Giant Spectacular - Part 3
Photographs by Patrick Trollope.

'LIVERPOOL'S Dream' was the 3rd and final Giant Spectacular to be performed on the streets of Liverpool and this time also on the Wirral, by the world's leading street theatre company:- 'Royal de Luxe.' This was an unforgettable show that ran from 4 October to 7 October 2018. The event was the biggest event marking 10 years since the City of Liverpool was European Capital of Culture, a turning point for not only the City, but for Merseyside as a whole.

On 4 October, the public could get up close to see the Giant Little Boy asleep in a hammock, which was located within the historic, Grade 1 Listed, St George’s Hall. It was the 1st time Liverpool had seen the Giant Little Boy, but he was very quickly to capture the hearts of those around... Despite some strange occurrences of objects around the City, included a Giant Sandal and a Giant Raft, within the docks, followed by a Giant Butter Knife that had been embedded within an Arriva Bus, outside Lime Street Station, the live action was to take place over following days. But as the live action took place the objects still kept popping up, including a Giant Fork that had been spotted, stuck fast within a car, parked next to St Luke's Church, aka:- 'The Bombed Out Church.'

The storytelling was done via giant marionettes, that walked around the City and the Wirral peninsula's coastal promenades. Sadly, we could not get across to see the Wirral part of the show, which started on the Marine Promenade, New Brighton, next to the Fort Perch Rock, that was built in 1803 along with the lesser known landmark, the New Brighton Lighthouse.

On the Liverpool Side, the Giant Little Boy along with the Giant Dog 'Xolo' set off from St George’s Hall Plateau, ending up at mid day for a lunch which included Brexit Course, with Cherries, in Princes Park, followed by a siesta. Then they headed towards the Albert Dock, and ended the day at The Strand, on Queen’s Wharf for an evening sleep. Just before the sleep, the theatre company performed, with a variety of special effects, a dream sequence.

Then came extremely busy Saturday, as all 3 the giant puppets took over the Centre of Liverpool and the Giant jumped over a large washing line, not once, but twice, in front of the Town Hall and even rested his feet in a large bucket, filled with water, on Derby Square. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service also provided refreshing drinks of water for him, as he walked around the City Centre, drenching many of the puppeteers, crew, photographers and camera crews that were following as well; much to the amusement of the huge crowds. Later that day, events lead to delays as both set of Giants met up in the shadow of the Royal Liver Buildings, on the Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage waterfront.

One of the best fun parts of Saturday was a race between the Giant Little Boy and the Giant Dog 'Xolo,' but don't ask who won, you will have to watch our video footage next week to find out!

Saturday ended with the Giants sleeping on Clarence Dock after another dream sequence performance, including an Upright Piano being catapulted through the air. A few did ask if this was reference to the Liverpool International Garden Festival, in 1984, when they used sledge hammers to smash an Upright Piano, but we were told that it wasn't the case.

Also, making its 1st appearance on the Liverpool side of the Mersey was a large, yellow, quarry dump truck. Many over on the Wirral would have also seen the dump truck the day before, but this was the 1st time people on the Liverpool got to see that it was filled with violins and had a young lady playing Irish music, as she sat on top with her violin.

Sunday was to be an emotional farewell to these puppets, which have captured the hearts of so many people thought out the world. as they headed up the historic water front for their final outing, ever, according to the Giants' creator Jean-Luc Courcoult. For those up close, you could see the emotion in the eyes of all those involved. In the morning, the Little Boy Giant made his good byes, as he walked to the Albert Dock and left on a boat across the docks. Then the Giant and Giant Dog 'Xolo' headed South, resting at Sefton Street, before returning in the afternoon with an appearance of the Little Girl Giant.

We would like to make a few references to the volunteers who throughout the event did an amazing job, helping to keep people safe, with the group called the:- 'Benevoles' along with many others. Plus a big shout for the St John Ambulance (SJA) along with the North West Ambulance teams, the Merseyside Firearms Team, plus the many other Police and Police Support staff who helped keep us safe. And that's not forgetting the stewarding and security, whose staff did an amazing job considering the enormous challenges that they had to face, FGH Security Ltd. along with Liverpool's Paramount Stewarding and Security Limited, and the many other groups that including traffic management services from HVM Solutions, Premier Traffic Management Ltd, 2 Works Ltd along with many more. Other unsung champions were the crane operators and support staff from John Such Cranes...

Not only that, but the public transport network was amazingly well run considering the numbers it had to deal with. Who says Liverpool could not handle the Commonwealth Games, after seeing what it delivered over those 4 days! Sorry, we did not get the chance to list all of you in this edition, we will try to put a few more in our next edition. Plus, we will have even more photos and some video for you in our following edition, but for now, please enjoy the photos over the next few pages.

The biggest praise has to go to Liverpool City Council and of course the Royal de Luxe, for delivering yet another amazing event. It is also worth adding that following the Giants, calls have been made for Jean-Luc Courcoult, the founder and Creative Director Royal de Luxe to be given the 'Freedom of the City of Liverpool,' after bringing in an estimated at a record 1.3m people to the City. So what do you think? Should Jean-Luc Courcoult and his team be given the 'Freedom of the City of Liverpool' for delivering such an amazing series of events? Considering his team are the world's most influential in this field, it is also worth noting that no other City had the Giants as many times as Liverpool did! Email your thoughts and views on this topic as well as any memories you have to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com.

To find out how you can submit your photos for a book about the event and also for other memories and surprises from the Giant's do not forget to log onto the official website.

After looking at these editions photos, don't forget we have 2 more sets of images online already for you to review... To see our:- 'Giant Spectacular Extra Edition Coverage (Part 2),' please click here and also to see Part 1, click here.

As an added note, have you seen the report about the Giants within this edition from Liverpool City Council, asking for photos?  Plus we have a few readers photos at the end of this report by Ben Jones Ennis, from Southport...

Find more photos on the next page... >>>

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