Liverpool’s Chinatown is set to be a festival of colour and sound this month as it welcomes the Year of the Rabbit.

Taking place on Sunday 22 January, the free celebrations of Europe’s oldest Chinese community will include the traditional dragon, lion and unicorn parades, firecracker displays, family workshops, Tai Chi demonstrations, live music performances, a fairground as well as food and craft stalls.

Culture Liverpool has also commissioned a number of new cultural pieces which are all free and either take place in the run up to the Sunday, and on the day itself to complement the traditional celebrations, or just after. These include:

• A stunning fire-finale, courtesy of Liverpool-based Bring The Fire, will see shaolin warriors perform fiery martial arts, beautiful dance pieces and kinetic fire sculpture that will create a mesmerising theatre of moving flames.
• A projection show will light up the Bombed-Out Church (St Luke’s) from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 January, 5-9pm each evening. Created by Focal Studios, in partnership with artists
• Eleonora Asparuhova and Laura Sullivan, a six-minute show called The Lunar Rabbit will reflect the qualities of the rabbit’s personality, projected on the tower inside the grounds.
• Pagoda Arts, in collaboration with LIMF Academy artists and musician Jah Wobble, will deliver a programme of music masterclasses, which will result in a co-commission called Pearl River to the Mersey River. The instrumental fusion of Chinese and western music will be performed at both the Chinese New Year event on Sunday 22 January and at the Royal Philharmonic Music Room on Friday 27 January.
• Focusing on the resilience and strength of the Chinese community post-Covid, Silk will see interactive dance pop-ups take place along Berry Street, Bold Street and Great George Street on Sunday 22 January as well as a stage performance at St George Square. It has been co-funded by Movema and Jockey Club England.
• Three specially designed Chinese New Year rabbit lanterns, standing 1.5 metres high, will take pride of place near the Chinese Arch, created by local artist Becky Bryson.
• In Conversation events and workshops, including lantern making sessions, will take place in FACT on Thursday 26 January. They will be led by artist-in-residence April Lin.

From next week (week commencing 9 January), thousands of Chinese lanterns will adorn the city centre streets around Chinatown and Liverpool ONE, and from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 January, a number of buildings will be illuminated in red in honour of the new year – signifying good fortune and joy to everyone. These buildings include Sefton Park Palm House, Cunard Building, Royal Liver Building, Liverpool Town Hall and St George’s Hall.

The event has been organised by Liverpool City Council’s Culture Liverpool team in partnership with the Liverpool Chinese Business Association.

Councillor Harry Doyle, cabinet member for culture and visitor economy, says: “Our Chinese New Year event is always hugely popular and I love seeing thousands of people come together in celebration of our much-loved Chinese community.

“The day is always a real spectacle, with a whole host of family-friendly activities which are free, or are low-cost – so it’s a great, inclusive way to get people involved.

“These celebrations always feel like the kick-start of our annual events programme which, this year, will see the city hosting one of the biggest song contests in the world – Eurovision!

“When this first event of the year is under our belt, we will then be in full Eurovision delivery mode as we use all our cultural credential to make the UK and the Ukraine proud.”

Animation programme details for Sunday 22 January

11am – 5pm Great George Square

12pm – 12.15pm DJ Yeti

12.15pm – 1pm Pagoda Arts – Flower Drums, Fan Tai Chi, Dance and Happy Dance!

1pm – 1.40pm Firecracker Display – Lucky Man, Dragon and Unicorn Parades

1.40pm – 1.50pm Liverpool Hung Gar Kung Fu Friendship Association – Martial Arts Demonstration

1.50pm – 1.55pm DJ Yeti

1.55pm – 2.15pm Wah Sing Chinese Community Centre Dancers – Traditional Chinese Dance and Song

Bless You – Chinese Dance Performance

Draw You – Chinese Dance Performance

Beautiful Taihu – Chinese Dance Performance

Happy Every Year song – Singing Performance

2.15pm – 2.20pm Friendship Dancers Moonlight Waltz

2.20pm – 2.45pm Tian and LIMF Academy (in association with Pagoda Arts)

2.50pm – 2.55pm Wirral Chinese Cultural Association: Classical Dance – Dream in Flowers

2.55pm – 3pm North East Wales Chinese Women’s Association – Traditional Chinese Dance

3pm – 3.10pm Movema Dance – Silk

3.15pm – 3.20pm UK Phoenix Qipao Chinese Cultural and Art Association – The Big Fan Dance ‘WanJiang’ and The Silk Scarf QiPao show ‘The Picture Scroll of Love’

3.25pm – 3.30pm Friendship Dancers – Beautiful River (Chinese Line Dance)

3.45pm – 4.10pm Tian & LIMF Academy (in association with Pagoda Arts)

4.15pm – 4.25pm Movema Dance – Silk

4.30pm – 4.55pm Bring the Fire Project

5.05pm Event ends