THE new Museum of Liverpool will open its doors to the public for the first time on July 19.

The museum will be officially opened on the 100th anniversary of the opening of its iconic neighbour, the Royal Liver Building.

Discussions over what will happen on launch day are currently taking place, with the full plans to be announced closer to the day.

Professor Phil Redmond, chairman of National Museums Liverpool, said: “Liverpool’s role in history is known the world over, as is its iconic symbol, the Liver Bird.

“It’s fitting then that the first purpose-built museum to examine a city’s role in world history, is opening its doors 100 years to the day that the Liver Building itself opened for business.”

The £72m Mann Island landmark, which will house around 6,000 objects, including the last remaining Overhead Railway carriage and the first car to roll off the production line at Halewood, is the largest newly-built national museum in Britain for more than a century.

And National Museums Liverpool bosses yesterday revealed the internal fit-out of the major galleries is taking shape to such an extent that the three-phased opening of the building has been reduced to just two, with the second phase opening later this year.

One of the galleries boasts a huge picture window, with views of the Liver Building.

Janet Dugdale, director of the Museum of Liverpool, said: “Until now, people have found it very difficult to grasp the sheer size of the birds that perch on top of what was once the tallest building in Britain. Visitors in the People’s Republic gallery will now be able to stand next to an 18ft life-size Liver Bird, while looking across at the real thing.”

Celebrations for the Liver Building and Museum of Liverpool take place during Liverpool’s Year of Radicals, marking the 100th anniversary of a number of important historical events.

They include the 1911 transport strike and the post-Impressionist exhibition at the Bluecoat.