Ferocious Fire Forces Abandonment of Liverpool International Horse Show
On Sunday 31st January a major fire broke out on the multi-storey car park near to the Echo Arena forcing the final session of the Liverpool International Horse Show to be abandoned and the venue evacuated. Police stated that an accidental fire in one car which spread to other vehicles appeared to have been the cause.
All the vehicles in the 1,600-car capacity building were destroyed but most importantly there were no serious injuries and no horses were hurt.
The team at Liverpool executed exceptional professionalism under incredible pressure, maintaining calmness and ensuring the safety of all spectators, riders and horses at the event.
STATEMENT FROM NINA BARBOUR, PRESIDENT OF THE LIVERPOOL INTERNATIONAL HORSE SHOW
“I would like to express my immense thanks and gratitude to the emergency services, the Echo Arena staff, riders, grooms and support staff, the general public and the City of Liverpool following Sunday night’s events.
“The understanding of everybody who were preparing to celebrate New Years’ Eve and were left in Liverpool with no transport was nothing short of remarkable, and the offers of help and support from people – they ran into the hundreds – for anyone who needed assistance will never be forgotten.
“It was with considerable regret that the final session of the show had to be cancelled due to a serious fire in a multi-storey car park near to the Echo Arena, and on advice from the emergency services, who worked tirelessly all night to contain and extinguish the fire.
“My thoughts are also with those who have lost their vehicles and possessions as a result of the fire.
“All people and horses are safe and secure, and I thank spectators, riders and support teams for their understanding and co-operation during what was a difficult situation.
“I am very proud of our own teams who pulled together in the most demanding of circumstances, and managed to quickly and calmly evacuate all horses from the venue in a safe and controlled manner.
“We have worked very closely with the Echo Arena team over the last three years – their support and hard work has been integral to the event’s success to date, and our thoughts are with them, and the city of Liverpool.
“We are not going to let go of what we achieved in the first five sessions of the show, and we will be back to do it again next December.”
For anyone who had tickets for the final session, details of refunds can be found on the Liverpool International Horse Show Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolInternationalHorseShow/ and website: www.liverpoolhorseshow.com
Prior to Sunday evening, the event had been hailed a huge success with floods of compliments from visitors across social media. A world class field of showjumping and dressage stars graced the international arena providing a spectacle of top class competition for the enthusiastic crowd.
We very much look forward to supporting Liverpool International Horse Show 2018 and in the meantime we eagerly anticipate the excitement for Bolesworth International Horse Show 2018 which takes place 13-17th June
