Plans are in place for a potential victory parade should Liverpool Football Club win the UEFA Europa League.

The cup holders will not be confirmed until Wednesday 18 May, however due to the major logistics behind an event of this scale, the city council is announcing its intentions today to ensure residents and businesses in the city can prepare for the potential event.

Should Liverpool FC win the cup, the city council will then formally invite them to hold a victory parade in the city the following day – Thursday 19 May. It will start at 5pm and is expected to last for a couple of hours, with rolling road closures on the route which will inevitably cause disruption, potentially similar to the scenes in the city after the club’s 2005 Champion’s League triumph.

The city council has been working to plan out the event, which will see the Liverpool team parade the Europa League trophy on an open top bus.

The route starts on West Derby Road, at the junction of Green Lane, and will head towards the city centre travelling along:

• Islington
• Churchill Way
• Dale Street
• Water Street
• The Strand
• Wapping/Chaloner Street (junction of Parliament Street), where it will end.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said:

“We know many people are superstitious and don’t want to think about a victory parade until the title is in the bag, but unfortunately that isn’t an option for those involved in organising an event of this scale.

“Whether we have a parade depends on the results on Wednesday, but due to the number of roads being closed and the impact this has on businesses and residents, it makes sense that we are as prepared as we can be.  We need the information to be made public in order to cause as little disruption as possible.”

If it takes place, the parade is expected to attract hundreds and thousands of people, so the city council has key advice for fans:

• Utilise the full length of the route. There will be no central focal point to the parade and the bus will not be stopping along the way.
• Decide which part of the route you want to wait at and arrive in plenty of time.
• Be patient – it is impossible to predict how long it will take the team bus to travel along the route.
• Due to the number of people coming in to and out of the city, there is expected to be significant demands on public transport, with queuing likely.

Merseyside Police will be supporting the city council to ensure members of the public can enjoy the parade safely.

Chief Superintendent Jon Ward said:

“Should the parade take place we would expect a large number of people to gather along the route and we will be supporting Liverpool City Council, who are the organisers of the event.

“There will be large number of police officers on the streets throughout the area, who will be providing a reassuring presence and making sure that fans can enjoy the parade in safety.

“An extensive road closure programme will be put in place and some disruption to traffic is unfortunately inevitable, but a route has been planned to give thousands of residents the chance to celebrate Liverpool’s success.

“I would ask people to make themselves aware of which roads are affected so they are fully prepared and make use of public transport wherever possible, though appreciating there may be some changes to services.”

Travel advice and information will be available from www.merseytravel.gov.uk or Traveline on 0151 236 7676.