Pokémon GO: Liverpool event generated £11.9m for city

The sold out event was the first of its kind to happen since 2019

Almost £12m was generated by a Pokémon GO weekend event at a Liverpool park after 20,000 people turned out to play the popular mobile game.

The sold out event saw the enthusiasts gather at Sefton Park in October last year.

A report to Liverpool City Council said it had an economic impact of £11.9m for the city.

The assistant director of Culture Liverpool said the event put the global spotlight on the city.

Claire McColgan, who is also director of neighbourhoods, added: "People came from all over the country with their phones and the social media from that went all around the world about Liverpool.

"What it did for the city in terms of a completely different audience cannot be underestimated and I think that's really key."

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The £11.9m included £4.7m direct expenditure in the form of accommodation, food and drink and the operating costs of hosts Niantic.

Almost £4m was also made through indirect expenditure, with almost half of the visitors stating they would come back to Liverpool within 12 months.

The sold-out 'Pokémon GO Safari Zone' event was the first event of its kind globally since 2019, after being rearranged from its postponement in 2020.

Pokémon GO is an augmented reality video game, where players use mobile phones to locate virtual creatures, called Pokémon, which appear as if they are in the player's real-world location.

The augmented reality game connects people from all over the world and has been a huge success since its release in 2016 with more than one billion downloads.