As part of EuroFestival 2023, the cultural festival taking place across the city, Liverpool Cathedral is hosting ‘Izyum to Liverpool’ by the Ukrainian artist Katya Buchatska. Commissioned by Culture Liverpool in partnership with Liverpool Cathedral, Izyum to Liverpool is a multi-channel video installation charting the train journey of escape taken by so many Ukrainians since the Russian invasion in February 2022.

Starting in the liberated Ukrainian regions and moving towards calmer cities in the west, the real-time filming offers a unique and poignant window into the experience of those escaping war, and how normal life can change so suddenly and dramatically in just a moment. Izyum to Liverpool also examines the mental impact of the one-way journey, focusing on the loss, uncertainty, and sense of the fragility of their environment experienced by those travelling further and further away from the frontline.

Izyum to Liverpool will be hosted by Liverpool Cathedral from 1-19 May; meanwhile on 11 May, the artist Katya Buchatska will give a detailed talk at the Cathedral about her visual art installation and the themes it explores with Elisa Nocente, Cultural Programme Manager at Liverpool Cathedral. Katya Buchatska was born in 1987 in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she continues to live and work in various forms of media including painting, installations, sculpture, photography and video.

Liverpool is preparing for what is billed as Europe’s biggest party, the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, with the city and the BBC hosting the one-of-a-kind competition on behalf of Ukraine this year. National Museums Liverpool has organised a packed programme of events and live performances at its venues to celebrate this musical extravaganza. Many of these are part of EuroFestival (1-14 May 2023), the two-week long cultural festival taking place across the city, which will allow visitors to see its renowned museums and galleries as they’ve never been seen before.

Eurovision week is made up of three main events: two semi-final nights on Tuesday 9 May and Thursday 11 May, with the Grand Final to follow on Saturday 13 May. The Museum of Liverpool is putting on events on all three nights, with a programme of exclusive performances by a diverse selection of artists for both semi finals and food and drink available throughout the evening. Both the Museum of Liverpool and the World Museum will also host screenings of the Grand Final, giving visitors the opportunity to watch the event in their choice of glorious surroundings.

National Museums Liverpool will also be hosting Museum Sessions Live music events between 14 April and 14 May at various venues including the Walker Art Gallery, the World Museum, the Museum of Liverpool, the Maritime Museum and the Lady Lever Art Gallery. These events are inspired by NML’s YouTube series, and will give individual musicians and groups the unique opportunity to take centre stage and perform in such iconic venues. Various other displays at NML’s galleries and museums will also be open to the public, and a number of family-friendly events will aim to keep the young as thoroughly entertained as the adults.

Liverpool Cathedral’s Grand Organ Appeal aims to raise the £900,000 needed to restore and preserve what is not only the largest organ in the UK, but also one of the greatest musical instruments in the world. Built in 1926, the Grand Organ of Liverpool Cathedral was the largest instrument ever designed at the time, and continuous daily use in worship since then has resulted in the imperative need for major restoration work.

Apart from one-off donations, Liverpool Cathedral has devised a range of activities to get involved with in support of the appeal. One of the most appealing options for those with a passion for organ music is the unique Organ Experience, costing £500, which offers the rare chance to play one of the world’s finest church organs and to learn about the instrument from one of the Cathedral’s resident organists. Another excellent and unusual choice for the organ enthusiast is the chance to adopt one of the organ’s 10,268 magnificent pipes for as little as £2.

Donations to the appeal can be made on Liverpool Cathedral’s website, online or by mobile phone with JustGiving, via a cash back donation using the Easy Fundraising online shopping service, or by buying merchandise including organ music from the Cathedral Shop. Supporters are also welcome to organise their own event to raise money for the appeal such as recitals, plays, coffee mornings, cheese and wine evenings, quiz nights, raffles – the possibilities are endless.

Liverpool Cathedral has so far raised almost two-thirds (£600,000) required to restore the Grand Organ, and participation in any of these various fundraising activities will help reach the target and preserve this special musical instrument for future generations.

Bartletts Solicitors are proud to be long-term supporters of Liverpool Cathedral, with Thomas Bartlett, a direct ancestor of the firm’s owners, leaving a bequest for the construction of the array of 13 bells for the new cathedral which was then being built in 1912.

National Museums Liverpool has recently announced plans for its landmark Waterfront Transformation Project, which is expected to transform part of Liverpool’s iconic waterfront over the course of the next decade. Made possible by the National Lottery’s Heritage Fund, the project aims to create vibrant and welcoming spaces for visitors, while also acting as a catalyst for social and environmental improvements in the area. The project will focus on the area between the Royal Albert Dock and Mann Island, with plans to reshape and renew this part of the waterfront and the local National Museums Liverpool facilities.

The expansion of the International Slavery Museum in Royal Albert Dock is expected to convert what is currently a series of galleries into a world-leading museum covering all aspects of historic and modern slavery, including the waterfront’s history and the Liverpool’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. At the same time, the heritage and maritime history of the adjacent Canning Dock will be revealed, with two drydocks renewed and upgraded to enhance the experience for visitors and the potential for events and performances.

The Waterfront Transformation Project will further include a series of improvements at the Museum of Liverpool, with new spaces, more immersive visitor experiences and improvements to hospitality areas. A number of historic dockside buildings will also be refurbished and opened to the public, including the Cooperage, Mermaid House, the Pilotage, the Piermaster’s House, the Great Western Railway Warehouse and Hartley Hut.

Opening in 13 weeks time, the Return of the Gods: Zeus, Athena, Hercules exhibition at Liverpool’s World Museum will showcase a collection of internationally important classical sculptures that rivals the collections held at the British Museum, the Vatican and the Louvre. Visitors will be able to explore the legends of the gods, goddesses and mortals from ancient Greece and Rome, including how the Greek gods were adopted by the Romans and how they were worshipped in public and private.

Henry Blundell of Sefton was an 18th century antiquarian who put together a collection of classical sculptures to display at his home at Ince Blundell. At its height, the collection consisted of more than 400 artefacts and was one of the largest in the country, considered second only to the British Museum in terms of importance and quality

Marble sculptures, paintings and furniture from Ince Blundell Hall were donated to National Museums Liverpool in the 20th century by Joseph Weld, a cousin of Henry Blundell. The Return of the Gods: Zeus, Athena, Hercules exhibition is a unique opportunity to view the stunning collection of classical sculptures and antiquities, and enter the ancient world of myth and legend through the words of poets, music and drama.

The Return of the Gods: Zeus, Athena, Hercules exhibition runs from 28 April until 25 February next year.