18 July 2011 Last updated at 10:56

In pictures: Museum of Liverpool

The Museum of Liverpool is due to open on 19 July 2011. The £72m building is the largest national museum to be built in Britain in more than 100 years. Work on constructing the museum began in April 2007.

A giant architect's model of the never built Catholic cathedral designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens is one of the objects on display. The Museum of Liverpool tells the story of the city with more than 6,000 objects from the collection of National Museums Liverpool, many of which have not been on public display before.

A spiral staircase dominates the centre of the museum. The museum has 8,000 square metres of public space across three floors containing four main galleries. The museum will open in several stages, initially with three galleries: Wondrous Place, The People’s Republic and Global City.

Many of the items on display have been held in storage as National Museums Liverpool did not have the space to exhibit them. They include the first Ford Anglia that rolled off the production line at Ford’s Halewood plant in 1963.

The museum, next to Liverpool's Pier Head, will be opened by six-year-old Finn O’Hare who sent a letter putting himself forward for the job. Chairman of National Museums Liverpool Phil Redmond said: "It is fitting that in Finn we have a regular Liverpool lad helping out at such a pivotal event in our city’s history."

Curators have been working for ten years on the exhibitions for the museum. There is also a dedicated children’s gallery, Little Liverpool, for ages six and under.

Director of National Museums Liverpool Dr David Fleming said: "Our ambition for the Museum of Liverpool was to create the world’s greatest urban history museum. The Museum of Liverpool is a living biography of the city, a biography that is honest, ever-changing, created by people who love living here, many of whom were born here."

Exhibits in the Wondrous Place gallery cover many of the sporting achievements of people connected with Liverpool. Exhibits include Liverpool FC manager Bill Shankly's raincoat, cyclist Chris Boardman's Lotus Sport bike and the skeleton of Ambush II winner of the 1900 Grand National.

The museum is the world's first national museum to be dedicated to the history of a regional city.

Liverpool

In pictures: Museum of Liverpool

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