Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! 新年快乐 Happy Chinese New Year!
Liverpool will be welcoming the Year of the Tiger for Chinese New Year celebrations for 2022!
From the iconic Chinese Ceremonial Archway at the entrance of the city’s Chinatown, Liverpool is also home to the oldest Chinese community in Europe.
The city will be decorated with the symbolic Chinese lanterns around the heart of Chinatown, iconic buildings will be lit up red in honour of this age-old tradition, the dragon and unicorn will parade the city streets, as well as the stage returning to Great George Square to host a programme of live performances throughout the day.
During the celebrations there will also be plenty of Chinese food to sample from the many food stalls, art workshops with make and do activities as well as the storytelling bus and popular funfair.
New for this year are:
- From Friday 4 to Sunday 6 February, a 3D animated Water Tiger will prowl around the tower inside St Luke’s Church (the Bombed Out Church). Taking place from 6-9pm each night, the projections will transform the tower into a Chinese pagoda, complete with lanterns designed by local schools and community groups. The show, which lasts for ten minutes and will run on a loop each evening, is free but there is an ask for donations for the venue. The work has been created by Focal Studios, Scenegraph Studios in collaboration with the Bombed Out Church.
- Work is under way on a new mural will take pride of place in Great George Square playground courtesy of Zap Graffiti which is bringing together an award-winning Beijing artist, Tang Shou, and local youngsters who will create a piece of art which symbolises what the Year of the Tiger means to them.
New commissions taking place on Sunday 6 February
- Pagoda Arts will shine a spotlight on Tian – an up-and-coming young band made up of east/southeast Asian artists who perform a blend of original east-meets-west tracks. They will take to the stage in Great George Square at 2.20pm and 3.50pm, and will play a ticketed event at the Liverpool Philharmonic’s Music Room that evening.
- From 5.15pm, Bring The Fire Project will showcase their incredible skills at the Chinese Arch with a specially created Chinese New Year performance which will incorporate traditional martial arts. They will be joined by Hung Gar Kung Fu’s illuminated dragon and lion.
- Dance company Movema explore the cultural history of Chinese New Year and have produced contemporary work which embraces our diverse communities and celebrates what makes Liverpool so unique and special. A series of pop-up performances will take place in the afternoon, in and around Chinatown with on-stage activity at 3.10pm and 4.25pm.
- Visually stunning Feng Huang (Chinese Phoenix) street animation will appear at the Bombed Out Church at 1.45pm.
- The Black-e Youth Circus present, Triumph of the Tiger, a short story told through circus skills, illuminations and costume involving young people aged 6 to 18 years. Involving ground-based and aerial performance, it will create a beautiful illuminated spectacle to tell a simple tale of how we can overcome adversity. The costumes and LED illuminations will be coloured to represent the five tigers from Ancient Chinese myths. The performance involves a collaboration with Bring The Fire. Throughout the day The Black-e will also be offering circus skills taster workshops on Nelson Street for members of the public to participate in and a beanbag making workshop.
From this week thousands of Chinese lanterns will adorn the city centre streets, and from Sunday 30th January a number of buildings will be illuminated in red in honour of the new year – signifying good fortune and joy to everyone. These buildings include the Cunard Building, Port of Liverpool, Liverpool Town Hall, St George’s Hall, Central Library Picton Colonnades, Toxteth Library, Everyman & Playhouse Theatres, the Martin Luther King building, Mersey Gateway Bridge and University of Liverpool’s Yoko Ono Centre. The Royal Liver Building and the Radio City tower will light up on Tuesday 1 February which is Chinese New Year.
If you can’t make it to the event, there will be plenty to enjoy online from the comfort of your own home. There will be a selection of activities and archive footage available before and after the main event.
The main event will be taking place on Sunday 6th February from 11.00am until 5.30pm, with a grand finale courtesy of ‘Bring The Fire’ and their stunning fire show.
Following on from the main event you can head over to the Bombed Out Church for a spectacular projection show.To
View archives for Chinese New Year Liverpool HERE
