags with them but to take any essentials and valuables in a see-through plastic bag instead.
While panto opens on December 18 in the auditorium, in the main Arena space thereās the Classic Rock Show Christmas Party on the same night, with a capacity of 1,000.
And, on the 19 ā and now for an extra date on the 20 ā Rumours of Fleetwood Mac are back with one of the worldās most popular tribute shows.
Ben Davis at the Arena says:
āWe understand that, as a venue, the nature of what we do means we will be the last to be fully-operational but being able to put on shows like the panto in a Covid-secure way and to have gigs in the Arena again, it feels great to get to that point.
āWeāve got the Classic Rock Show Christmas Party on the same day the panto opens, then on the Saturday and Sunday while the panto is still running weāll have Rumours of Fleetwood Mac whoāve just added a second date due to how well the first one sold.
āWeād already sold 50% of tickets for the panto because those customers have trusted that weād get there, and the measures weād put in place gave them that confidence to book. Now with the Tier 2 news weāre sure those ticket sales will really ramp up.
āThe panto is important to us because itās a big part of peopleās Christmas and having it allows us to keep that part of our Christmas normal which really matters. And, other than the social distancing, itās still very much the full panto experience with all the scene and costume changes, so weāre really proud that weāve been able to put that together with the producer.ā
The Christmas shows will kick off an incredible line-up of events right through 2021 with highlights including Stormzy and Genesis both in April, Little Mix and McFly in May, Diana Ross in June, JLS in July, Simple Minds in August, Dua Lipa in September, Blondie and Steps in November.
āOur diary of upcoming events has never been so busy, and itās looking really exciting.ā says Ben.