World Cup 2018: Football Fever in Liverpool

There are just hours to go until 500 dancers, gymnasts and trampolinists will performing an opening ceremony that will pay homage to all things Russian and mark the start of the 2018 World Cup.

After a thirty minute extravaganza the first game, between Russia and Saudi Arabia will kick off and the world will be lost to more than a month of football fever.

A proud footballing city (we know because our luxury apartments are often used as a base for home and away footy fans visiting the hallowed grounds of Goodison Park and Anfield) Liverpool will of course be entering the spirit of the tournament. Here’s a rundown of some of the best opportunities to tap into football fever in Liverpool over the next few weeks.

Big Screen Bonding

Sixty-four of the games might be being shown on terrestrial telly, but nothing beats getting out to celebrate (or drown your sorrows) with fellow fans. Whatever team or teams you’re backing (it’s amazing how a loyal fan can be created in moments thanks to the office sweepstake) there are many places to games in pubs and bars across the city, lots of them with big screens to put you at the heart of the action. The Liverpool Echo has a great article on the 15 best places to watch World Cup games in the city, which includes the Fly in the Loaf, Bierkeller, McCooleys and Slim’s Pork Chop Express.

The Art of Football (14th June – 15th July)

Proof that football doesn’t lack cultural and artistic value, in celebration of the 2018 World Cup and the ‘beautiful game’ as a whole, the team at Bido Lito! Have curated a football-inspired project – The Art of Football – in collaboration with Foto Octo and Laces Out.

Part of the Liverpool 2018 programme which celebrated ten years since Liverpool’s transformational tenure as European Capital of Culture, the season of events showcases how football is one of the world’s biggest and most unifying conversations and will include three major exhibitions, a symposium, pop up cinema and music festival.

Photography exhibition, Common Ground (14th June – 15th July, Albert Dock Colonnades, Free) captures 40 years of the football community and includes work from the critically acclaimed exhibition of football fashion The Art of the Football Shirt, which also forms part of the programme.

Curated by fashion historian Neal Heard, The Art of the Football Shirt (15th – 28th June, Camp & Furnace, one hour before kick off on all World Cup match days) is a free exhibition which explores the relationship between football and popular culture. Showcasing a curated selection of over 100 sartorially sound, obscure and vintage football shirts, it will show how team kits of previous generations have gained iconic status and how they have crossed paths with the worlds of music, fashion and politics.

I Don’t Love Soccer Because Soccer Has Never Loved Me (29th July – 15th July, Camp & Furnace, Free. Open one hour before kick off on all World Cup match days) is an artistic response to Umberto Eco’s 1978 essay The Word Cup and Its Pomps. The graphic design and illustration exhibition features work from Jonathan Barnbrook (David Bowie, Damien Hirst), Brendan Dawes (MoMa, NY) and Kat Gibb (Chemical Brothers).

Music, culture, politics and football will come together on 30th June with Disco Sócrates, an all-day festival at Constellations (tickets £10 from ArtOfFootball.co.uk) featuring live performances from artists drawn from the participating World Cup nations and reflecting the power of musical movement.

As the celebratory season draws to a close the event’s Soccerama Symposium (12th and 13th July, Liverpool Central Library, Free but booking required at  ArtOfFootball.co.uk) will take place, looking at football’s relationship with topical, global debates, from consumer culture to women’s rights.  Thursday 12th July will be dedicated to the topic Football: The not-so beautiful game and Friday 13th July will have the theme From outside the box.

Get Outside for a Kickabout

So we’ve covered off where to catch the games, where to find some football infused art and culture – now how about getting inspired by your idols and getting outdoors for a good old kickabout with friends?

We’re having a wonderful and unseasonably long, hot summer here in the North West and Liverpool is bursting with fantastic green spaces – just check out this article highlighting the city’s 22 best parks. There’s no excuse not to get outside for a kickabout!

For more information about L3 Apartments or plan you stay during the World Cup in Liverpool, visit our homepage.