New visitor experience at City gem to use latest technology

WORK has been taking place behind the scenes on a brand new visitor experience, which will open later this year at an iconic Liverpool landmark. The History Whisperer will be the focal point of a new attraction, at St George's Hall, located in the heart of the UNESCO Word Heritage Site, set to open late in the summer.

Behind the new addition is a team of the country's leading tech organisations:-

► Gazooky Studios; a BAFTA and Prix Europa award winning storytelling and world class XR technology company.

► Immersive Interactive; specialists in mesmerising touch wall interactivity.

► Music in Mind; an industry leader when it comes to creating rousing, witty and deeply moving music and sound effects.

The consortium was officially appointed back in February after successfully responding to the Hall's tender process, following a ₤250,000 award from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which formed part of the Government's Culture Recovery Fund.

This funding will pave the way for the new visitor experience, which will be a welcome addition to the Hall's mission to recover following the Covid19 Pandemic.

Details of the attraction are being kept under wraps, but audiences can expect to be plunged into a world where the past meets the present, and the fascinating social history of Victorian Liverpool and St George's Hall comes to life.

As part of the process, the consortium is appealing to members of the public to share their memories of St George's Hall through photographs and videos. These will potentially form part of the attraction.

For your chance to be featured, please use the following Google Form and read the consent paragraph before submitting your photographs and/or videos:- bit.ly/SGHCallForContent.

An official opening date for The History Whisperer will be announced in the coming weeks.

Liverpool's Cabinet Member for Culture and Visitor Economy, Councillor Harry Doyle, said:- "We are all aware of how the Pandemic has decimated our cultural offer, and so there's both relief and excitement that venues can finally be in a position to prepare to welcome back visitors safely. St George's Hall is already a must visit destination for tourists and residents alike, but by bringing on board some of the country's leading tech companies, the Hall's team are introducing a whole new, cutting edge dynamic to the visitor offer. I can 't wait to find out more about the new attraction and experiencing it for myself and I'm sure it will prove to be a popular addition to this much loved gem."

Head of Liverpool City Assets, Angie Redhead, said:- "After a busy few months of hard work and development, we 're thrilled to be officially announcing Gazooky Studios, Immersive Interactive and Music in Mind, as the consortium behind our visitor experience, The History Whisperer. While St George's Hall is known for its rich architecture and captivating history, we 're now going to be digitally of our time too. To marry our unique heritage with the ground breaking storytelling of Gazooky and their partners, fills us with huge excitement. We simply cannot wait to re-open and share our new immersive experience with visitors later this year."

Speaking on behalf of The History Whisperer consortium, Chief Executive and Creative Director of Gazooky Studios, Dr Rose Kay, said:- "Gazooky Studios, Music in Mind and Immersive Interactive are delighted to be given this amazing opportunity. We'll be bringing the spaces of St George's Hall to life with our immersive, interactive and storytelling expertise, in a ground breaking project; a 1st of a kind attraction for Liverpool. It will combine the latest:- immersive technology, theatre, film, art and music to create a truly inspiring experience that will move people; moving them emotionally with a powerful story, whilst moving them physically throughout the Hall. It's a great privilege to be working with other Liverpool based companies and with the community, to create a world class experience, sharing stories of Liverpool's rich past."
 

1 Stop Shop service books a place in 9 City libraries

9 of Liverpool's Libraries are to be used to deliver a new look 1 Stop Shop service. As part of the Council's budget proposals for 2021/22, it had been planned that ₤1.1 million be cut from the service's budget, leaving just 18 staff working from 4 pop up venues rather than 8 fixed sites. The financial cut was later reduced to ₤768,000 when the Council passed its budget in March 2021.

Now, following public consultation and discussions with trade unions, Councillors and staff, a revised scheme has been approved which more than doubles the number of locations where face to face Council services are available and maintains staffing numbers and secures jobs. The 1 Stop Shop model will also be developed into Customer Hubs with customers supported to access services online if possible.

It will see 9 of the City's Libraries used, with two sites operating full time, and the other seven open either 2 or 3 days per week.

Full time sites, from Monday to Friday:-

► Toxteth Library.

► Spellow Library (Kirkdale 1 Stop Shop building will be used until refurbishment work is completed)

Part time sites - 2 or 3 days per week:-

► Central Library.

► Old Swan Library.

► Kensington Library.

► Norris Green Library.

► Lee Valley Library.

► Speke Library (Parklands)

► Garston Library.

To provide consistency, each of the part time sites will be open on the same days each week. The service will also give people the option of pre-booking appointments so they do not have to wait at any of the sites. The opening of the sites will be phased and will start later this summer. The opening programme is dependent on Government advice on the lifting of Covid restrictions.

Deputy Mayor and cabinet member for finance and resources Cllr Jane Corbett, said:- "This is really great news for our residents who don 't have easy access to a computer or a smartphone. Although many people now access our services online or through our telephone contact centre, there are still some residents who really value and need the face to face support of our customer staff to interact with the Council. We have chosen 9 sites across the City where we know the need is greatest and which can be accessed on public transport. Our Libraries are a well known and much loved valuable community resource, so using them to house our One Stop Shop services makes perfect sense, and some of them have already operated in this way for many years. We have been careful to plan this out so that the sites which are part time, but geographically close are open on different days."