Free webinars for businesses across Liverpool ahead of Eurovision

Businesses across Liverpool City Region are being given the opportunity to take advantage of free resources to ensure that every single visitor receives the warm, inclusive welcome that Liverpool is famous for.

Ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest, Liverpool City Council, in partnership with Liverpool Growth Platform, National Museums Liverpool, St John’s Shopping Centre and OGAE UK, has teamed up with Inclusive Employers to offer businesses in the city a free toolkit and series of webinars.

The training has been designed to alleviate the fear of saying the wrong thing or worrying about how to communicate when there are language barriers or cultural differences.

The resource pack will also help skill up front-of-house-staff to welcome Eurovision’s long-held fan base in the LGBTQ+ community and support customers with visible and non-visible disabilities.

Eurovision Webinars to be held for businesses across the city

The webinars available are:

Intercultural Customer Service  – 18 April

LGBT+ Inclusion in Customer Service –  19 April

Thinking about Accessibility for an Inclusive Experience –  26 April

Equality Law and Customer Service  – 28 April

Tom Lechthaler, who manages Liverpool City Council’s Inclusivity and Accessibility programme for Eurovision, said:

“Inclusion and diversity are at the heart of the Eurovision Song Contest, bringing countries from around the world together to celebrate unity through music. It is a massive cultural display of identity, a stage where everybody is welcome and a platform that amplifies a message of LGBTQ+ equality.

“Our partnership with Inclusive Employers is the first of its kind for any host city of the Eurovision Song Contest. Every single one of our volunteers will undertake inclusivity training and we are extending the opportunity to businesses in the city so they can offer their customers the warmest welcome, not just during Eurovision but long after.”

Rebecca Loy, Diversity and Inclusion Partner at National Museums Liverpool, added:

“As an organisation which operates seven visitor attractions across the Liverpool City Region and welcomes over 3m visitors a year, we understand the value of a warm and inclusive welcome and are proud to support Liverpool City Council’s ambition of being the most inclusive host city.

“Alongside our work with Inclusive Employers, we have launched a series of workshops called #ResolutionRepresent to bring like-minded businesses together to encourage conversation and share best practice with the aim of improving diversity in the region.

“We also recognise the power of creative events such as Eurovision to inspire change, be transformative and dictate global movements. To keep the conversation going after Eurovision leaves town, we are hosting a Diversity and Inclusion Conference later in the year.”