THE glorious sunshine helped show off Merseyside to its best advantage this weekend, with a bumper line-up of events and attractions.

There was the visit by the Royal Navy’s flagship, HMS Ark Royal, which attracted thousands of visitors while berthed at the new Liverpool Cruise Liner Terminal for four days, the first time the ship – with its crew of more than 600 – has been to the city.

Over the course of the rest of the year, 15 cruise ships and another 11 Royal Navy ships are set to follow suit and use the Princes Dock terminal.

Meanwhile, the sixth two-day Kites over the Mersey festival took place on Wirral, with the Princess of the Balinese Royal family flying traditional Bali and Indonesian kites, along with stunt kite flying, giant show kites and art kites.

There was also the traditional Liverpool Lord Mayor’s Parade through the streets of the city, with a range of stunning exhibits, floats and costumes, and with every penny raised going to charity.

Add to this a range of other events, both here and farther afield – such as Wirral’s annual charity Bikeathon, a national Morris dancing event at Speke Hall, and a festival of orchids at Tatton Park – and you have the kind of programme which other parts of the country can only look on with envy.

While the last few weeks have been full of high-profile events, with the opening of the first phase of the Liverpool One development, the launch of the Gustav Klimt exhibition at the Tate, and Sir Paul McCartney’s headlining Liverpool Sound concert, this weekend has seen a range of events which – while smaller in scale – could appeal to every taste and which were open to all.

Taken together, they all help to increase the national and international focus on Liverpool, which has seen the city receive the kind of publicity which money alone could not buy.

But it is also this unique mix which makes the city’s year as European Capital of Culture what it is.