Liverpool ONE kicks off Christmas with a huge tree giveaway

LIVERPOOL ONE kicked off the festive season, on Friday, 12 November 2021, by giving out thousands of mini Christmas Trees to visitors. The Big Tree Giveaway coincided with the illumination of the iconic Christmas Tree in Paradise Place and the official start of the season at Liverpool ONE. The retail and leisure destination has partnered with The Mersey Forest and Liverpool City Council on this important initiative which is aimed at encouraging more green spaces as well as helping to tackle climate change and create more habitats for wildlife to thrive. And if you missed out on a tree on 12 November; there will be further opportunities with thousands more to give out! Those taking trees home will all be given tips and advice on how to care for them and help them to flourish. There will be further tree giveaways at Liverpool ONE on both:- Sunday, 21 November and Sunday, 28 November 2021.

Donna Howitt, Place Strategy Director at Liverpool ONE, added:- "We're well and truly into the Christmas spirit here at Liverpool ONE. It was fantastic to see so many people turning up to mark the start of the festive season; after the year everyone has had. We are delighted to have been able to bring some cheer with all of our festive characters; and the huge tree giveaway too! It's incredibly important to us that we play our role in tackling climate change and help to improve tree coverage across the City, so we're proud to be supporting this scheme and offering visitors an early Christmas treat to take home."

Liverpool ONE's Christmas decorations have also been refurbished this year with new energy saving LED bulbs, including all LED lighting in the giant tree; all in a bid to reduce energy consumption across the estate. Visitors were treated to re-enactments of classics such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast at Liverpool ONE today, together with performances from West End favourite Dream Girls, with giant crackers and Christmas Belles also on hand to greet passers by! Bar Hutte is back beneath the giant tree with its very own doggie grotto and lots of special treats for pet pooches to ensure no one misses out the festive spirit this year! For further information about Liverpool ONE and everything which is happening this festive season, visit:- Liverpool-One.com.

Over 3,000 excited Santas have already registered

LIVERPOOL sees the return of the world famous Santa Dash in less than 3 weeks; the pop up shop is open and there's even a new Santa in Town. The festive spectacular returns in real life for its 18th consecutive event on the 1st Sunday of December and it is thought to be the UK's biggest festive 5K fun run.

The Appreciate Group Liverpool Santa Dash is on Sunday, 5 December 2021, starting at 9.30am, from Pier Head Liverpool, on the City's iconic waterfront.

Anticipation and excitement are steadily mounting for the event return after it was staged virtually last year due to Covid19 guidelines.

Participants are now counting down the days until they can once again transform the City into a sea of dashing Santas. More than 3,000 people have already registered to take part.

The 5K route takes Santas through the Grade I Listed Royal Albert Dock Liverpool, through the City Centre, before a grandstand finish outside Liverpool Town Hall featuring stilt walking festive characters and 'real' snow.

Dashing Santas are being encouraged to walk, jog or run to raise funds for Alder Hey Children's Charity; the event's official charity partner for 2021.

The Santa Dash pop up shop is now open 7 days a week until Saturday, 4 December 2021, at St Johns Shopping Centre, Liverpool, on the upper level near the Matalan bridge.

The shop is open for in-person registration, as well as Santa suit collection for anyone who has registered online. Opening days and times are as follows:-

► Monday to Saturday:- 9.30am to 5pm.

► Sunday:- 11am to 4pm.

Neil Ashcroft, Manager of St Johns Shopping Centre, commented:- "You definitely know Christmas is on the way when the Santa Dash popup shop opens, it's the real start to all things festive in the City. It's fantastic to welcome the Santa Dash team back to St Johns Shopping Centre for the fifth year of festive fun. I'll be taking part once again with a team from St Johns and we cannot wait; see you on the start line."

Liverpool based gifting company, Appreciate Group, is this year's headline partner; and are introducing a bright new Santa to the colourful event.

Appreciate Group have been based in the Region for more than 50 years and are home to many of the nation's most loved gifting and reward products including:- Love2shop, HighStreetVouchers.Com, and Park Christmas Savings.

Andy Hammerton, Head of Corporate Affairs at Appreciate Group, explained:- "There's nothing quite like the iconic Liverpool Santa Dash and the sight of thousands of blue and red Santas streaming through the City. This year will see a new Santa in Town; in the shade of Appreciate Group yellow. It promises to be a joyful event."

Official charity partner Alder Hey Children's Charity recently launched its new ₤2.5million Surgical Neonatal Appeal to help develop a state of the art unit for newborn babies and their families.

Liverpool Santa Dash is an accessible event open to everyone:- wheelchair participants, walkers, joggers, runners, families, friends, colleagues, tiny Santas in prams, and even 4 legged furry Santas.

Created by BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell, the Liverpool Santa Dash was 1st staged in 2004. A separate 1K Mini Dash for under 12s was added in 2007, and blue Santa suits were introduced three years later.

BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for creating, managing and delivering headline race events across Liverpool City Region.

The registration fee covers all costs to organise and deliver the event including:- road closures, safety measures, Santa suits, medals, goody bags, and entertainment.

Any Covid19 guidelines required at the time of the event will be followed. For full details and online entry visit:- BTRLiverpool.Com.