Five stories that got people talking in Liverpool this week - Eurovision, strikes and Wetherspoons closures

In our weekly feature, LiverpoolWorld editor Dominic Raynor and video journalist Emily Bonner discuss some of the headlines which have stood out over the last week.

Olivia Pratt-Korbel murder arrests

Detectives have arrested an eleventh person in connection with the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel. The 40-year-old was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender on Friday and is currently being questioned. It comes after a 34-year-old man from Dovecot was arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday night.

Dock workers set to walk out again

Liverpool port workers will stage a new seven day strike from October 11 in an ongoing dispute over pay. Unite the Union has announced senior control room staff and operators at the Port of Liverpool control room will join hundreds of dock workers in the walkout.

Wetherspoons pubs across the country set to close

Pub franchise JD Wetherspoons has announced that they are selling a pub in Wirral as a part of a major franchise sale. The pub operator has appointed CBRE and Savills to sell off a total of 32 pubs in the UK, with most pubs located in London and the southeast. One of those pubs is the John Masefield on New Chester Rd, New Ferry.

Controversy surrounding Eurovision

The battle to be Eurovision’s host city next year came to the final stage on Wednesday, with Liverpool and Glasgow making it to the final two.

Whilst Liverpool celebrated the brilliant achievement, excitement turned to anger after the Telegraph carried an article that said the city had ‘no art galleries, dance companies or opera houses – at least not any that carry any great significance beyond the North West ’.

The article by Ben Lawrence, which began ‘For a moment, I am going to step outside of my London bubble’, received mass criticism from Liverpool’s political leaders, with Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, demanding a complete retraction.

River of Light returns

River of Light is set to illuminate the waterfront across 17 nights from Friday, October 21, to Sunday, November 6. It will showcase ten artworks from a host of local, national and international artists. This year’s free event theme is Unexpected Twist, which is a nod to the World Gymnastics Championships.