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Carnival Fever To Take Over Liverpool With Return Of Brazilica This Weekend

LIVERPOOL promises to be hotter than Rio this weekend with the return of the highly anticipated Brazilica Festival taking over the city streets!  Get ready to samba, as organisers reveal the Brazilica parade route and full programme details for Liverpool's International Samba Carnival, returning this weekend from Friday, 12 July to Sunday 14 July 2019.

There will be plenty to whet audience's appetite for 2019 including live samba bands; Carnival King and Queen Competition; the return of the Brazilica Film Festival; and the Brazilica parade, which remains the highlight of the festival.

This years Carnival day takes place on Saturday, 13 July 2019, from 2pm, with Oba! TuQ, from Paris performing at Fan Park. The 40 percussionists and dancers will have the crowds dancing in the street as they bring their sizzling selection of samba. Then get ready for the highlight of the weekend with the spectacular night time Carnival Parade featuring world class dancers and an impressive 19 samba bands from all over the UK and Europe.

The newly crowned Carnival King and Queen will lead the Brazilica Carnival Parade which starts from Abercromby Square, at 8pm. Get there early to grab the best view as it makes its colourful way down:- Oxford Street, Hope Street, Hardman Street and Bold Street. It will then travel through the middle of Town for its spectacular finale in Church Street.

Festival goers can samba until the early hours at the official Brazilica After Party taking place at Camp and Furnace, on Saturday, 13 July 2019, from 10pm to 4am which will feature carnival DJ's and live music. Entry ₤5.

Maeve Morris, Artistic Director of Liverpool Carnival Company, said:- "This year's Brazilica promises, as ever, to be a vibrant, colourful and memorable celebration of Brazilian music, dance and culture! We have a fabulous programme of events with something for the whole family to enjoy, from the live samba bands performing at Fan Park and in the City Centre, to the magnificent Carnival King and Queen Competition.  And of course; Saturday's parade is always the highlight of the weekend. It is wonderful to see the crowds line the streets coming in their thousands to watch, so be sure to grab your spot along the route early."

Keep the party going on Sunday, 14 July 2019; head to Church Street in the City Centre as samba bands will be performing throughout the afternoon.

The Brazilica Film Festival is back for 2019 bringing the very best of Brazilian cinema to venues across Liverpool. 5 films celebrating Brazilian life and culture, which will be screened at various venues across the City, from 18 July to 30 July 2019.

Metal will screen the 2018 drama Rust, on Thursday, 18 July 2019, whilst The Kazimier Stockroom plays host to acclaimed director Miguel Gomes' black and white drama Tabu, on Tuesday, 23 July 2019. The films continue with Liquid Truth taking audiences on a roller coaster of emotions at FACT on Wednesday, 24 July 2019, and then the life and adventures of a gang of street kids are explored in Capitães Da Areia at VideOdyssey, on Thursday, 25 July 2019. Closing the show for 2019, Pixote, the story of homeless adolescent enmeshed in an underworld of drugs and violence, comes to FACT, on Tuesday, 30 July 2019.

Check out Brazilica.Co.UK for additional information and times.

Flyovers set to be demolished

A report to Liverpool City Council's Cabinet, on Friday, 19 July 2019, is seeking permission to remove the 50 year old structures, in a phased demolition, at a cost of ₤6.75m, which would be completed by the end of the year. The 2 lane, concrete highways, opened as part of a City Centre Inner Ring Road scheme that was later cancelled - were closed at the end of September 2018 after construction flaws were discovered. This led to a detailed inspection that concluded that multiple, significant defects could not be reversed and it would cost the Council ₤7.2m just to maintain the structure, with no traffic allowed, for the remaining 20 years of its lifespan.

Councillor James Noakes, Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Highways, said:- "The Churchill Way flyovers are a relic of a cancelled highways plan from ½ a century ago and given the overwhelming weight of evidence against their safety, their removal is now the only viable option. This demolition is going to be a complex process. It cannot be done overnight and a lot of thought is going into the methodology to ensure the inconvenience to City Centre traffic will be kept to a minimum. Detailed designs for junction improvements are also a key element in making the area a better experience for everyone, post demolition, and we will be working hard to keep all of our City Centre stakeholders and the public informed of how the new traffic proposals will look."

The proposed demolition, which includes the removal of the flyovers and associated footbridges, would see the installation of a temporary footbridge over Hunter Street; and minor highway improvements to address current traffic issues in the area. Several trees in the area will need to be removed, but the Council would seek to replant. At the same time Liverpool City Council's Highways Team will develop a detailed proposal to improve connectivity in the area and a master plan will be created to manage the land released by the demolition.

Trevor Cherryholme, Principal Project Manager, Amey Consulting, said:- "The safety of the public is our primary concern and our inspection of the Churchill Way Flyovers found that they are no longer adequate to carry vehicles or pedestrians. Our primary areas of concern are the poor quality of original construction, subsequent deterioration and the current signs of structural distress. More specifically, poor steel placement and spalled concrete, collapsed or failed formwork, failed drainage and signs of overstress in the deck are among our most significant findings. It is our view that there is no safe option other than demolition."

Minor alterations will also be made to the highway layout around the:- Hunter Street; Byrom Street; Queensway Tunnel Entrance, to improve traffic and pedestrian movements. Engineers have also investigated potential impact to other nearby roadwork schemes, specifically the new City Bus Hub currently under construction on Old Haymarket, and concluded the demolition will have no negative effect.

Funding for the proposed demolition will come from the Liverpool City Centre Connectivity (LCCC) Phase 1 Grant Fund Agreement and subject to Cabinet approval, the City Council will seek to apply for a grant increase of ₤1.75m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to deliver the scheme.

For more information about the ₤45m LCCC programme, which is a key scheme within the Council's wider ₤500m Better Roads programme, please go to:- Liverpool.Gov.UK/BetterRoads.

We would love to know if you will miss this landmark within our City Center, or if you have any views or thoughts on this? If you do, please do let us know via emailing us to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com.

Background to the Flyovers:-

The Churchill Way Flyovers consist of 2 separate roads linking Lime Street to Dale Street (South Flyover) and Tithebarn Street (North Flyover), running directly behind the City's Museums and Galleries, located on William Brown Street. Opened in 1970 they were closed in the 1980's for repairs and further remedial works were carried out in 2005 and 2013 as part on a regular maintenance regime. Following new legislation on major highways structures, a Post Tensioned Special Inspection (PTSI) began in 2016 to assess the Northern and Southern Sections, both of which are more than 240 metres in length. This found problems with drainage, internal support, barriers and bearings which led to the flyovers being shut last autumn for investigations into potential hidden defects and potential overstress. An independent engineering report was handed to the City Council, in February 2019, following more than 140 different types of structural testing, involving removal of the road surface, drilling into the decks and underground assessments of every supporting column. The tests had found multiple flaws including that the quality of the concrete and steel was poor, with tendons and ducts corroded and signs of structural distress including cracking over some supports. It concluded the structures could not be strengthened.