Southport is a seaside town on the Irish Sea coast within the Sefton borough of Merseyside, England. It is 16.5 miles (26.6 km) to the north of Liverpool, and 14.8 miles (23.8 km) west-southwest of Preston. Southport has a population of around 100,000 with approximately 40% of the population over 55 years old and around 55% defined as social class ABC1. Historically part of Lancashire, Southport has many tourist attractions including Southport Pier, the second longest pleasure pier in Great Britain. Southport has a fairground which originally opened in 1912. After closure in 2006 it has now been re-opened as New Pleasureland. Tourism still plays a large part of the economic make-up of Southport but its reputation of being a nice place to live brings in wealthy families commuting to Liverpool, Preston, Manchester and further afield. Its location, reputation and range of expensive houses also brings in a variety of footballers from local teams. As a seaside resort, its main attractions are the miles of sandy beaches and recently restored seafront, a Victorian pier (the first pier built purely for pleasure in Britain), six golf courses and the wide boulevard, Lord Street, in the town centre. The town also has the Southport Theatre and Floral Hall. Southport also hosts varied events including an annual air show and flower show, an open air classical music concert concluded with a fireworks display, a jazz festival, a beer festival with over seventy beers and the turning on of the pleasant town centre Christmas lights. On July 12th every year, there is an Orangemen's march, which is one of the busiest days of the year. Southport hosts the annual musical fireworks championships, and The Open Championship at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club course. It is also home to the "Southport Weekender" , an annual dance event that takes place at the Pontins resort in the town. More on Southport