You'll never walk alone at Congress 2025

As Carl Jung famously said, ‘Liverpool is the pool of life’ and our heritage runs deep. 

There is a diverse musical tradition with The Beatles and Elvis Costello providing shining examples. And the recent success of Eurovision showed how the city loves to host and to celebrate. 

Liverpool has a strong trade union background and was the first region to form a trades’ council in 1848. In 1911, the Liverpool general transport strike brought the region to a standstill. The dockers’ struggle in the late 1990s is a story of determination and resilience and still resonates through the city. Liverpool is a place of solidarity, championing fairness and standing up for rights. It was the first centre or regional hub of the RCN, the first branch if you will, so trade unionism and organising has a strong history here! 

Liverpool is said to be the birthplace of district nursing. Florence Nightingale and William Rathbone were the first to explore the possibilities of caring for patients in their own homes. The Liverpool Royal Infirmary became their training school in 1863, and Liverpool’s strong history of nurse pioneers was born. Now we have many excellent health care providers across the region such as Alder Hey, The Walton Centre, Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust and many others. We are lucky to be surrounded by such expertise, and of course our educational institutes deliver outstanding learning opportunities.

Our museums and galleries showcase local talent and global expertise from the Maritime Museum through to the Museum of Liverpool highlighting the mark we Scousers have left on the world.

Filmmakers have been coming here since 1896. With talent like Alan Bleasdale and Carla Lane, and the children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce, it’s clear that Liverpool has a knack for entertaining and storytelling. 

Our sporting prowess is renowned! With our premiership football teams Liverpool and Everton, a cross-city rivalry steeped in revelry, fans come together to fundraise in Fans Supporting Foodbanks and to support each other in fighting for Justice.

We have the oldest Chinese community in Europe and the largest Chinese Arch outside of China. Our temples, synagogues, mosques and churches show a sense of solidarity and celebration evident through spirituality. We have 2 cathedrals at either end of Hope Street, how beautiful is that? 

As well as our faith we have legends guarding our communities; our Liver Birds, Bella looking out to sea to watch for our sailors and ensure they return and Berty scanning the land for signs of trouble. It is said that if the Liver Birds ever fly away then Liverpool will slip into the Mersey and disappear! 

I hope you love Liverpool and love RCN Congress, because all you need is love, love is all you need, and of course, you’ll never walk alone in Liverpool.