Liverpool is a city of festivals and every year is packed with events – with 2017 being no exception.

Whether it’s waterfront spectacles or comedy shows, food and drink or craft beers, the written word or the spoken word, music or performance, it seems there’s something on whatever the time of year.

Tens of thousands of people come out on to the streets to enjoy the fun, with much of it free of charge.

Here are some of the main festivals taking place in the city over the next 12 months.

January

Chinese New Year

Chinatown – January 27-29

Chinese New Year 2016 gets underway in Liverpool
Chinese New Year in Liverpool

Liverpool has the oldest Chinatown in Europe, and New Year celebrations draw the crowds out on to the streets around the landmark Chinese Arch in their thousands.

In 2017, it’s the Year of the Rooster, so if you were born in 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005 – or if you’re born in the next 12 months – then congratulations, this is your year!

Expect something extra special on the cards too. More to be revealed.

February

Liverpool Beer Festival

Metropolitan Cathedral Crypt – February 15-19

Liverpool Beer Festival returns to the Crypt at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

If you’re in the middle of dry January, never fear, because the Liverpool Beer Festival is on the horizon.

The event takes place over four days in the crypt at the Metropolitan Cathedral .

Wednesday night is free for CAMRA members, or you can just pay on the door, while the other sessions from Thursday to Saturday are ticketed, available via the internet HERE .

March

LEAP Dance Festival

Make Liverpool - March 1-12

LEAP Festival of Contemporary Dance returns for 2017

Dance fans won’t want to miss this year’s LEAP, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2017.

And MDI (Merseyside Dance Initiative) is teaming up with Make Liverpool and the Unity Theatre to create the programme for this year’s festival.

LEAP will occupy Make Liverpool in Regent Street the city’s docklands, transforming the space in to a purpose built dedicated dance space, housing the entirety of the festival.

Absolutely Fabulous Gin Festival

Croxteth Hall and Country Park – March 3-4

Absolutely Fabulous Gin Festival at Croxteth Hall

The team behind the festival is promising gin lovers the “ultimate tasting event” this spring.

Tickets are £10 and can be bought online, while a £20 pre-paid card bought on arrival entitles the holder to four gins with tonic and garnish of their choice.

And you can also take your gin glass home at the end of the night.

More details HERE.

April

LOOK/17

Various venues - April 7 to May 14

LOOK/17 includes work by photographer Derek Man

Liverpool's biennial International Photography Festival, LOOK/17, returns this April, twinning Liverpool with Hong Kong as it explores 'Cities of Exchange'.

The five-week festival will involve photographers from both Liverpool and Hong Kong, and will look at a range of issues in both cities, including social housing, architecture, colonialism, commerce and urbanism.

Along with a series of new commissions from artists including Wo Bik Wong, Luke Ching, Derek Man and Yan Preston, LOOK/17 will also have a fringe festival.

More details HERE

Liverpool Food, Drink and Lifestyle Spring Festival

Sefton Park – April 15-16

The Liverpool Food, Drink and Lifestyle Spring Festival in Sefton Park
The Liverpool Food, Drink and Lifestyle Spring Festival in Sefton Park

The spring version of the annual Liverpool Food and Drink Festival returns for 2017, and this year it’s taking place over the Easter weekend.

Head for the Meadow at Sefton Park which will be transformed into a foodie’s paradise, with a pop up restaurant at its heart.

The event also includes a prosecco tent, producers’ market, craft beer, live musicians and DJs, and food masterclasses.

Meanwhile there will be a host of activities in the Woodlands area including den making, knot tying, flag making and rope skills, and The Grove area will be a ‘living well’ zone with healthy eating options and all things organic.

Not forgetting the petting zoo and climbing walls.

May

Liverpool LightNight

City centre – May 19

LightNight

The city’s annual late night cultural extravaganza returns on Friday, May 19.

The doors of Liverpool’s museums, galleries and heritages sites will open late into the evening for the eighth annual event.

Details of the programme are yet to be finalised, but last year the Open Culture team behind LightNight commissioned a series of special performances and artworks.

Writing on the Wall

Various venues – throughout May

Alexei Sayle brings Listen With Alexei to The Brindley
Alexei Sayle appeared at last year's Writing on the Wall Festival

The annual Writing on the Wall Festival takes place throughout May at venues across the city, celebrating writing in all its forms.

It’s too early for this year’s programme details, but last year the line-up included film director Ken Loach, producer Lord (David) Puttnam, Alexei Sayle, horror writer Ramsey Campbell and poet Levi Tafari.

Sound City

Clarence Dock – May 27-28

Sound City

The award-winning Sound City celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2017 and is telling fans “get ready to be blown away”.

The annual music festival, which has a new home for this year, takes place over the late May Bank Holiday weekend and attracts global artists as well as home-grown talent.

This year’s line-up is yet to be revealed, but the festival has a history in providing a platform for future stars with Ed Sheeran, Alt J and Calvin Harris making appearances early on in their careers.

Last year there were performances from The Coral, Pete Docherty and The Dandy Warhols.

50 Summers of Love

Citywide – opens May

The Bootleg Beatles in their Sgt Pepper outfits
The Bootleg Beatles

This year marks 50 years since the Summer of Love, at the heart of which was the release of Sgt Pepper.

The Mersey Sound poetry anthology was also published, and the Metropolitan Cathedral opened its doors.

A host of related events and activities celebrating 1967 are being organised by the city and different cultural organisations from May until at least August.

They include the recreation of Sgt Pepper by the RLPO and the Bootleg Beatles, and celebrations of the Mersey Poets at the Unity, Playhouse and Philharmonic Hall .

June

Africa Oyé

Sefton Park – June 17-18

Africa Oye in Sefton Park, Liverpool
Africa Oye in Sefton Park, Liverpool

It’s the UK’s largest free celebration of African music, and it takes place right here in Liverpool each June.

In 2002, the Oyé moved from the city centre to Sefton Park where it has been based ever since.

Along with the music stages, the event usually also features the ‘Oyé village’ with stalls selling food, drink, arts and crafts and fashion from Africa and beyond.

The 2017 line-up is yet to be announced.

International Mersey River Festival

Liverpool waterfront – June 23-25

Mersey River Festival and Flyboarding man Jay St John performs to the crowd at the Albert Dock.

The River Mersey is the lifeblood of Liverpool, and all eyes will be on our beautiful waterfront for three days in June for a celebration of all thing nautical.

Expect Tall Ships to return for 2017, as well as the Northern Boat Show and a host of other events and attractions on the Albert Dock, Pier Head and surrounding area.

This year’s festival also coincides with National Armed Forces Day, on June 24, which is being hosted by Liverpool in 2017.

July

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival

Various venues – July 8-17

verpool Arab Arts Festival returns for its 15th year
Liverpool Arab Arts Festival Family Day

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival was founded in 1998, and each year the festival brings a celebration of Arab culture to venues across the city and showcases the richness of that culture through a packed programme of visual art, music, dance, film, theatre, literature and special events.

Key parts of the festival include a family day in Sefton Park Palm House, and the Big Sunday at the Bluecoat.

In 2017, LAAF will also present a massive community celebration of Eid-al-Fitr in Lodge Lane.

Young DaDaFest

Everyman/Philharmonic Hall - July 13-14

Young DaDa
Young DaDa

The annual DaDaFest, the UK’s leading festival of deaf and disability art, is taking a break in 2017 and set to return in November 2018.

But its youth branch, Young DaDaFest, will be staged this summer in a two day, two-event mini festival.

There will be a performance at the Everyman on July 13, and the next evening at the Philharmonic Hall’s Music Room.

Liverpool International Music Festival

Sefton Park – July 21-23

Liverpool International Music Festival in Sefton Park

LIMF Summer Jam – the free element of the annual music festival, and which sees thousands of people descend on Sefton Park to see both household names and up and coming acts perform – returns for three days this July.

Last summer’s festival included The Wombats, Lianne La Havas, Ms Dynamite, Maverick Sabre and the John Power Band.

Liverpool Pride

City centre – July 29-30

Huge crowds turned out for Liverpool Pride, as the whole city celebrated its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities.

Pride was founded in 2010 memory of murdered gay teenager Michael Causer, and has grown and grown over the past few years.

At its heart is the colourful Pride March which attracts thousand of people, but the entire festival runs over two days, with a number of events.

The theme for 2017 has been revealed as International Love, with Liverpool Pride organisers looking to work with spread the Liverpool message far and wide amongst partners in Merseyside’s twin towns and cities.

Brazilica

City centre – July 14-16

Brazilica carnival parade

Latin American rhythms will fill the streets for three days in July with the return of the Brazilica carnival festival, filling the city centre streets with vibrant colour and samba sounds.

A packed programme of events will lead up to the main Carnival Day

Brouhaha also takes place in July.

August

International Beatleweek

City centre venues – August 23-29

The view down Mathew Street during International Beatleweek

This celebration of all things Fab Four brings thousands of Beatles fans in to the city from all over the world for a long weekend of music, talks and a chance to pick up some Beatles-related merchandise.

Beatleweek is centred around the Beatles Convention at the Adelphi, where last summer speakers included Bob Harris, Pattie Boyd and Micky Dolenz.

There’s also (almost) non-stop music at the Cavern and special concerts at key city venues.

September

Liverpool Comedy Festival

Various venues – September 15-October 1

Liverpool Comedy Festival director Sam Avery

The annual Liverpool Comedy Festival returns in 2017 for two-weeks of rib-tickling, funny bone-knocking fun this September.

The event, now in its 14th year, is run by the Liverpool Comedy Trust, and it promises a mixture of top comedians from around the UK, complemented by the very best of home-grown Scouse talent.

Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia

Baltic Triangle – September 22-23

Liverpool Psych Fest

According to its own website, Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia is a “pan-continental celebration of audio-futurists, operating at the bleeding edge of today’s psychedelic renaissance”.

It was also a sell-out success in 2016, when it was headlined by Super Furry Animals and The Horrors.

Now Liverpool Pych Fest organisers are looking forwards to their sixth two-day PZYKathon, with first artist announcements coming early in 2017.

Tickets will go on general sale with the initial line-up announcements.

October

Liverpool Irish Festival

Various venues – October 19-29

Liverpool Irish Festival

It’s said that at least one in four Liverpudlians have Irish ancestry, and the city is dubbed ‘Ireland’s second capital’ by some.

Celebrating Liverpool’s Irish heritage and culture, the annual Liverpool Irish Festival returns for a 10-day run this October.

It’s too early for programme details yet, but expect a mixture of live music, plays, poetry, film, talks and discussion, and guided walks around some of the key Irish areas of the city.

November

Homotopia

Various venues - November

The Rise and Fall of the Hamburger Queen at 2016 Homotopia

Homotopia is the city’s festival celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender art and culture.

This year will see the 14th annual Homotopia festival, taking place in November, and if previous years are anything to go by then you can expect an electric programme of theatre, dance, exhibitions, film, cabaret and live art.

The 2016 line-up included comedian Zoe Lyons, a one-man play inspired by Olympic skater John Curry, and the return of Homotopia’s favourite ‘avant-guardian’ David Hoyle.