Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Billions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Feb. 13, 2019	Jun. 29, 2018
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Liberty Global plc
Entity Central Index Key	0001570585
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Public Float			$ 22.9
Class A
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		204,483,313
Class B
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		11,099,593
Class C
Document and Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		526,521,570