The catwalk is ready, a Cunard vessel is on its way, a giant glitter ball is being polished and vintage and food festivals are setting up. It can only mean one thing – the finale of Liverpool’s One Magnificent City programme.

This weekend (4 & 5 July) the city plays host to Transatlantic 175 – which sees Liverpool embrace its links with America through fashion, food, music and travel.

The free event – set to be the UK’s largest Independence Day celebrations – will see:

Saturday 4 July

• Overnight – Arrival of Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 at Liverpool’s Cruise Terminal
• 11am-5pm – Vintage on the Dock at Albert Dock Liverpool and Liverpool ONE Dome. This celebrates decades of British cool with stalls offering an authentic music, food, fashion, art and design experience.
• 11am-6pm – Eat the Atlantic Food Festival, Mann Island, sees the very best street food and drink produced across the North West which will guarantee no one will go hungry.
• 3.45pm-4.15pm – Lauren Pope, ambassador for Liverpool-based online retail giant Very.co.uk, will hit the decks for her DJ set at the Pier Head
• 4.15pm-5pm – Pre show with Heart FM
• 5-8pm – Very Big Catwalk: Liverpool attempts to smash the Guinness World Record for ‘Most Models On A Catwalk’ with a 40 metre-long runway on the Pier Head. Sponsored by Very.co.uk, pop star and Very.co.uk ambassador Rochelle Humes will start the show.  The current record is held at 3,083 by Mexico City and Liverpool’s show has been co-ordinated by renowned TV and live event fashion producer Jane Galpin.
• 8pm-9.50pm – Very Big After Party: Legendary Merseyside DJ Greg Wilson will help relive Liverpool’s musical history playing influential sounds the city first heard from across the pond, including the authentic American sounds of R&B, Motown, northern soul, disco and funk.
• Approx 8.15pm – Giant glitter ball (ten metre diameter) appears above the Very Big Catwalk
• 9.50pm – Royal Marine Band performs songs including the Royal Salute, Rule Britannia and a Gershwin arrangement
• 10.05pm – Fireworks
• 10.15pm – Queen Mary 2 departs; recreating 175 years to the day that the very first passenger ship set sail from Liverpool to Boston.
• 10.20pm – Event ends

Sunday 5 July

• 11am-5pm – Vintage on the Dock at Albert Dock Liverpool and Liverpool ONE Dome
• 11am-6pm – Eat the Atlantic Food Festival, Mann Island
• 11am – Classic Car Cavalcade: the beautiful vehicles will line up at Pier Head and Water Street
• 2pm – Classic Car Cavalcade begins
• 3pm – Transatlantic Cake Fest: a huge edible map of Liverpool and New York, made up entirely of cake, will go on display at Mann Island
• 6pm – Event ends

Curating the weekend is Creative Director Wayne Hemingway MBE who will cast his eye over the potential World Record Breaking Very Big Catwalk on Friday 3 July at 2.45pm. He will be joined by Julie Anne Gamble, her 13 year-old daughter Eve, and Julie Anne’s sister Kathryn Hignett-Jones. The West Derby family will be taking part in the “Here Comes the Bride” section with Eve wearing her Grandmother’s 50 year old wedding dress, Julie Anne wearing her 19 year-old dress and Kathryn donning her ten year old gown.

Wayne said:

“We’ve been talking about this event for twelve months so it’s massively exciting that it is finally here.

“The activities taking place across the two days just go to show how huge and important this event is in marking our relationship with the Unites States – and we’re doing it in style.

“Liverpool continues to ride high on the success of its One Magnificent City programme and working in a city which realises the power of free cultural events, has huge ambition and isn’t afraid to take risks has been an honour.

“We want to make sure this weekend is a huge success, so I’m urging people not only to come and see how fabulous everything looks, but to come and take part as well.  We want the biggest number possible on the Very Big Catwalk and all people need to do is turn up on the day to be part of this piece of the city’s history.

“I guarantee there’s nowhere better to be in the UK than Liverpool this weekend.”

Transatlantic 175 has been organised by Liverpool City Council.

For more information visit www.onemagnificentcity.co.uk or follow @OMCLpool on Twitter and One Magnificent City Liverpool on Facebook.

There will be a small number of road closures as a result of the event and all details can be found here http://www.cultureliverpool.co.uk/one-magnificent-city-brochure/t175-road-closures/.

Anyone unable to attend on Saturday can watch all the action streamed live via www.very.co.uk/verybigcatwalk.