More than 1,500 hospitality workers have received life-saving training as part of a series of initiatives designed to make Liverpool city centre safer.
The achievement will be among those celebrated at This City Is Ours, a special event bringing together hospitality leaders, local businesses, volunteers and emergency service partners at BOXPARK Liverpool on Wednesday 2 September.
Organised by Nightlife CIC and its partners, the event will recognise the people and organisations working behind the scenes to improve safety across Liverpool’s evening and night-time economy.
Over the past 12 months, more than 1,500 people working in Liverpool’s bars, restaurants and venues have been trained in resuscitation, the use of defibrillators and emergency bleeding control. Additional bleeding control kits and publicly accessible defibrillators have also been installed across the city, making potentially life-saving equipment more readily available.
The event will also celebrate the continuation of the Village Angels initiative, which has secured funding for a further two years. The team patrols Liverpool city centre on busy evenings, offering practical assistance and reassurance to vulnerable people enjoying a night out.
A new city centre welfare vehicle is also being introduced to provide a safe space for anyone who needs help while out in Liverpool. Staffed by trained personnel, the vehicle will offer first aid for minor injuries, drinking water, phone-charging facilities and other practical support, including emergency flip-flops for people unable to walk home safely in their shoes.
The Safe Space vehicle will be stationed on Bold Street every Saturday night.
Further investment in night-time safety has seen nine orange emergency help points installed across the city as part of Liverpool’s work to tackle violence against women and girls. Anyone who feels unsafe can use the columns to connect immediately with a trained operator at the touch of a button.
More than 200 door supervisors have received specialist training to support the initiative.
Guests at This City Is Ours will also hear about a new digital training platform developed by Liverpool technology company Hopsy. The platform allows hospitality workers to complete training in areas including Ask for Angela, drink-spiking prevention and hate crime awareness.
Together, the projects form a wide-ranging collaborative safety programme involving hospitality businesses, charities, community organisations and public sector partners.
John Hughes, Chief Executive Officer of Nightlife CIC, said: “This event has been created to celebrate all of the work that has been achieved so far; from training 1,500 staff on resuscitation, how to use a defibrillator and bleeding control, to the introduction of Village Angels every Saturday evening with our new Safe Space van that will be parked on Bold Street every Saturday night with staff to help anyone who might need it.
“We’ve also been working on the Hopsy App that trains staff on Ask for Angela, hate crime and spiking training. The goal is to keep our city safe and This City Is Ours is a true celebration of the great work that has been done so far.”
Alongside recognising the city’s safety achievements, the event will feature live performances from emerging Liverpool artists.
The line-up includes Space, Credits, Firehead, Seven Streets, Poor Things and The Blow, with further special guests due to be revealed during the evening.
Joel Lee, General Manager at BOXPARK Liverpool, said: “BOXPARK Liverpool is proud to host an event that celebrates the incredible work taking place behind the scenes to keep Liverpool safe.
“The city’s hospitality industry thrives because people work together, and this event recognises the organisations and individuals who continue to make a real difference every weekend.”
This City Is Ours takes place at BOXPARK Liverpool on Wednesday 2 September, from 5.30pm until 11pm. Tickets are available through Skiddle.
