Events at the Liverpool Echo Arena and Conference Centre

[Babaloo]

Originally Posted by Chris B

I was just borwing the ACC website, and noticed that for the Cirque du Soleil shows, a really weird seat configuration is being used. For anyone familar with their shows, is this 'normal'?

https://www.ticketing.accliverpool.c...D-50BD8147B23A

It's really important to be able to see what is happening in order to get caught up in whatever experience they are trying to create. This layout suggests that a bit of thought has gone into ensuring that people get a good experience rather than just cramming bums on seats for maximum profit.

[Chris B]

I suppose so. I just assumed they would extend the stage forward, a bit like the photos on the ACC website suggest they did for CBeebies. The seating configuration is also being used at the NIA in Birmingham, so clearly the organisers have found this to be the best way of creating the best experience for the audience. As you say, it's nice to see experience being put ahead of profit.

[yoshef]

Originally Posted by Chris B

I suppose so. I just assumed they would extend the stage forward, a bit like the photos on the ACC website suggest they did for CBeebies. The seating configuration is also being used at the NIA in Birmingham, so clearly the organisers have found this to be the best way of creating the best experience for the audience. As you say, it's nice to see experience being put ahead of profit.

from what i remember, at the MEN they had a similar configuration to the link you've posted. They used a very long stage with with a big screen either side of the stage.

[Chris B]

From the BBC -

City hosts European police chiefs

Police chiefs from across Europe are in Liverpool for a high-level conference to look at ways of tackling serious organised international crime.

The three-day event is being held at the city's new arena and conference centre at the docklands.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Merseyside chief Bernard Hogan-Howe are among the key speakers.

The conference, hosted by Merseyside Police, aims to improve co-ordination between forces across Europe.

The event is bringing together law enforcement agencies from the European Union, Turkey and the Balkans.

Police and security officials, as well as Interpol and Europol, will discuss strategies for tackling international gangs in a series of seminars.

More here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/m...de/7276428.stm

It's certainly getting busy down at the ACC. We've got this event taking place for the next three days, The X Factor Live tonight, Rihanna tomorrow night, and the Lib Dem Spring Conference at the end of the week.

[cenric]

We bought tickets a couple of weeks ago for the Cirque du Soleil event, and asked about the seating arrangements; we were told that they would indeed be using a longer stage with screens at the ends.

[Chris B]

Not that I suspect anyone from here will be going (but then you never know), but just a head's up not to take your umbrella-ella-ella, to the Rihanna concert tonight.

Rihanna bans umbrellas from UK tour

Wednesday, March 5 2008, 10:57 GMT
By Alex Fletcher, Entertainment Reporter

Rihanna has banned audience members from bringing umbrellas to her latest UK tour.

The singer has responded to a series of umbrella-related accidents at European shows by confiscating the items from fans before they enter arenas.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a9...m-uk-tour.html

[Damon]

Originally Posted by Chris B

The singer has responded to a series of umbrella-related accidents at European shows

Hmm. I can't help but remember this.

[Chris B]

With the events starting to pick-up now, it's interesting to go around the different fan websites and see what people are posting. Obviously most people's comments relate to the artist in question, but there's usually a few comments about the venue.

Here's a few comments I've found, both good and not so good -

I bought tickets for this Liverpool concert on the actual day of the show. It was a spur of the moment decision because I had already been to the one at Manchester on 1st March. I am so pleased I did so. It’s the first time I have been to the Liverpool Echo Arena and I now prefer it to the MEN Arena in Manchester as it’s a smaller venue.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...58&postcount=1

~~~~~~~

During the interval I bought a bottle of Pepsi Max and a hot dog, and was horrified to learn that it would set me back £5.50!! But I was starving, having missed dinner, so grumbling went back to my seat. Nice hot dog though!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...1&postcount=23

~~~~~~~

i love the liverpool arena

http://forum.westlife.com/showflat.p...&fpart=83&vc=1

~~~~~~~

who's clever idea was it to put the arena on the dock lol yes its easy to find but its right by the pissin river
i had half the meresy in my hair

http://forum.westlife.com/showflat.p...&fpart=85&vc=1

[Chris B]

I know a few people on here went to the CBeebies show in January, so this might be of interest -

Playhouse Disney Live!
24th-25th May 2008
Liverpool Echo Arena

Shows: 10:30am, 1:30pm, & 4:30pm daily.
Tickets: £19.50 / £17.50 / £15.50
Tickets on sale from 9:00am tomorrow morning (07/03/08).

Link - http://disney.go.com/disneylive/playhouse/ (Click on DisneyLive! Worldwide and select England).

[Babaloo]

Sir Elton John to play Liverpool's ECHO arena

Mar 7 2008

by Laura Sharpe, Liverpool Daily Post


SIR Elton John is coming to Liverpool to wow his fans at the city’s Echo Arena, the Daily Post can reveal.

Although the exact dates remained a closely guarded secret last night, the Rocketman is touring the UK in June and July, and his visit is likely to be part of the city’s Summer Pops season.

Direct from his long- running show at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Elton will bring his iconic Yamaha red grand piano to the stage.

The larger than life stage set will be re-created in Liverpool, providing a spectacular glitzy show never before seen outside America.

Designed to reflect the star’s flamboyance, the theme of the show called The Red Piano is love, symbolised by the colour red, state-of-the art effects and high end imagery.

Sir Elton, who congratulated the city on its 800th birthday, has already announced dates in Swansea, Darlington and Doncaster.

Speaking to the Post earlier this year, he said: “Liverpool has always been one of my favourite cities, both as a place to perform and as a city that has produced so much lively talent in so many different fields.”

Speaking on his current tour, he added: “The Red Piano is totally different from anything I’ve done in Britain before.

“It’s a fun-filled show and I’m going to have a lot of fun doing it.”

With a career spanning four decades, 500 tracks and 32 albums, Sir Elton celebrated his 60th birthday last year.

The Liverpool dates of the tour are set to be announced next week.

Not sure how much of a coup this is given the other venues but business is business and I can't stand him anyway.

[bluesnapper]

Originally Posted by bluesnapper

Forgot to post this last week.

Everton Tigers are to play Cheshire Jets at the Liverpool Arena next month on Wednesday March 19th in a British Basketball League match.

There is nothing as yet on the Arena or the Everton Tigers websites concerning the match.

Tickets on sale for this at £2 adults and £1 under 16's.

[Babaloo]

That juxta-positioning of the Cheshire Jets and Elton John has just reminded me that there is one Elton song I don't mind:

Bennie and the Jets.

[Chris B]

I think the Everton Tigers event might be sold out already. If you select a single ticket, and 'Best Available' on the ACC website, it returns an error saying there are no tickets of that type available.

Good news that the game will get some exposure on Setanta Sports 2. Although after the trouble I had with Setanta, I'd recommend avoiding them like the plague.

EDIT - and nothing too exciting, but the Riverside Housing Group is holding it's Staff Conference at the ACC in June.

[buggedboy]

I was hoping the basketball team would relocate successfully to the arena. It ads a different offer to yankee visitors, as well as local basketball fans.

As a red though, its a hard pill to swallow supporting a bluenose team. All credit to Everton, who leave our lot standing when it comes to supporting community work, but I thought the team was supposed to represent the city, not a local council ward.

[Paul D]

Like a bat of hell, Meat Loaf is on way back!
Mar 8 2008

STADIUM rocker Meat Loaf is the latest act to join the bill for this year’s Summer Pops.

The Grammy Award winner will bring his Casa De Carne Tour to the ECHO Arena as part of the July season of concerts.

The 60-year-old American, who has sold more than 70m albums worldwide, today said he could not wait to return to Liverpool after his previous Pops appearance in 2005.

He said: “It’s so good to be back.

“Come on Liverpool – let’s get ready to rock this sucker!”

Meat Loaf will join a host of other big names at this year’s Pops, which move to the Arena after years at Central Docks and a brief appearance at Aintree racecourse last year.

The bill includes Diana Ross, Michael Bublé, Crowded House, Mick Hucknall, Deacon Blue, Australian Pink Floyd, Counting Crows, Def Leppard and Whitesnake.

Meat Loaf made history with the release of his debut album Bat Out Of Hell, which featured the hits Paradise By The Dashboard Lights, Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad and You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth.

It sold 37m albums across the world, including more than 3m in the UK.

Sixteen years later, lightning struck twice with Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell, which included the international chart-topper I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).

He has also has appeared in more than 60 television and feature films including The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Fight Club, Wayne’s World and Out Of Bounds.

Meat Loaf’s performance at the 2005 Pops won rave reviews, with the ECHO describing him as “a superb performer doing what he does best”.

[Chris B]

Great news. Last years Summer Pops consisted of 15 different dates. With 11 events already lined up for this years Summer Pops, things are looking good, with ample time for more acts to be announced.

[liverpolitan]

http://www.libdemvoice.org/category/conference

Some interesting comments about visiting ACC (and Liverpool) for the conference from delegates

For exampe this one:

"Part of observing Conference Ctte meant I got to tag along on their tour of the building, and here are my thoughts:

It’s huge
And Shiny
And painted lots of very bright colours
There are amazing views back over Liverpool when you walk out of the building
(Almost) Everyone’s happy to see you
Registration went really quickly (I needed to upgrade to a voting rep badge because I didn’t send local party officer details to Cowley Street in time)
The building is a total rabbit warren - and not just the backstage bits where the LDV office is located
But this might be because we are not using it the way it is designed
Because it isn’t entirely finished (even if the roof is definitely on)
Corblimey, but it’s miles from anywhere
I’m going to get wet if it rains tomorrow
My hotel is lovely but cost a small fortune
On balance I’d be more than happy to come back here
As ever, the comments are open to you for your thoughts."

A comment on first impressions of the city:

"Emerging from Lime Street station is a fine if disconcerting experience. Why, someone has picked up the Roman forum, rebuilt it at its zenith and plonked it down in the middle of a whirlwind of merciless relief roads! You can still sense, around Lime Street and along the docks in particular, the puffy pride of those Victorian grandees pretending they were Pericles, bolting on superbly extravagant civic buildings to what had formerly been a very ordinary if sprawling port city. The experience of sailing up the Mersey to dock at Liverpool must have been, to your average Irish famine victim for example, something akin to how arriving by ship at New York feels now".


And one little discussion about where the bloggers should all meet for a drink........

"Following our earlier discussion the answer to our drinks question was an unequivocal vote for Rigbys,

Therefore, our Liberal Drinks in Liverpool will be after the conference rally, which finishes at 7.30pm, in Rigby’s, 23-25 Dale Street, Liverpool L2 2EZ."


Nice to see that conference delegates use the entire city centre, and the benefits of ACC spread far wider than just the immediate vicinity.

[Chris B]

Interesting comments, and on the whole they are generally positive too which is good. I'm not sure I agree with the 'miles from anywhere' comment. With Liverpool One and the Pier Head works still on-going, it might not feel as connected to other parts of the city as it will in due course, but I think 'miles from anywhere' is more than a little over-exaggerated.

Still though, it's good that after just a tour, people are happy to come back. First impressions count greatly, and the ACC seems have got it worked out perfectly.

[liverpolitan]

I also think the "miles from anywhere" quote was a very interesting perception. The flip side to that coin is that Liverpool is seeming to be BIG to visitors, with quite long distances within the city centre. So in a way I quite like that, because the new city centre actually is quite big. Of course, once they get their bearings, they will realise they can walk to most places within 20 minutes. A tram from Lime Street to Kings Dock would have been so useful though. Is there a shuttle bus?

[Paul D]

Lib Dems: We’ll bring party rallies to Liverpool
Mar 8 2008 by Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo


Lib Dems: We’ll bring party rallies to city

POLITICAL party conferences could become a regular feature in Liverpool under Liberal Democrat plans.

The party’s top brass yesterday admitted they were considering bringing their annual spring and summer gatherings to the city on a regular basis.

Thousands of delegates are descending on Liverpool this weekend for the Lib Dem spring conference at the BT Convention Centre, next to the ECHO Arena.

The party’s Liverpool-born chief executive Lord Rennard believes the city could soon displace traditional venues such as Blackpool and Brighton.

He said: “It is certainly possible that we could come back.

“We were keen to be the first major party to bring our conference to Liverpool and show our confidence in the city during Capital of Culture year.

“We know it is a fantastic place to come for a conference – the people are friendly and the facilities are outstanding. We want to encourage other people to follow.

“We are proud of our traditions within Liverpool and how we have turned it around.

“We wanted to bring people here to see Liverpool’s regeneration and the huge improvements which have been made.”

The Lib Dems’ national leader Nick Clegg arrived at the city centre Crowne Plaza hotel yesterday for the start of the three-day conference, the biggest to be held at the convention centre so far.

It has not been an easy week for his party nationally or locally, with the resignation of three parliamentary front-benchers followed by Liverpool councillor Beatrice Fraenkel’s defection to Labour.

But Lord Rennard, who went to Blue Coat school and Liverpool University, believes his party’s record in the city will help them in the May elections.

He said: “We have to remind people how bad it was before 1998, when Liverpool was known for having the highest council tax in the country and poor services.”

Mr Clegg joined his activists in Liverpool yesterday with health reforms at the top of his agenda.

He said: “What you will see in Liverpool is the adoption of a radical and sweeping set of policies on health – from the decentralisation of health services, to directly-elected local health boards, to empowerment for individual patients.”

Mr Clegg was due to speak last night at the conference’s opening event, a rally for activists titled ‘Winning for Britain’.

He said he was looking forward to “a great, great weekend”, describing Liverpool as not only a great British city “but an icon to the world”.