THE finale of the Giants trilogy broke all records for free events in Liverpool according to an independent report.

Liverpool’s Dream took place from 4-7 October and brought in 1.3million visitors to the city and Wirral, and generated a massive £60.6m for the local economies. Broken down, this equates to around 1,220,000 visitors to Liverpool bringing in £58m, and 80,000 to Wirral, bringing in £2.2m

It smashes previous records held by 2014’s Giants event Memories of August 1914 which had an economic impact of £46m, and 2015’s Three Queens event which welcomed 1.2million visitors to both Liverpool and Wirral. Many of the city’s most famous attractions also saw a 100% rise in attendance.

The Giants proved to be massively popular on social media too, with #LiverpoolGiants trending each day (4-7 October) and tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts reached 12.4 million people. There was interaction with followers from across the globe including Australia, New Zealand, China, Columbia, South Africa and Canada.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “These incredible figures won’t come as a surprise to anyone who witnessed the visit of the Giants.

“This is a city used to staging major, outdoor events, but October’s event took it to the next level. The iconic image of the Giants on The Strand surrounded by people as far as the eye can see captured it perfectly.

“The creative brilliance of Royal de Luxe attracted people not only from across the region, but from all over the globe who came here specifically to see Wirral and Liverpool become a stage on which these Giant characters would perform.

“In these tough financial times, economic boosts of this nature are invaluable. But it’s not just about the money. The pride the Giants engendered is priceless. Events like this aren’t commonplace – very few cities in the world have the creative ambitions to push boundaries, so I am proud that Liverpool and Wirral stand out from the crowd.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the team involved in making Liverpool’s Dream such a success – partners across the city, from the police and transport networks right though to volunteers and sponsors, worked together tirelessly to make sure our city shone during this Giant extravaganza.”

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said: “This third and final visit of the Giants has exceeded all expectations. It provided a huge boost for the local economy and the inclusion of the Wirral this time round has helped to showcase what the wider city region has to offer as a visitor destination. That’s why we were proud to invest £5million into the 2018 cultural programme.”

The report was produced by the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership.