Come and see Boatshed Lancashire on 5-7 June on stand SD23. Liverpool is rightly regarded as a legendary festival and events city, blessed with a rich history, a magnificent river and a marvellous musical heritage. We know how to put on a show and one of the highlights in the city’s calendar is the International Mersey River Festival in partnership with Wild Thang which includes Music on the Waterfront.

Both are hugely popular, attract a massive number of people and show off two of the key elements that make Liverpool such a compelling and exciting visitor destination. The difference this year is that they will be bigger and better than ever before, celebrating its distinct Irish links as this popular maritime festival twins with Dublin’s River Festival.There will be a huge array of ships to see and visit, Tall ships, Royal and Merchant Navy ships, canal boats and pleasure craft alongside lots of ‘messing about’ on the water. There’s a two-day sailing regatta, including the Apprentice Ship Cup Race, Zap Cat racing, the ever-popular festival raft race, an international canoe polo tournament, wake-boarding and fly-boarding demonstrations, to name just a few.

And this year we are also delighted to launch the Northern Boat Show – a first for the north of England – featuring cruising craft, powerboats, dinghies, rigs and a nautical exhibition. It will be riot of colour and noise on the quayside too with brass from the Royal Marine Band displays, Samba and Reggae with the Katumba Bloco Street Carnival, plus street theatre and street art and the Brouhaha Home Coming Parade – Looking to the New World.Music on the Waterfront, sponsored by Albert Dock Liverpool, will provide the perfect soundtrack to a weekend of family fun events. The Main stage is given over to BBC3 and BBC6 Music on the Friday which will be followed by Smooth Radio Saturday, while Sunday’s Home Grown Stage will feature Liverpool artists of all genres.

And this year there will be extra stages – the Hartley Quay Stage on board the Tall Ship Morgenster and the Making Waves Stage at Mann Island Basin showcasing local talent outside the Maritime Museum.