The city of Liverpool will come to a standstill on Monday as the new Premier League champions parade their trophy across their 10-mile journey
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Liverpool fans line the streets to see the team take part in an open-top bus parade on June 2, 2019, after winning the UEFA Champions League
(Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
The city of Liverpool will come to a standstill this weekend as the new Premier League champions embark on a 10-mile route that will produce enough iconography for its own wing in the club museum.
The date of May 26 has been booked in the diaries for quite some time now as Bank Holiday Monday hosts a day that will, even for this football club, go down as one of the most memorable in modern memory, and possibly ever given its significance.
It's the party that was denied supporters five years ago and while it is not technically true that fans did not get to bask in the afterglow of Premier League success, those who congregated outside Anfield on June 26, 2020, did so without the blessing of the club itself as the world continued to live through the pandemic restrictions.
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This time out, there are no grander concerns, and the event itself will be attended by an estimated one million people, as supporters from all over the world make the pilgrimage into the city itself.
"This one is going to be insane with the Premier League trophy with us," Harvey Elliott told the ECHO last month. "We have obviously won it before, five years ago, but while it was in a period of COVID, we weren't able to celebrate with the fans as much as we would have liked. It is going to be unreal scenes, to see the city flooded in red and it's not that we don't know it but to see that support once more will be incredible."
Virgil van Dijk, when asked at Chelsea earlier this month, added: “Hopefully it will be even better than what we had after the Champions League final (in 2022) and I already encouraged everyone to wear red in the last game and keep doing that for the rest of the season because everyone saw how amazing it was.
“For so many fans and people that have been going to Anfield for so many years it was one of their best days ever so hopefully the 25th will top that and the parade will be even more crazy than ever and there will be even more people coming from around the world to be in Liverpool to come and be with us."
Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo says he is "curious" to discover just what will await him on Monday afternoon, saying: "I'm looking forward to the parade. The players who have done it before have explained how it was before. They said it was crazy. We are very curious about what is going to happen."
Clearly the excitement is not confined just to supporters and the chance for the players to embrace the celebration the awaits them is a reward for their hard work in securing a record-equalling 20th league title, but it can also serve as a reminder for those with uncertain minds - either inside the squad or external transfer targets - of just what success at Liverpool FC looks like.
The scenes will serve as the main event to what will be a weekend-long party across the region that includes a number of events with ex-players and the great and the good of club history. The likes of Rafa Benitez, Jurgen Klopp and Sir Kenny Dalglish will all be out between Friday and Saturday and are all expected to be present on Sunday when the trophy itself is hoisted aloft by captain Van Dijk.
There is, though, some important messaging to be communicated before the festivities get underway and Liverpool have come together with the City Council, Merseyside Police and Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust to urge supporters to avoid the use of pyrotechnics across the parade's route on the day.
Inevitably, the use of flares, smoke bombs and fireworks have increased since the title was officially clinched against Tottenham on April 27 and while the use of such items can add colour and atmosphere to proceedings, the risks far outweigh the benefits.
There were, according to club figures, close to 50 reports of burns outside Anfield after the Spurs game last month, with the youngest being a three-year-old child, while three years ago - when the Reds returned as beaten Champions League finalists with the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in their grasp - there were as many as 84 reports of injuries by St John Ambulance from pyrotechnics, and a dozen people were hospitalised as a result.
Matt Ashton, director of public health at Liverpool City Council says: "This parade is about celebration and joy - and bringing dangerous items like flares and smoke bombs only puts yourself and fellow fans at risk.
"Given the injuries we’ve sadly seen on previous occasions, it's just not worth it. Let’s keep this event safe and inclusive for everyone, especially our youngest fans. And remember - no smoke means everyone gets a clear view of the players and the trophy."
Nathan Askew, who is chief nurse at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, adds: “We know that Monday will be a fantastic day for all Liverpool fans, but over the past few years we have seen several children and young people who have needed hospital treatment after using pyrotechnics or flares.
“Pyrotechnics and flares can cause serious injuries to children, including severe burns, breathing problems and damage to lungs, ears and eyes. Burns are both painful and distressing for children who don’t recognise or understand the dangers. We would ask anyone attending to enjoy the day, but please do so safely."
Paul Cuttill, vice president of stadium operations Liverpool Football Club, says: “We want our supporters to enjoy a fantastic occasion and celebrate our 20th league title win in style through the city streets, but we want it to be safe for everyone.
“We’ve seen young children suffering burns injuries as a result of the use of pyrotechnics and, together with our city partners, are taking a responsible approach to highlight just how dangerous they are.
“All of us here at the club want a safe parade that everyone can enjoy and be able to see the joy on the faces of the fans as the victory bus makes its way across the city. Let’s make this a day to remember for everyone involved.”
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The route begins at Allerton Maze, in the south of the city, at 2:30pm and the entire event is slated to last somewhere between three and five hours as the bus crawls along Liverpool to take in the scenes.
From Allerton, the players will be ferried north on Queens Drive towards the Childwall Fiveways roundabout and on to the Rocket flyover. From Queens Drive, the bus heads past Mill Bank and West Derby Road before turning on to Leeds Street via Islington near the city centre. From there, The Strand will be next and it is here where the most famous images of past parades have been captured.
"We had an amazing time and the owners couldn't believe it," former CEO Peter Moore told the ECHO last year, when reflecting on the Champions League parade of 2019.
"I was explaining to John Henry on the bus where we were, what this meant and how the club had done this before but nothing like the scale of what this was.
"And then we came down Scotty (Scotland) Road into Kirkdale, turning right on to Leeds Street to the BMW garage on your right, ready to go on to the Strand and then John said to me: 'Well, that was great but now we have got to get to the airport'.
"So I said to him, because I had been getting messages off my team on the ground: 'John, there's a quarter of a million people down here on the Strand!'
"John was convinced he had seen it all and it was time to go and head back, I had to say: 'You're not going to believe what is coming next! You think you've seen it all, you ain't seen nothing yet!'
"We went down The Strand and completed the journey and he couldn't believe it. They were ready to jump and didn't realise what was to come. The photos we have of that day will live in everyone's memory forever."