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Billed as "a five month pageant of horticultural excellence and spectacular entertainment" it took place on a site that only two years before had been derelict.

The Typhoo Ship

The Festival contained more than sixty individual gardens, a Festival Hall, public pavilions and even a miniature railway which toured the site.

It also included a pub, The Britannia and a Pathway of Honour recognising Liverpool stars including Cilla Black, Ken Dodd, and Nerys Hughes.

A statue of John Lennon at the festival

Where was it?

The Garden Festival was built on a site in the old south docks area by the Dingle. Much of the site was derelict and needed to be cleared of industrial waste before the landscaping for the festival could commence.

Why Liverpool and why 1984?

The Garden Festival was one of the first major projects undertaken by the Merseyside Development Corporation a body set up to in the wake of the Toxteth riots to regenerate Liverpool in the early 1980's.

The legacy of the Festival was meant to be a unique riverside parkland gifted to the city and "available for all to share".

When was it?

The festival ran from 2nd May to 14th October 1984, and highlights included the arrival of the Tall Ships from 1st to 4th August.

What's happened since?

The festival site has changed hands several times since 1984.

Half of the original festival grounds have been used for a residential housing development.

The rest of the site, after various incarnations as leisure and entertainment facilities is planned to be developed for housing with the some of the original gardens retained.

The Festival Dome was demolished in late 2006 to make way for the new development.