W BUSINESS
L
SPECTACULAR RIVER OF LIGHT EVENT
IN NEW BRIGHTON HAILED A HUGE
SUCCESS FOR WIRRAL
The River Mersey once again staged the spectacular
River of Light firework display, an event that attracted
thousands of people to New Brighton.
The event which took place in a celebration of the traditional
Bonfire Night was produced in partnership by Wirral Council and
Culture Liverpool, supported by Wirral Chamber of Commerce,
has been hailed a huge success. With overwhelmingly positive
feedback spectators showed their delight and approval through
social media channels with a message that great things are
happening in Wirral.
The audience started to gather in late afternoon and were
entertained by illuminated street entertainers including fire
dancers and live music from ‘Bring the Fire Project’ plus ‘The Liver’
drummers on the promenade. UV face painters were also on hand
to keep children amused and Birdy’s photo booth gave families the
chance to take home a free image memento.
The incredible firework display was provided by Titanium
Fireworks, an organisation which masterminded the Mayor of
London’s New Years Eve Celebrations and the opening ceremony
for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The display was
set appropriately to a booming Mersey sound inspired soundtrack
including The Beatles classic Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, and
ending in dramatic fashion to Paul McCartney’s classic Live and
Let Die.
Commenting on the success of the event, Wirral Council’s cabinet
member for Delivering Differently, Cllr Christine Spriggs, said,
“Like everyone who attended, I was thrilled by this year’s River of
Light. we all worked incredibly hard with all our partners to make
sure that we delivered something really memorable.”
New Brighton, at the mouth of the Mersey, provided a spectacular
setting for the fireworks, illuminating both sides of the River and
the perfect stage for such a large-scale event.
76 wirrallife.com
Wirral Chamber of Commerce hosted a special event for its
Strategic Partner and Patron membership at the Floral Pavilion
and set against the stunning world-class firework display it was
the perfect opportunity to outline future plans for Wirral’s Visitor
Economy.
Asif Hamid MBE, Chair of Wirral Chamber of Commerce called
the event “spectacular” and said, “I’m thrilled to see that Wirral
and Liverpool can work together in such a collaborative way for
high profile events like River of Light, and, make it such a success.”
Paul Askew, the guest of honour at the Chamber event took to
his new role as Chair of the Wirral Visitor Economy Board by
outlining the exciting future of Wirral’s tourism strategy saying,
“Wirral is no longer the best-kept secret in Merseyside, we may
selfishly want it to stay a secret so we can have it all to ourselves but
there is so much going on and so much potential here that we have
to celebrate absolutely everything the area has to offer.”
“As a Wirralian, I’m really excited to be playing a role delivering
the new visitor economy strategy and as I see it, everything we do
on Wirral must be underpinned by quality and events like this are
going to put Wirral on the national and international stage.”
He continued “Key to the revitalisation of Wirral will be the
development of the independent businesses; the bars, restaurants
and eateries which are so close to my heart, we need to nurture
them.”
Paula Basnett, CEO of Wirral Chamber summarised the evening,
“Fantastic, spectacular and an unforgettable occasion which drew
thousands upon thousands of onlookers to Wirral’s waterfront to
enjoy an event of the highest quality. We are extremely proud of
the role Wirral has played this year in making the River of Light
both a visual and audio experience which will have been seen
globally by millions through television and social media channels.”