Features

Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture is underway after a spectacular launch event on St George's Plateau attended by up to 50,000 people.

The festivities continue on Saturday evening with 'Liverpool - The Musical' at the 10,000 seater Echo Arena Liverpool.

Liverpool: The Musical will re-invent some of the classic songs that have made the city famous.

The show, which will tell the story of Liverpool its people, heritage and future, is being broadcast live on BBC Radio Merseyside 95.8FM. Listen online from 6.30pm by clicking on the BBC Radio Merseyside 'Listen Live' link on the bottom right hand side of this page. The concert starts at 8pm.

Artists appearing include Ringo Starr, Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dave Stewart, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Farm and Pete Wylie.

City centre spectacular

Friday's free launch event in the city centre used the breathtaking architecture of St George's Hall as a backdrop.

Ringo Starr performed from a container on the roof of St George's Hall, while guitarists played on top of Wellington's column and St John's Beacon.

Liverpool group The Wombats played their latest single 'Moving to New York' while aerial artists slid down screens on either side of the hall and musicians played on top of St George's Hall and surrounding buildings.

The live outdoor production used Britain's biggest stage with more than 1km in area of performance space.

A cast of 700, including 100 schoolchildren, took part.

The weekend of events is co-directed by internationally recognised producer Nigel Jamieson and Jayne Casey.

Jayne Casey and Nigel Jamieson

Travel information

People attending the Capital of Culture events are being asked to use public transport where possible.

For Saturday's show at the Echo Arena Liverpool parking at the Arena's multi-storey car park is limited and concert goers are asked to arrive early. Doors for the concert open at 6pm.

For the latest information call Merseytravel 0871 2002233.