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Liverpool has been chosen by the team behind Pokemon Go to host one of only three official 2020 gaming events in the world.

Sefton Park will host thousands of gamers, becoming a Pokemon Go Safari Zone during the Easter holidays.

These Pokémon Trainers from across the globe will search the park on the hunt for augmented reality characters.

Niantic Inc has joined forces with Liverpool City Council’s Culture Liverpool team to bring the event to the UK for the first time ever after delivering similar successful events across the world in recent years.

Liverpool was handpicked along with two other new locations - Philadelphia and St Louis in the US. All three cities bid to host the event and were selected following a competitive process.

Niantic is also behind the real-world augmented reality mobile games Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Ingress and last year's held by the company in Chicago, US; Montreal, Canada and Dortmund, Germany are estimated to have generated around £191million ($249million) for the local economies.

(Image: Virgin Active/PA Wire)

Claire McColgan, director of Culture Liverpool, said: "Niantic is a world leader in gaming and Pokemon Go is arguably the biggest game in the world, so we are excited that the first ever UK Safari Zone will be hosted in Liverpool.

"It is another example of how Liverpool is becoming a destination for some of the biggest brands in the world, and we can't wait to show the city off to the trainers from across the globe who will be joining us in April."

How to get tickets

The Pokemon Go Safari Zone will run from Friday to Sunday, April 17 to 19 at Sefton Park.

The event will be ticketed on a first-come first-served basis through the Pokemon Go app. Tickets will be launched at 8am on Friday, January 31.

General admission tickets will be £12, and early access tickets will be £18. Early access ticket holders will be able to access event gameplay early and receive two additional hours of gameplay.

More information on the event can be found at pokemongolive.com.

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What is Pokemon Go?

Pokémon GO is a global phenomenon which has been downloaded more than one billion times.

It’s an augmented reality mobile game, where players use a mobile device GPS to locate, capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called Pokémon, which appear as if they are in the player's real-world location.

The Pokémon GO Safari Zone combines the fun of the game, with real world interactivity via physical installations and allows trainers to meet through event-exclusive activities.

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The event has been hosted across the world since 2017 in locations including the USA, France, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Japan and Taiwan.

Trainers can stay up-to-date on Pokémon GO announcements and the latest real-world events by following the game on Twitter or liking it on Facebook.