There is so much to do and see that you do not need to be a Beatle fan to enjoy the festival, though it probably helps!

This is truly an international event with bands from over 20 countries and fans from over 40. As well as live gigs, there are exhibitions, memorabilia sales, guest speakers, video shows, sightseeing tours and a convention.

Festival venues include the Cavern Club and Cavern Pub in Mathew Street, the Adelphi Hotel, the Philharmonic Hall and, for the first time this year, Liverpool Cathedral.

Festival Events:

Wednesday: The festival begins in style on Wednesday 25 August with an evening of free live Beatles music at the Cavern Pub.

Thursday: Live music continues throughout the day on Thursday at the Cavern Pub and the two stages across the road at the Cavern Club. The highlight on Thursday will be A Warm Lennon Liverpool Welcome gig at the Cavern Club, which will feature music from The Mersey Beatles as well as contributions from local musicians. The show will span the whole spectrum of The Beatles history as Karl Terry often shared the bill with The Beatles in the early 60’s and The Mersey Beatles are the Cavern Club’s resident band today.

Friday: We are really excited about the Casbah Party taking place on Friday afternoon. The Casbah was one of the very first places the band played as The Beatles. Indeed, when they were drummerless as The Silver Beatles, they came to The Casbah and offered Pete Best the job in 1960. He accepted and they duly set off for Hamburg and dropped Silver from their name. So The Casbah can lay claim to be the true birthplace of the name The Beatles. It is fitting that we return here 50 years later for an afternoon of live music from 12 bands from all over the world. On Friday evening the amazing Overtures will host the evening’s entertainment with their Bootleg 60’s Show at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The show includes Beatles music, plus selections from The Kinks, The Stones, The Who and many more, accompanied by a fantastic multi-media show which has been staged in Las Vegas. No wonder they are Elton John’s favourite band . . . . No time to lose after the show, because the Fab 4 Beatles party at The Adelphi will be underway featuring more live music from bands from all over the world.

Saturday : The Annual Beatles Shop Auction at LIPA takes place on Saturday morning (tel: + 44 (0) 151 236 8066 for details). At midday the festival kicks off again in grand style at Alma De Cuba which is housed in a converted church on Seel Street. Voted the UK’s best bar and restaurant, we have exclusive use of it during the afternoon. 50 Years of The Beatles will be on two stages with the very best tribute bands performing. You can book a table to dine while you watch the bands (tel: + 44 (0) 151 702 7394). We will be moving the party from a church to a cathedral on Saturday evening for a Peace, Love and Understanding concert. The venue is Liverpool Cathedral, where Paul failed an audition as a choirboy! Paul has returned on many occasions staging The Oratorio and Ecce Cor Meum in this magnificent setting. To celebrate 50 years of The Beatles we have organised this event with all proceeds going to the Cathedral. The theme is taken from Paul’s quote which ended The Anthology – that they were proud that The Beatles legacy is music whose main themes were peace, love and understanding. And what a show we have planned, a non-religious, but highly spiritual concert that will include gospel choirs, rock bands, soloists, string quartets, dance and theatre. Hopefully it will also feature members of Cirque du Soleil Love show in Las Vegas. If Love, Peace and Understanding concert is not your cup of tea, you can buy tickets for The Bootleg Beatles concert at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall on Saturday evening. What can possibly top that? Maybe a Samba Latino party at the Adelphi as the best Brazilian Beatle bands take on the best Argentine Beatle bands at the Adelphi until 4am.

Sunday: The Beatles Convention will take place all day on Sunday at the Adelphi with over 30 bands, memorabilia market, interviews, guests, video shows and exhibitions. It is absolutely impossible to do everything in the 14 hours it is open, but you will have fun trying! On Sunday night you might want to catch the extraordinary Mark McGann in his amazing portrayal of John Lennon, In My Life, at The Philharmonic Hall. For those with an insatiable appetite for fun and great music, the 5th Annual All-Nighter starts at midnight at the Cavern Club.

Monday: August Bank Holiday Monday is the most eagerly awaited date Liverpool’s event calendar. The Mathew Street Festival (Sunday and Monday) attracts over 300,000 people and 200 bands playing every genre of music imaginable – rock, pop, soul, blues, country, punk and The Beatles. The magnificent city centre architecture becomes the backdrop for a fantastic street party. Thanks to Liverpool City Council, it is all absolutely free! Monday evening is the finale concert at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall and what a gig it promises to be. The Beatles Variety Show will have something for everyone as it spans the whole spectrum of their career. Special guests will include Barry Wom and Ron Nasty from The Rutles, (aka Neil Innes and John Halsey), Denny Laine who will perform a Wings set, Apple recording star Joey Molland who will play all of his Badfinger hits, and Nube 9, one of the world’s best Beatle bands, who will round the night off with a bang! Later at the Adelphi it’s the final VIP Party featuring Beatle Week Hall of Famers Pepperland from Sweden.

Tuesday: Tuesday 31 August is the last day of the festival with over 30 bands playing at the Cavern Club and the Cavern Pub from 2pm until midnight. The highlight of the day will be two shows at the Cavern Club by Billy J Kramer. Billy returns to the Cavern Club where he was discovered by Brian Epstein in 1962 and went on to record a fine collection of catchy pop songs which are still popular today. He now lives in the USA, so we are thrilled to welcome him back for his first UK gigs for six years! More events will be added to the festival programme, check back again for updates.