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What's On in Liverpool This Weekend: 28 to 30 August
Beatleweek, Southport Air Show, Liverpool v Nottingham Forest and the Minton tiles, plus what is free and what is already sold out this bank holiday weekend.
These dates have passed. What's On in Liverpool in September 2026 has what is on now.
Busy bank holiday weekend. International Beatleweek has the city centre, the Southport Air Show has the Red Arrows on both days, and Liverpool play Nottingham Forest at Anfield at half twelve on Saturday.
One thing to know before you plan around it: Beatleweek's online tickets have sold out. There are still ways in, and they are below.
Times, prices and availability checked on 26 August 2026. Anything dated moves, so check the venue before you travel.
Bank holiday weekend headlines
- Beatleweek runs to 1 September. Online tickets are sold out, but the Adelphi ticket desk has what is left and the Cavern Pub is free.
- Southport Air Show, Saturday and Sunday. Red Arrows both days, RAF Typhoon Sunday only.
- Liverpool v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 12.30pm. Early kick-off, so match traffic starts before lunch.
- Free: the Cavern Pub, the beach at Liverpool ONE, and the Albert Dock projection after dark.
- Friday night: Mersey Ferries Pop Party Cruise, £25, 18+, leaves Pier Head at 7.45pm.
Beatleweek, and how to get in now
International Beatleweek runs to Tuesday 1 September, with bands from all over the world across the Cavern, the Adelphi and the Philharmonic.
Online tickets are sold out. What the festival says is that remaining tickets go through its ticket desk at the Adelphi Hotel, open Thursday to Sunday, subject to availability. That is the route if you have not booked.
Two things worth knowing:
- The Cavern Club programme starts at 11am on both Friday and Saturday.
- The Cavern Pub opposite is open to the public, with live music and free entry, and festival wristband holders get in free too. That is the no-ticket option.
Mathew Street and the streets round it will be busier than a normal weekend, Sunday included.
If you cannot get into anything ticketed, the year-round Beatles attractions still run all weekend. The Magical Mystery Tour is a two-hour coach trip round Penny Lane, Strawberry Field and the childhood homes, leaving from the Albert Dock and ending with Cavern Club entry. The Liverpool Beatles Museum on Mathew Street has three floors of artefacts a few doors from the Cavern. Both are booked through LoveToVisit; see the note at the foot of this page.
Friday 28 August
James Morrison at Liverpool Cathedral
James Morrison plays Liverpool Cathedral on Friday evening. The Cathedral is on St James' Mount, L1 7AZ, up the hill from Central. Check the Cathedral's own listings for the start time and whether anything is left.
Take Me Home County Road, last two nights
Take Me Home County Road, Adam McCoy's comedy about Shelly, a County Road girl with bigger plans than County Road, runs at the Royal Court until Saturday 29 August.
The Royal Court is at 1 Roe Street, opposite St John's and a couple of minutes from Lime Street. There are no booking fees on this show, and each ticket includes a £2 donation to the building and the theatre's new writing work. Wheelchair users should ring the box office directly, as there are only five spaces in the stalls.
Pop Party Cruise
If a cellar full of Beatles tribute bands is not the plan, Mersey Ferries has a Pop Party Cruise on Friday: a DJ, S Club and Steps and the Vengaboys, and two and a half hours on the river.
- Leaves Seacombe 7.30pm, Pier Head 7.45pm
- £25, or £22 each for groups of 20 or more
- 18 and over, and the bars on board are card only
Saturday 29 August
Liverpool v Nottingham Forest, 12.30pm
Liverpool's second home game of the season kicks off at 12.30pm on Saturday at Anfield, live on TNT Sports.
Worth knowing even if you are not going. A half twelve kick-off pulls the crowd in from mid-morning, so roads, buses and pubs around Anfield are busy hours earlier than they would be for a 3pm. If you are crossing north Liverpool on Saturday morning, leave more time.
Buy through Liverpool FC or an authorised seller. Do not turn up expecting to get in on the day.
Southport Air Show
The biggest thing on in the city region this weekend is twenty miles up the coast. The Southport Air Show runs Saturday and Sunday.
- Gates 10am, flying roughly midday to 5pm
- £13 plus booking fee, under-16s free, £12 each for groups of ten or more
- Red Arrows both days. The RAF Typhoon is Sunday only
- Also flying: the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight with Spitfire, Hurricane and Dakota, the RAF Tutor, and the Aerosuperbatics wingwalkers
Get the train. Southport station is about ten minutes' walk from the seafront, there are road closures, and official parking is £10 a car per day at Marine Drive, Princes Park, Esplanade and Victoria Park.
The Minton tiles are uncovered
St George's Hall has lifted the boards off its Minton tile floor again. It is 30,000 handmade tiles, and it spends most of the year covered up to protect it, so the reveal is the only time you get to stand on it.
Liverpool pianist Brad Kella, who won Channel 4's The Piano, plays the Concert Room on Saturday, and those tickets include the tile reveal. Check the programme for times and what is left.
Sunday 30 August
Air Show day two
If jets are why you are going, Sunday is the better day: the Red Arrows are back and the RAF Typhoon only flies on Sunday.
Flying times move for weather and operational reasons. Check the schedule on Sunday morning rather than building the day around a time you read on Wednesday.
Beatleweek carries on
The Cavern programme starts at 11am again, and the festival runs into Monday and Tuesday. Sunday in town will not feel like a normal Sunday.
Beach Fest at Liverpool ONE
Easier with kids. Beach Fest at Chavasse Park has a sand beach and family rides, and the beach itself is free.
The rides are token-only and card-only, so budget separately for those. It finishes on 31 August, which makes this the last full weekend.
Albert Dock after dark
Royal Albert Dock is 180 years old this year, and it is marking it with a projection across the front of the Maritime Museum: images curated by Liverpool photographer Mark McNulty covering the dock's music, nightlife and maritime years.
It runs late evening and it is free. A good last stop if you are already down that end. Our waterfront walk covers the route between Pier Head and the dock.
Pick one
| If you want | Go to |
|---|---|
| The big Liverpool one | Beatleweek, Cavern Pub if you have no ticket |
| A day out with kids | Southport Air Show, or Beach Fest if you want it free |
| Football | Liverpool v Nottingham Forest, 12.30pm Saturday |
| Theatre | Take Me Home County Road, last night Saturday |
| Something you cannot usually see | The Minton floor at St George's Hall |
| A Friday night out | Pop Party Cruise from Pier Head, 7.45pm |
| Free, after dark | The Albert Dock projection |
Getting about
Lime Street for St George's Hall, the Royal Court and the Philharmonic end. Moorfields for Mathew Street and the Cavern. Southport for the Air Show, ten minutes on foot.
The thing that catches people out this weekend is the 12.30pm kick-off, which puts match traffic on the roads a good two hours earlier than usual. Check Merseyrail before you travel, especially coming home late from a Beatleweek night. Our guide to getting around Liverpool without a car has the rest.
Affiliate links
Some links in this article go to LoveToVisit, a ticket reseller for tours and attractions. If you book through one, L1 Local may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. We only add them for things we would point you to anyway, and they do not change what the article says.
