About Liverpool

Famed for it's sporting and cultural heritage, giving the world Liverpool FC and The Beatles, the city of Liverpool was transformed by the Industrial Revolution as well as profits from the slave trade to become the busy metropolis it is today.

The city is dominated by it's world famous docks and of course the river Mersey, and Liverpool's connection to the sea is a long established one: from the 18th century onwards it was the main port of entry for goods to the region, and was also a centre for ship-building both civilian and naval (Confederate ships for the Civil War in America were built in Liverpool's docks).

Due to much of the world's trade (over a third at one time) and slaves passing through Liverpool's docks, the city prospered and grew as did it's burgeoning black community.

Liverpool was heavily bombed during the Second World War by the Luftwaffe, with the Bootle area taking particularly severe punishment, as it was of obvious strategic significance because of the Royal Navy's use of the docks for it's battleships. One of the city's favourite sons, John Lennon, was actually born during one of the air-raids of 1940.

The late 70's and early 80's saw unprecedented unemployment hit Liverpool leading to the Toxteth riots of 1981.

These days Liverpool is emerging from it's impoverished past and fast becoming a popular destination for tourists, with the Beatles Museum, Tate Liverpool, the Albert Docks et al offering a good day out.

It is this diversity of attractions, alongside the city's industrial and naval history, that has led to Liverpool being awarded European City of Culture status for 2008.

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