Liverpool ONE's Piano Festival Comes To An End

Liverpool ONE, a large shopping and leisure destination in the heart of Liverpool, has seen its popular piano busking festival.

Liverpool (I-Newswire) October 30, 2012 - Liverpool, UK (24th September, 2012) - Liverpool ONE, a large shopping and leisure destination in the heart of Liverpool, has seen its popular piano busking festival - Tickle the Ivories at Liverpool ONE - come to an end. Finishing on Sunday the 16th of September, the festival provided the soundtrack to Liverpool ONE's summer.

Organised in partnership with Open Culture, the ten-week festival was open to everyone, with professional and amateur players all invited to book free timeslots to perform on and around the pianos. Also, new for this year was the Tickle on Tour piano, which spread the music when it visited Liverpool Central Station and the Pier Head Ferry Terminal.

Since the festival started there have been:

" 5 pianos meaning 528 ivories tickled

" 1 touring piano

" Modern music from over 10 decades performed

" 4 piano tunings

" 20 repairs to pianos

" Almost 4000 hours of music

" 100s of years of piano playing experience combined

" 590 performances of Adele's 'Someone Like You'

" 1 Grade 1 piano exam passed

" Over 400 performers, aged 7 - 87

" 1 day of Beatles songs

" 1 MOBO award-winner performance

" 1 sandwich, 3 chocolate bars, 11 digit phone number and a pizza left in a busking bucket


Kicking the festival off in style were members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, with a rousing performance of The Beatles' 'Let it Be'. Since the launch there has been an eclectic mix of flash mobs, impromptu breakdancing sessions and moving classical performances. There have also been some surprises along the way, such as an unscheduled performance from MOBO UnSung award-winner, Esco Williams. People of all ages have been involved too, from a seven year-old practicing his Grade 1 piano pieces to an 87 year-old performing boogie-woogie, jazz, blues and ragtime.

Donna Howitt, Marketing Director at Liverpool ONE said: "We're thrilled at the success of this year's festival and many of our visitors have commented on the great atmosphere that Tickle the Ivories has created. The sun may have hidden away this summer, but the music that filled the streets brightened up the day of many shoppers."

Charlotte Corrie, Director, Open Culture said: "For a second year this has been a really successful festival, which is testament to the musical talent in Liverpool. We have been overwhelmed at the level of interest from performers who have taken part, and we want to thank them for getting involved and making the festival a huge success."

For more information about Liverpool ONE, visit their website at www.liverpool-one.com/.

About Liverpool ONE
Liverpool ONE is the North West's premier shopping and leisure destination. Located in the heart of Liverpool, it covers 1.65 million sq ft, which includes over 160 shops, over 20 restaurants and bars, a 5 acre park and a 14 screen cinema. Opening in 2008, Liverpool ONE is the largest open air shopping and leisure destination in the UK and features some of the best shopping in Liverpool, with shops such as John Lewis and Debenhams.

Contact
Laura Houghton
Liverpool ONE
5 Wall Street
Liverpool, UK
Zip: L1 8JQ
Tel: 0151 232 3100
Email: enquiries@liverpool-one.com