Members of the public are being asked to submit pictures and videos that could be included in a new hi-tech £250,000 ‘visitor experience’ at the historic St George’s Hall in Liverpool. Tony McDonough reports

A new attraction planned for later this year will bring the history of Liverpool’s magnificent St George’s Hall to life using the latest digital technology.

Called the History Whisperer, the new £250,000 visitor experience will be delivered by a consortium of leading tech organisations who responded to a tender process following the award of funding from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. They are:

• Gazooky Studios – a BAFTA and Prix Europa award-winning storytelling and world class XR technology company.
• Immersive Interactive – specialists in mesmerising touch-wall interactivity
• Music in Mind – an industry-leader when it comes to creating rousing, witty and deeply moving music and sound effects.

This funding, which has come from the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, will pave the way for the new visitor experience. Details of the attraction are being kept under wraps, but audiences can expect to be plunged into a world where the “past meets the present”.

As part of the process, the consortium is appealing to members of the public to share their memories of St George’s Hall through photographs and videos. These will potentially form part of the attraction.

For your chance to be featured, please use the following Google Form and read the consent paragraph before submitting your photographs and/or videos by clicking here. An official opening date for the History Whisperer will be announced in the coming weeks.

St George’s Hall is a Neoclassical Grade I-listed building that opened in 1854. It was built on the site of the first Liverpool Infirmary which was open from 1749 to 1824. It was designed, following a competition published in The Times, by London Architect Harvey Lonsdale Elmes, who was aged just 25. It cost more than £300,000, equivalent to £33m today.

Liverpool’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Visitor Economy, Cllr Harry Doyle, said: “We are all aware of how the pandemic has decimated our cultural offer, and so there’s both relief and excitement that venues can finally be in a position to prepare to welcome back visitors safely.

“St George’s Hall is already a must-visit destination for tourists and residents alike, but by bringing on board some of the country’s leading tech companies, the Hall’s team are introducing a whole new, cutting-edge dynamic to the visitor offer.”