LSMedia or Liverpool student media at liverpoolstudentmedia.com is a brand new website launched by the University of Liverpool's students to promote and support talented Liverpool student's creative written, visual or radio content.

On the 3^rd October one of the world’s most famous cruise liners, the QE2, visited Liverpool for the last time, on one of the last legs of her UK farewell tour before she sails to Dubai to become a floating hotel.

 

Her departure from the historic nautical city was illuminated by a fantastic display of fireworks, with thousands lining both banks of the Mersey to glimpse the historic vessel for the last time.

 

At 12 noon the ship had arrived at Liverpool’s pier head, greeted by thousands of onlookers. Later in the day there was a farewell concert at the Metropolitan Cathedral, with contributions from the choir’s of the cathedral and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the band of the Welsh guards. Falkland’s survivor Simon Weston, who travelled to the South Atlantic crisis on the liner, and Captain Ian McNaught, Master of the QE2 on its final voyage, contributed with speeches on this emotional farewell tour of the Cunard liner.

 

Cunard has strong ties with Liverpool, as for many years it was home to the companies headquarters, which is one of the famous ‘Three Graces’ situated on the city’s Pier Head.

 

For many passengers and onlookers alike, the highlight of this special day came at 10pm, when she was due to depart. Thousands had come to say their goodbyes, with the crowds bustling excitedly on the Mersey’s edge. I had never had the luxury of sailing on the QE2 or even glimpsing her before, yet she was everything I imagined. Her ribbon of red along the waterline, the black midriff dotted with yellow cabin windows, the dazzling white upper decks, topped with a single giant orange funnel; the epitome of a classic ocean going liner. It had the look of the Titantic, but thankfully not its misfortune.

 

At exactly 10pm the QE2’s moorings were unleashed, and gracefully she began to float out into the centre of the Mersey, complemented by a fantastic display of fireworks, dazzling and reflecting off the modern glass office building on the water’s edge. Once the display concluded, the magnificent ship sounded her deafening horn and she sailed silently towards open water, chased by the crowds along the banks.

 

Many of the crowd’s views were summed up by one onlooker, Ashley Newton, who admitted ‘I’d never seen the QE2 before, and felt it was too good a chance to miss before she sails to Dubai.’ Roxanne Thorpe added ‘I think the fireworks were a brilliant end to her short stay in Liverpool.’