Major Titanic exhibition set for Liverpool in 2026

A major Titanic exhibition is set to come to Liverpool in 2026.

Titanic in Focus: White Star Line Hotel, will run from January 8 to March 10 and is set to be held in the former White Star Line headquarters, which is now the White Star Line Hotel.

The White Star Line headquarters is the building where the liner was planned, managed, and intimately connected to the city’s maritime history.

The lead curator of the exhibition said visitors will be given a unique experience.

The curator said: “To bring these items back to 30 James Street is to complete a circle that began over a century ago.

“This isn’t just a display of objects; it is a homecoming.

“Seeing these artefacts within the same wood-panelled rooms where J. Bruce Ismay and Thomas Andrews discussed the ship’s blueprints creates a powerful, almost electric atmosphere.”

The exhibition promises an immersive exploration of the ship’s history, guiding visitors through a timeline that begins with the Titanic’s design in Liverpool and construction in Belfast.

It then shifts to the stories of those who boarded for its maiden voyage, before delving into the tragedy that unfolded in the North Atlantic.

A section of the exhibition is dedicated to the ship’s rediscovery in 1985.

It will feature items recovered from the wreck site, two miles beneath the Atlantic Ocean.

Several artefacts will be displayed together in the North West for the first time.

These include the largest surviving section of the Aft Grand Staircase.

Its preserved woodwork offers a glimpse into the Edwardian luxury that once defined the White Star Line’s Olympic-class vessels.

Other items include a rare wooden deck chair.

The chair, recovered from the ocean surface by a cable ship in the days following the disaster, is one of the few such artefacts to survive the harsh North Atlantic.

A deeply personal piece of history will also be on display: a fragment of sheet music belonging to Wallace Hartley.

Mr Hartley, the Lancashire-born bandleader, famously led his musicians in prayer and song until the ship’s final moments.

The exhibition will also feature handwritten letters and telegraphs.

These documents capture the voices of passengers and crew, many of whom were beginning a new life in America.

The White Star Line headquarters holds a special place in the Titanic’s story.

It was from the balconies of 30 James Street that officials read out the names of survivors and the deceased to grieving families gathered in the streets below.

The exhibition seeks to connect the physical remnants of the vessel with the architectural heart of the company that gave birth to her.

Organisers expect the three-month run to sell out quickly.

They strongly encourage historians, maritime enthusiasts, and the general public to secure tickets well in advance to avoid disappointment.

The exhibition promises to be a rare opportunity to experience Titanic’s legacy within the very building where her journey was planned and managed.

Tickets are available now through the White Star Line Hotel website.

Source: The Westmorland Gazette
--Agencies