Liverpool Chinese New Year 2025 full programme revealed

Liverpool's Lunar New Year will be marked with music, light shows, parades, installations, activities and pyrotechnics.

Full details of the Chinese new year celebrations for Year of the Snake have now been revealed.

Events take place in and around Chinatown from January 20 onwards, with the main new year festivities being held on Sunday, February 2.

Running from 11am to 5pm on the day, they will feature a traditional dragon, lion, unicorn parades, firecracker displays, family workshops, Tai Chi demonstrations, live music, street theatre and stage performances, a fairground and food and craft stalls – and a special finale, courtesy of performers Bring the Fire.

The festivities also mark the 25th anniversary of the Chinese Arch which was made by Shanghai craftsmen and gifted to Liverpool by its twin city in 2000.

Ahead of that, from January 20 onwards, thousands of red lanterns will appear across Chinatown and beyond, and from early February a number of city buildings – including St George’s Hall – will be illuminated in red, the colour associated with good luck in China.

Next Saturday, January 25 meanwhile, Liverpool Hung Gar Kung Fu Friendship Association, Pagoda Arts and dance company Movema will lead a parade through the city centre, joined by members of the Chinese community and young people from In Harmony and the Shanghai Children’s Palace Orchestras.  It starts on Church Street at noon and moves via Paradise Street to the Royal Albert Dock.

A small number of family-friendly activity workshops and craft stalls will take place in Chinatown on Saturday, February 1.

Projections inspired by Chinese mythology and Liverpool’s cultural heritage, created by Focal Studios in collaboration with Pagoda Arts and the community, will take over the Bombed Out Church from 5.30-9pm on February 1 and 2.

There will also be a number of family activities at the church across the weekend as well as a wildflower art installation, created by volunteers and school children using upcycled plastic bottles.

And a willow snake sculpture is set to by installed in the water feature near the Liverpool sign at Chavasse Park, commissioned by Liverpool ONE and created by artist Sarah Gallagher from Twigtwisters.

Secretary General of Liverpool Chinese Business Association, Ming Wang, says: “As we bid farewell to the Year of the Dragon, we welcome the Year of the Snake – a time which signifies good fortune, prosperity, fertility and longevity.

“As always, our local Chinese community, Culture Liverpool, and other organisations have worked tirelessly together to arrange a series of arts and cultural events for everyone to enjoy.

“This is a festival of sound, fun, colour and confetti with a packed diverse programme of free events for children and adults to enjoy. Please come and join the celebrations.”

Full details HERE