What's on in Liverpool
This November, Liverpool heads into its Christmas season, with a listing that runs into mid December. Liverpool Christmas Wonderland opens at Pier Head on 20 November, Skate St George's brings an ice rink and a Christmas market to St George's Plateau the next day, and the Everyman's rock 'n' roll panto runs until 16 January. Concerts range from a Candlelight tribute to Leonard Cohen at St George's Hall on 20 November and The Stylistics on 27 November to Echo & the Bunnymen on 16 December. Dylan Moran plays the Philharmonic Hall on 22 November, and Ally Fallon's new paintings fill the Walker Art Gallery until 16 May.
Official events calendar for Liverpool
The events below come from Liverpool's official events calendar for the coming weeks, from Christmas ice rinks to a garden of light, and each card links to its official listing with dates and venues. For the sights that stay open all year, see top things to do in Liverpool.
The Rock 'n' Roll Panto 2026, Beauty and the Beast
When: 14 November 2026 to 16 January 2027
Where: Everyman Theatre, Hope Street
The Everyman's actor-musicians turn Beauty and the Beast into this year's rock 'n' roll panto, part rock concert and part family show.
Liverpool Christmas Wonderland at Pier Head
When: 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027
Where: Pier Head, in front of the Three Graces
A covered ice rink, rides, games, Santa's Grotto, a light walk and food stalls fill the waterfront for 45 days.
Skate St George's
When: 21 November 2026 to 3 January 2027
Where: St George's Plateau, opposite Lime Street Station
An outdoor ice rink with a Christmas market of local traders, a Big Wheel, a Christmas tree maze and a carousel. Closed on Christmas Day.
Meet the Scientists
When: 21 November
Where: World Museum
Scientists from the University of Liverpool take over the museum for a family day of hands-on activities and experiments. No booking needed.
Garden of Light
When: 24 November to 6 December
Where: St Luke's Bombed Out Church
More than 1,800 illuminated metal flowers designed by Emma Rodgers fill the ruined church, each one dedicated to someone special.
Story Time with Santa
When: 5 to 24 December
Where: Liverpool Town Hall
Father Christmas and Buddy the Elf share stories and songs with children aged 2 to 10, in sessions of up to 20 children.
Festivals and concerts in Liverpool
Paul Heaton
Paul Heaton plays M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on 11 November at 18:30.
The Jazz Room: Marvin Gaye in a Night of Soul
The Jazz Room: Marvin Gaye in a Night of Soul plays District on 13 November at 18:30.
Chasing Abbey
Chasing Abbey plays O2 Academy 2 Liverpool on 17 November at 19:00.
Candlelight: Tribute to Leonard Cohen
Candlelight: Tribute to Leonard Cohen plays St George's Hall on 20 November at 18:30.
Little Angels, Big Bad and Back Tour
Little Angels, Big Bad and Back Tour plays O2 Academy Liverpool on 24 November at 19:00.
The Stylistics
The Stylistics plays Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 27 November at 19:30.
Candlelight: Tribute to Olivia Dean
Candlelight: Tribute to Olivia Dean plays Liverpool Town Hall on 28 November at 18:30.
Puccini's Madama Butterfly
Puccini's Madama Butterfly plays St George's Hall on 5 December at 14:30.
The Bootleg Beatles
The Bootleg Beatles plays Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 6 December at 19:00.
Dave Hill's Slade
Dave Hill's Slade plays O2 Academy Liverpool on 9 December at 19:00.
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen plays Camp and Furnace on 16 December at 19:00.
The Dream Machine
The Dream Machine plays O2 Academy 2 Liverpool on 16 December at 19:00.
Events and shows in Liverpool
Adam Rowe, Fashionism
Adam Rowe, Fashionism plays Liverpool Empire Theatre on 13 November at 19:30.
Sophie McCartney, Back in the Day Rave
Sophie McCartney, Back in the Day Rave plays Camp and Furnace on 14 November at 13:00.
Jenny Talia, Without Adult Supervision
Jenny Talia, Without Adult Supervision plays Hot Water Comedy Club at Blackstock Market on 14 November at 19:30.
Bill Bailey, Vaudevillean
Bill Bailey, Vaudevillean plays M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on 14 November at 20:00.
The Jury Experience, The Killer AI
The Jury Experience, The Killer AI comes to Liverpool Playhouse Theatre on 21 November at 16:00.
Jonathan Pie, The End of the World According to Jonathan Pie
Jonathan Pie, The End of the World According to Jonathan Pie plays The Auditorium, Liverpool on 21 November at 19:30.
Dylan Moran, Looking for Trouble
Dylan Moran, Looking for Trouble plays Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 22 November at 20:00.
Gladiators Live Tour
Gladiators Live Tour comes to M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on 28 November.
Ballet of Lights, Cinderella
Ballet of Lights, Cinderella plays Liverpool Playhouse Theatre on 28 November at 16:00.
The Holiday, Film with Live Orchestra
The Holiday, Film with Live Orchestra comes to Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on 30 November at 19:30.
The Big Christmas Sing-Along with Aled Jones and Alexander Armstrong
Art exhibitions and museum shows in Liverpool
BRB
Until: 6 December 2026
Where: FACT, Wood Street
Film, animation, installation and playable works by Livi Wilmore, Mrs Luva-Luva and Ellie Hoskins on living with constant connectivity.
New Faces, New Focus, Stories We Share
Until: 20 December 2026
Where: Open Eye Gallery, Mann Island
A touring Art Fund exhibition on journeys, identity and home, with new photography made with communities across the Liverpool City Region.
Blackler's Father Christmas
Dates: 24 November 2026 to 10 January 2027
Where: Museum of Liverpool
The 18 foot Father Christmas that towered over shoppers in Blackler's department store from 1957 until 1988 returns to the museum's atrium.
Extravagance and Excess, Fashion in the 1870s
Until: 9 April 2027
Where: Walker Art Gallery
Rare carte-de-visite photographs and 11 outfits from the 1870s show how Liverpool people followed fashion in the decade the gallery opened.
Ally Fallon, The Shape of a Room
Dates: 14 November 2026 to 16 May 2027
Where: Walker Art Gallery
A solo exhibition of new paintings by Ally Fallon, the youngest artist ever to win the John Moores Painting Prize.
National and local holidays in Liverpool
Public holidays reshape a short visit more than most travellers expect. Banks and council offices close, many museums and attractions switch to a holiday timetable, shops keep shorter hours and trains and buses run a reduced service, so a day planned around a single sight can come undone. England and Wales share one bank holiday calendar, and it sets 8 dates for 2026. Two of them fall together at the end of December, when transport timetables and attraction hours change the most.
National holidays in England and Wales 2026
- 1 January New Year's Day
- 3 April Good Friday
- 6 April Easter Monday
- 4 May Early May bank holiday
- 25 May Spring bank holiday
- 31 August Summer bank holiday
- 25 December Christmas Day
- 28 December Boxing Day (substitute day, as 26 December falls on a Saturday)
Local holidays in Liverpool 2026
Liverpool adds no local holidays to that calendar. GOV.UK publishes bank holidays by nation, and the list that applies in Liverpool is the England and Wales one above; there is no separate Liverpool bank holiday. The extra dates kept elsewhere in the United Kingdom, among them 2 January and Saint Andrew's Day in Scotland and Saint Patrick's Day and the Battle of the Boyne in Northern Ireland, are not holidays in Liverpool.
No bank holiday falls in England in the weeks this page covers, from mid November to mid December. The next two are Christmas Day on Friday 25 December and the Boxing Day substitute on Monday 28 December.
Plan the rest of your trip to Liverpool
Liverpool in a day and beyond
The Liverpool guide ranks 12 attractions, from the Royal Albert Dock and the Royal Liver Building to Anfield, then adds free things to do and maritime and Beatles history.
Where to get help in Liverpool
Where to find the tourist information points in Liverpool, the hours they keep and the bank holidays that change opening times across the city.
Beyond Liverpool
The guide to the United Kingdom looks past Liverpool to the Tower of London, Stonehenge, the Giant's Causeway and Eryri, with the sights worth building a longer trip around.