Liverpool operator 'taken aback' by Eurovision impact
Love Lane Brewery director David Roche, who has lived in Liverpool since 2008, said the feeling in the city was the “best” he had ever seen, boosting turnover at the site by around 40% compared with an average weekend.
He said: “In the last 16 years I have never seen anything like it, it was incredible; absolutely amazing.
Amazing vibe
“We were full but the amount of passing trade with people trying to get in everywhere was crazy, we turned a lot of people away, but it was a really good, amazing vibe in the city.
“Everyone felt really safe, there was no trouble, everyone was just up for a fun time. It was an absolutely great weekend [following] a great week.
“I had no idea so many people travelled with Eurovision, I had no idea it was so big, I was quite taken aback. There was a different feel in the city but only for positive reasons.”
The 67th Eurovision Song Contest was held last week, between Tuesday 9 and Saturday 13 May, at the city’s Liverpool Arena, hosted in the UK on behalf of Ukraine.
More inclusive
Situated in the city’s Baltic Triangle area, Love Lane Brewery hosted private events to celebrate the contest, including a Euro themed quiz, a bottomless brunch and a screening of the finale hosted by local drag queens, all of which sold out.
Roche added while the celebrations the brewery planned were not things it would usually do; Love Lane is looking at Eurovision as a “platform” to host similar events.
He continued: “It’s not what you'd normally associate with happening in a brewery, but we're going for it and it's been great.
“The venues need to become more inclusive around the city and I think this is a really good opportunity for everybody to get behind it.”
