When the Mathew Street festival started as a stage outside the Cavern in 1993 no one could have known how massive it was to become.
In 1993 the company behind the annual Beatles Convention held an August Bank Holiday party in Mathew Street, featuring seven hours of free music from 65 bands from around the world.
A few thousand people were expected to attend - but on the day numbers topped 20,000 and the Mathew Street Festival was born.
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It was an instant hit and began to attract more and more people each year.
As its popularity grew, the celebrations expanded beyond Mathew Street and the festival became a much anticipated fixture in the city's calendar.
Stages began popping up on Castle Street, Victoria Street, Water Street, Dale Street, William Brown Street - and Chavasse Park before Liverpool ONE was even a thing.
By 1999, attendees reached record levels as an estimated 350,000 Beatles fans packed the city centre for the festival, which marked the re-release of the film Yellow Submarine.
And the following year, an extra day was introduced, with the festival extended to include Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
The year 2000 saw 150 bands from 15 countries including established pop acts like S Club 7, Steps and Five performing at Party at the Pier.
Many people loved the event which brought tourists to the city and provided a massive boost to the local economy.
However, as the scale of the festival grew so did criticism. Families complained they were unable to take their children into the city during the spectacle due to the excess of drinking and vomiting on the streets.
One business lobbying group branded it "glorified p***-up that does not showcase the best of the city".
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In 2007, the festival was cancelled on health and safety grounds but returned after a campaign by the ECHO and its supporters.
But the writing was on the wall and In 2013 the Mathew Street festival was canned.
The festival in many ways had been a victim of its own success and it was decided the festival had outgrown its format.
The Mathew Street Music Festival was replaced by the Liverpool International Music Festival (LIMF) held in Sefton Park since 2013.
For several years, LIMF was Europe's biggest free music festival and has claimed its own place in Liverpool history.
However, since 2018, the massive celebration of music has been a paid and ticketed event.
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