Lessons must be learned from Liverpool victory parade, report finds
Independent report says victory parade "could and should" happen again in future, but organisers must adapt to size of modern events
A review into Liverpool’s 2025 football victory parade says similar celebrations should continue in the future, despite unprecedented crowd numbers and safety challenges on the day.
The independent report examined the parade held on 26th May 2025 and concluded the event’s planning was “high quality” but that organisers must adapt to the scale of modern destination events.
More than a million people are believed to have attended the celebration, with crowds possibly reaching around 1.2 million across the route through the city.
The report does not cover what happened after the end of the parade, when a car ploughed into cars on Water Street, for which Paul Doyle was jailed for over 21 years.
It says the parade itself largely passed safely, thanks to cooperation between city agencies, emergency services and organisers.
However, it highlights several lessons for future parades, including better crowd monitoring, stronger communication systems and measures to discourage dangerous behaviour from a minority of spectators.
Huge crowds exceeded expectations
The review was carried out by crowd safety specialist Eric Stuart, who was asked to examine planning and operations around the event.
He concluded organisers had prepared thoroughly but the scale of attendance had still been underestimated.
Liverpool secured the league title on 27th April 2025, giving fans a full month to plan travel and celebrations ahead of the parade.
According to the report, that extended lead time turned the celebration into an international event, with supporters travelling long distances to attend.
Attendance was described as “unprecedented”, with people arriving early in the day and travelling from locations well beyond the city.
Planning judged to be strong
The review states the parade’s planning documents were detailed and “fit for purpose”.
It also found the route, which stretched for more than 15 kilometres, worked effectively even though it created logistical challenges.
Shortening the route could have increased the risk of dangerous crowd compression in certain areas, the report warns.
The convoy carrying the players was also found to have operated effectively, although the report suggests the number of vehicles involved could be reduced in future.
Concerns over flares and risky behaviour
While the majority of fans behaved positively, the report highlights concerns about some spectators climbing structures, setting off flares and taking risks for social media.
Those actions are not unique to football events, the report notes, but are increasingly seen at large gatherings where people want to capture dramatic footage.
The use of smoke and pyrotechnics was described as a particular safety concern.
The review suggests authorities could push for tighter national controls on the sale and import of such devices.
Lessons for future events
Several recommendations have been made for future parades or large-scale celebrations in the city.
These include improved event logging systems, enhanced communication between teams on the ground and better methods of estimating how many people may travel to the city.
Monitoring hotel bookings, train travel and flights into nearby airports could help organisers predict crowd numbers more accurately, the report says.
Education campaigns encouraging fans to respect the city and avoid risky behaviour are also recommended.
Despite the challenges, the review concludes major public celebrations remain an important part of civic life.
The report says cancelling such gatherings because of risk would remove opportunities for people to celebrate together.
Instead, it argues the focus should be on improving planning and learning lessons from each event.
Stuart wrote that cities must continue to plan for large public celebrations because “there is no such thing as a safe event”, only events where risks are carefully managed.