30th August 2024 - 5th January 2025
Blackpool Illuminations sees this seaside city of fun still buzzing with excitement and laughter long after other resorts have gone into winter hibernation.
At 10 kilometers long and using over one million bulbs, the Blackpool Illuminations are an awesome spectacle.
Every year there is a Switch On concert with a celebrity to Switch On the Illuminations. The weekend format varies from year to year. For 2024 the Switch on Celebrity will be listed here.
The annual Switch-On concert is scheduled to take place on the night of Friday 30th August The Switch On show and ceremony will be on the Blackpool Tower Headland. This will be a Free concert.
Since 2014, the Switch On night has actually been a Switch On weekend. In 2014, Friday´s Switch On was performed by Peter Kay and supported by a concert from Little Mix, Texas, George Ezra, Neon Jungle, Union J, Matt Cardle and more. Then on Saturday night, the entertainment was from Thriller Live! and Sunday´s show was celebrating West End shows with Rebecca Ferguson. Who will be performing at the 2019 celebrations? We will have to wait and see! Check back here and we will let you know as soon as possible.
2012 was a special year for Blackpool Illuminations. It marked the centenary of the first public display of light in Blackpool. While the first display of ´electric sunshine´ in Blackpool was in 1879, when 8 arc lights shone on the promenade, it was in May 1912, to mark the opening of a new section of promenade by Princess Louise, 10,000 lights were festooned along the promenade. The lights were such a huge success that the following September, Blackpool Chamber of Commerce were persuaded to stage the ´Illuminations´. This was the beginning of Blackpool Illuminations as we know it today. For the centenary, the ´Rocket Illuminations Tram´ was placed on Glynn Square roundabout.
The Blackpool Illuminations consist of almost every kind of light display you can imagine: lasers, neon, light bulbs, fibre optics, searchlights and floodlighting. In 2012 there were more than 500 scenic designs and features. There are set pieces made out of wood studded with light bulbs: the characters and objects portrayed seem to “move” by way of winking lights. Three-dimensional illuminated scenes are also popular. There are over 500 road features attached to lamp posts linked together with festoon lighting. Strings of lights along the structure of buildings pick out landmarks in luminous detail – you can always make out the Tower and the Pleasure Beach rides in this way.
Some of the hotels on the east side of the Promenade are floodlit in colour sequence. Even the trams on which you can tour the lights are illuminated and decorated with specific themes. There has been a Wild West train tram, a Space Rocket and the Trawler.
Take a tram for a grandstand view – arguably the best way to see this electrical extravaganza.
During the Blackpool Illuminations Blackpool hosts a multitude of attractions, shows on the piers, theatres and the Pleasure Beach. Why not take advantage of the Blackpool entertainment and treat yourselves to a long weekend or mid week break or maybe a self catering holiday?
