Best Brazilian Act 2013 Award winners Da Lata to headline UK's biggest Brazilian carnival event

THE very best of Brazilican music and culture comes to the streets of Liverpool again this year, and organisers of Brazilica are delighted to reveal the huge host of top bands and artists that will be performing on Saturday 19 July when Brazilica Carnival Day takes over the City centre, rounding off a week long programme of festival events! As well as a fantastic evening parade which will fill the City's streets with colour, sparkle and music, Williamson Square will for the fourth year running, host a music stage throughout the day and evening.

Da Lata, the 2013 Lukas Award winners for Brazilian Act of the Year, will be headlining this year's festival on the main Williamson Square stage. Audiences can enjoy their exciting Afro Brazilian sound and this year marks the 20th Anniversary of this 7 piece band which is led by Chris Franck and Patrick Forge with Brazilian Jandira Silva on vocals. Having re-ignited after a 10 year hiatus, the group have gained critical praise and re-established their reputation for blowing audiences away after their long awaited new album Fabiola was released last year.

Expect a high energy performance as Ziriguidum will be performing plenty of modern Brazilian Carnival music. The group,
which can number from 15 to 40 musicians will be joined by renowned singer Fabio Allman, frontman for Rio superstars Monobloco who are featured on the official 2014 World Cup song The World Is Ours. Fabio, a showman used to performing all over Brazil to 100,000 people a time and Ziriguidum who are part of the Carnaval Transatlantico project; performing at some of Rio de Janeiro's most prestigious music venues, come together with a very special performance.

Next on the line up, keeping the crowds dancing in the street is Brazilian funk and samba band Afro Samba. This 8 piece band are set to bring an exciting assortment of their mix of traditional and original songs with their own unique blend of Brazilian funk and samba.

Taking audiences on a musical journey to the heart of samba, Sambatuc return to Brazilica after they stormed the show back in 2010's festival. Consisting of forty dancers and percussionists the group bring the pure energy of samba all the way from Paris to the main stage in Liverpool.

Rounding off this year's incredible line-up is the North West based bossa nova band Marissa. This 5 piece band, fronted by singer Marissa Camacho will be performing an exciting set of classic, original and new bossa styles.

Samba schools from around the UK who are visiting the festival and participating in the parade will also appear on stage throughout this scorching spectacle of samba.

Mike Doran of City Central BID, Brazilica Festival Partner said:- "Our relationship has developed over many years and it is an absolute pleasure working with the team at Brazilica, to bring the very best of Brazil to the streets of Liverpool for the benefit of the local businesses and visitors."

Be sure to get down to Williamson Square on Saturday, 19 July 2014, for a real carnival bloc party in the heart of Liverpool!

Keep up to date with Liverpool Carnival Company's events on Facebook Page.

New look for CityLink buses ready for summer tourism

THE Merseytravel's new-look CityLink buses was unveiled on 27 May 2014, in time for the influx of visitors who are expected for this year's International Festival for Business 2014.

CityLink is a frequent circular shuttle service around Liverpool for people using the City's leisure and business facilities, including conferences, exhibitions and local attractions. The service visits all of the key attractions around the City, including the world heritage waterfront, cathedrals, museums and shopping areas. The service can be accessed from a range of stops around the City and key arrival points at Liverpool Lime Street station and the Cruise Liner Terminal.

To raise awareness and to accommodate visitors for the busy summer season ahead, Merseytravel is re-launching the service
with new-look branding and a range of hop on hop off fares. The scheme has also been developed in conjunction with Marketing Liverpool to improve access to the City's attractions.

Councillor Ron Abbey, Merseytravel's Lead Member for Bus, said:- "CityLink is one of the best ways to see the City's attractions, offering great value for money, and is perfect for people wanting to make the day their own without a tour guide. Just buy a day ticket and hop on and off to your heart's content. It's also been great to work with Marketing Liverpool on this project as we believe that the responsibility of showcasing the City doesn't stop at one organisation. Strong and meaningful partnerships with the City's stakeholders are essential to the delivery services that meet the needs of our customers. CityLink is an excellent example of turning this into reality and we are delighted to be part of the action."

The growth of Liverpool's visitor economy is positive and the importance of the CityLink service plays a key role to the visitor experience, supporting high profile events in the City such as IFB 2014.

The festival is the largest global concentration of business events during 2014. Running across 7 weeks from 9 June 2014, it will attract business delegates and trade intermediaries from around the world. The IFB Hub will be based at Merseytravel's headquarters at One Mann Island, offering high class facilities and services, including meeting and conference rooms, for visiting delegates.

The CityLink service will be integral to the success of IFB 2014 and the long term promotion the City as a key tourist destination.

Chris Brown, Director of Marketing Liverpool, said:- "The re-launch of CityLink is welcomed as we enter a busy season ahead. It is a reliable service which allows residents, businesses, visitors and students to move around the City with ease and in a cost-effective way. It is imperative our communication to these respective audiences comes from across the City, and we are asking for hoteliers and attractions to get behind the service and champion the ease of public transport. We are delighted to be working with Merseytravel to provide these services for IFB delegates and how the integration of the It's Liverpool brand has been executed on this service. In order for the City brand to be successful it relies on the strong and meaningful partnerships with the City's stakeholders, private sector and partner organisations. This is essential to the delivery of effective place branding campaigns."

James Rush, Chair of Liverpool Hoteliers Association, said:- "Liverpool Hoteliers Association is delighted to see the re-launch of the CityLink bus as it really gives our guests that much needed link and easy access around the City. Those visitors play a big part in our overall economy, particularly during the summer months, and this is our chance to showcase the strong partnerships that we have as well as an opportunity for everyone to work together."

CityLink uses three buses, operating a regular service of every 12 minutes between 9am and 8pm. New tickets prices are £1.20 for adults and 50p for children for a single fare. Or hop on and hop off all day for just £3 for adults and £1.50 for children.

For more information about the service, visit the Mersey Travel website.

The new bus wraps have been designed to reflect what Liverpool has to offer in terms of attractions, shopping and culture, so what do you our readers think of the new look? Email us via:- news24@southportreporter.com with your views!