12 incredible 2026 events for your diary
After all the festive celebrations, January can feel a little flat. One way we beat the January blues is by planning for the year ahead. Liverpool and the University have some wonderful events planned for 2026 and we wanted to share a few with you this month.
To see hundreds of upcoming events, take a look at our Events page in the Alumni Magazine.
1. Motorsports and Silicon Valley Liverpool Leaders, January
The alumni team run an annual event series called Liverpool Leaders where we invite graduates to share their expertise with our community. In January, we have two Liverpool Leaders events.
The first is with motorsport experts Mika and Mia Flewitt. Taking place on campus at the Brett Building on Wednesday 21 January, the event will explore Mike and Mia’s insights into leadership and innovation in global business and motorsport. Mike was the CEO of McLaren Automotive and Mia founded Flewitt Racing Ltd.
On Wednesday, January 28 we also have an exciting Liverpool Leaders event with Dinesh Sharma who will share lessons learnt from Silicon Valley on:
- Navigating innovation and leadership in a fast-changing tech world
- The mindset needed to lead and build with purpose
- How to move between start-up and enterprise environments
- Turning ideas into scalable, high-impact products.
2. Six – 3-7 Liverpool Empire Theatre
Six, the musical about Henry VIII wives, is returning to Liverpool this February and is not to be missed.
View this post on Instagram
3. Lightbulb Moments Exhibition, Victoria Gallery and Museum
The Lightbulb Moments exhibition is on now and explores the origins of the some of the city’s most remarkable innovations, from games and artworks, to 18th century globes and false teeth.
4. Derren Brown, Only Human: 24-28 March
Taking place at the Liverpool Empire, Derren Brown’s live show Only Human is still under wraps, but those who have watched the show have said it is ‘mind-blowing’.
5. Liverpool half marathon, 1 March
The BTR Liverpool 10-mile and half marathon is taking place on Thursday, 15 March, which marks the 32nd anniversary of the event.
6. Free Family films at the Victoria Gallery and Museum, throughout 2026
The Victoria Gallery and Museum are hosting a series of heartwarming and free family films throughout the year, including Wallace and Gromiot, Honey I Shrunk the Kids and the Lego Movie.
7. Grand National Ladies Day, April 10
A Liverpool tradition, Ladies Day at Aintree Racecourse is always memorable and this year the event takes place on Friday, 10 April.
8. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Candlelight St George’s Hall, 18 April
Enjoy timeless compositions by Vivaldi within the beautiful setting of St Geore’s Hall this April. The programme includes Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro Overture, Vivaldi’s’ Four Seasons and Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.
9. Liverpool Mod Weekended, Cavern Club 2-3 May
Normally a sell out event, the annual Liverpool Mod Weekend is back for 2026. Taking place in the iconic Cavern Club the event runs throughout Saturday 2 May and Sund 3 May with four bands playing during each session.
10. Pint of Science Festival, 18-20 May
Listen to some of the best minds from the University in the comfort and community of Liverpool’s local pubs. The Pint of Science Festival is taking place across Liverpool and the Wirral and always provides an interesting and lively evening.
11. Africa Oye, 20-21 June
The UK’s largest celebration of African music and culture, Africa Oyé takes place annually in Sefton Park and has been running since 1992.
12. Bluey’s Big Play, 3-5 June
If you have any small children in your life you’ll know the universal power and popularity of Bluey. This year, the Bluey theatre production is coming to Liverpool at the M&S Bank Arena. This is the first live theatre show from the Bluey creators.
More events
Over the past year we've been asking our alumni and supporters what they would like to see more of and one thing that comes up time and time again is hearing about events. We created a section in the digital Alumni Magazine dedicated to events. You can take a look at the Events section here, which contains hundreds of events for 2026.