2010 is the Year of The Tiger; it is also a special year for the City of Liverpool and the Chinese community. While the City is putting the final touches for its part in the Shanghai World Expo which will be the biggest ever, Liverpool’s Chinese Community will be celebrating the Chinese New Year as part of the City’s Health and Well Being. The Chinatown area will be dressing up in red, Chinese style flags will be hanging and special lighting will be installed along Nelson Street.

Councillor Gary Miller explains the planning here.

At noon, Sat, 20th February 2010 at Chinatown, there will be a traditional Chinese blessing ceremony to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Arch as well as the twinning of the cities of Liverpool and Shanghai. The event will consist of traditional Chinese blessing ceremony, fire crackers display, lion dance and Tai Chi demonstration.

From 11 am – 4 pm, Sun. 21st February 2010, we have a whole host of events along Nelson Street, Berry Street and Duke Street area, including fire crackers, the dragon, lion and unicorn dance performances, a Chinese New Year market, and musical performances etc. Not only you could see the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations at the oldest Chinese Community in Europe, but you will also experience the Chinese Liverpudlian spirits throughout our events: artists and groups supporting the events are from within and beyond Merseyside. You will not see such line up anywhere else. What’s more, most of the events are free admission.

The celebrations do not stop here: in the evening, the VIP and Chinese Variety Show will be hosted at Britannia Adelphi Hotel. . This year’s theme is ‘East meets West’. An amazing line up of cultural and artist entertainments include: Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra; traditional and contemporary artists from Wah Sing Chinese Community Centre, Sefton and Knowsley Borough.

Check out our programme guide. Set a reminder in your social calendar, get there early to avoid disappointment and reserve your front row seat now!