St George's Hall plans new high-tech visitor experience

A new high-tech digital visitor experience will be created for St George’s Hall with money received from the government’s Culture Recovery Fund.

The £250,000 was awarded through the National Heritage Fund and Historic England earlier this year as part of the £1.57 billion recovery fund to support the nation’s key cultural organisations through the Coronavirus pandemic.

The high-tech digital visitor experience will enable people to step back in time and see what life would have been like in the cells and courts of the Grade I listed landmark over the last century-and-a-half.

The ambition is for the project to combine 3D, augmented reality, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

This initial funding will allow the St George’s Hall team to work with a specialist company, via a tender process, to deliver the digital vision with the aim of securing more funding for the project in 2021.

Liverpool’s Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism and Events and acting Mayor, Councillor Wendy Simon, said: “St George’s Hall has so many stories to tell, and we want to bring these to life in a whole new, 21st Century way which will ensure the venue continues to be a must-visit destination for residents and visitors alike.

“We have high ambitions for the project and look forward to seeing it develop over the coming months.”

St George’s Hall, designed by Harvey Lonsdale Elmes and Charles Cockerell, was opened in 1855 and the Lime Street landmark – described as the finest neoclassical building in Europe – includes a Great Hall, concert room, two Victorian court rooms, judges’ chambers, holding cells and catacombs.