Aries Marquee Hire provided marquee hire on the car park at Alder Hey Hospital to celebrate 100 years.

It was a 2 day build for Aries Marquees starting on Friday with some smaller marquees, then a very early start Saturday morning to build the main marquee which had staging for performers to perform on through the day, there were lots of exhibitors inside the marquee too and military demonstrations. It was a two day party both Saturday and Sunday and was a good turn out.

“The hospital is 100 years old this year and the new Alder Hey is being built, so we wanted to do something to embrace the past and celebrate the future.” Alder Hey opened in 1914 as a hospital camp to treat US soldiers, but it is now used by more than 270,000 sick children each year.

Event organiser Essie said “We are currently building the new Alder Hey hospital and before we say goodbye we want to celebrate the past.”

Merseyside fire service and the Army are on hand yesterday to help with Alder Hey’s celebrations this weekend. The event was opened at 1pm by the military band from the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment. This was followed by a performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by students from KS Dance, a performing arts school based in Warrington.

Other performers included Jake Riley,14, from Moreton, who has been treated at Alder Hey for a heart defect. The event was compered by former Brookside actress Eithne Browne, who was born in Huyton. Alder Hey in West Derby is now one of the busiest children’s hospitals in Europe and employs the best part of 3,000 people.

The new Alder Hey is currently being built on some of the nearby Springfield Park land. The new £237m hospital, which will be called Alder Hey Children’s Health Park, will contain 270 beds and is expected to open next year, after which the old hospital will be gradually demolished and turned into parkland for the local community.