4th September 2020 - 4th November 2020
3rd December 2020 - 30th December 2020
Blackpool Illuminations 2020 Details
2020 Switch On
Corona Heroes will Switch On the 2020 Illuminations
The 2020 Switch On concert will be a Virtual event due to COVID-19.
A group of Britain’s brave Corona Heroes will switch on this year’s Blackpool Illuminations. They include a consultant, two nurses, a hospital catering manager, two extraordinary fundraisers, and a therapy dog and his owner.
Those who will help pull the switch to trigger four months of Illuminations are:
Leona Harris:
The nurse from Rossendale has worked as a COVID-19 frontline nurse at Fairfield Hospital in Bury since the start of the pandemic. Not only that, she has helped raise £75,000 and bought i-Pads for patients in hospitals, care homes, and hospices all over Britain to keep isolated patients and families connected. Her remarkable efforts earned her the nickname of “The Angel from the North”.
Rachelle Sutton:
For three months, the nurse moved out of the family home and lived in a hotel so that she could complete 12-hour shifts at the Nightingale Hospital in Manchester at the height of the pandemic. During that time she won the “star award” from Nightingale for her dedication and compassion for end-of-life patients.
Will Ritchie:
The six-year-old boy from the Wirral was born with a severe visual impairment and suffers with epilepsy. During lockdown his parents took the opportunity to increase his exercise tolerance. Over several weeks, he went from 100m to 1500m a day and then completed a challenge for June – Will’s Marathon Month. Inspirational Will has now completed 30 miles and raised more than £14,000 for the Wirral University Teaching Hospital Foundation Trust COVID-19 Support Fund.
Dr Jason Cupitt:
The consultant led the COVID response at Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, working every day and most nights at the peak of the pandemic, spending only a few hours away from the hospital over several months. His constant presence provide encouragement and reassurance to staff and patients in the struggle against COVID-19.
David Anderson and Jasper the therapy dog:
Hospital chaplain David and his cockapoo have provided support and comfort to sick patients as well as boosting morale for the staff on wards at East Lancashire’s NHS Hospitals. Earlier this year, Jasper was presented with an “employee of the month” award for his services to the hospitals.
Donna Doyle:
Employed at Alder Hey Hospital for more than 40 years, the restaurant manager led her catering team through some unprecedented challenges, instantly doubling the number of meals produced on site to provide a free service for patients, families, volunteers and staff, and initiating a delivery service that took free food and drink to front-line staff.
Kirsty Jones:
The nurse from Blackpool’s Trinity Hospice moved into a flat by herself in order to continue her work but also protect her husband who had an underlying medical condition and was on the shielded list. After moving out of the family home on April 15, Kirsty was only able to make daily contact with her husband and two children through Facetime calls. She was eventually able to return home and be reunited with her family five weeks later.For the first time in over 70 years Blackpool will be unable to hold the traditional Switch On with an audience of 20,000. The concert will be replaced by a free to access streamed show in association with MTV.
The streamed hour long concert, which will feature a mixture of exclusive pre-recorded, at home performances, as well as live performances at a closed event, filmed inside the world famous Blackpool Tower Ballroom, acting as the curtain raiser for the extended Blackpool Illuminations season, which will now run from 4th September to 3rd January 2021.
The show will be hosted by Diversity´s Ashley and Jordan Banjo, and will feature a star-studded line-up of talent, leading up to the all important Switch-On moment.
The virtual show will start at 8.30pm. It will be free to watch on MTV and through Visit Blackpool's channels and will feature a mixture of exclusive pre-recorded performances at home and live performances filmed inside the Blackpool Tower Ballroom
In 2020 the virtual crowd will be wowed by performances from Fleur East, Becky Hill, Tom Grennan.
The 2020 Switch On performers will be: Mel C, Diversity performing a bespoke set. Performances from Fleur East, Becky Hill, Tom Grennan and Blackpool's own Rae Morris.
Celebrity Switch On stars have included:
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2020 Corona Heroes
2019 Lucy Fallon
2018 Alfie Boe
2017 Star Trek - Discovery & Diversity
2016 Barbara Windsor
2015 Tim Burton
2014 Peter Kay
2013 Jonathan Ross
2012 Olympic medal winners - Beth Tweddle, Karina Bryant, Luke Campbell, Sophie Hosking, Max Whitlock, Steven Burke & Smooth/Real Radio
2011 Keith Lemon & Smooth/Real Radio
2010 Robbie Williams & Smooth/Real Radio
2009 Alan Carr & Radio Two
2008 BBC Top Gear Team & Radio Two
2007 BBC Dr Who - David Tennant & Radio Two
2006 Dale Winton & Radio Two
2005 Chris Evans & Radio Two
2004 Geri Halliwell & Radio Two
2003 Blue & Radio Two
2002 Ronan Keating & Radio Two
2001 Steps & Radio Two
2000 Westlife & Radio Two
1999 Gary Barlow & Radio Two
1998 Chris De Burgh & Radio Two
1997 Michael Ball & Radio Two
1996 Eternal & Radio One
1995 Bee Gees & Radio One
1994 Shirley Bassey
1993 Status Quo & Radio One
1992 Lisa Stansfield
1991 Derek Jameson and Judith Chalmers
1990 Bet & Alec Gilroy "Coronation Street" (Julie Goodyear & Roy Barraclough)
1989 Frank Bruno
1988 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman
1987 Frank Bough, Ann Gregg & Kathy Tayler, BBC "Holiday" programme
1986 Les Dawson
1985 Joanna Lumley, BBC "Children in Need"
1984 Johannes Rau (Minister-President, North Rhine Westphalia & David Waddington, QC, MP (Minister of State, Home Office)
1983 Cast of "Coronation Street" (Doris Speed aka Annie Walke)
1982 Rear Admiral "Sandy" Woodward
1981 Earl & Countess Spencer
1980 Cannon and Ball
1979 Kermit the Frog and the Muppets
1978 Terry Wogan
1977 Red Rum
1976 Carol Ann Grant (Miss United Kingdom)
1975 Tom Baker (Dr Who)
1974 Wendy Craig
1973 Gordon Banks
1972 Danny La Rue
1971 Cast of "Dad´s Army"
1970 Tony Blackburn
1969 Canberra Bomber
1968 Sir Matt Busby
1967 Dr. Horace King (Speaker)
1966 Ken Dodd
1965 David Tomlinson
1964 Gracie Fields
1963 Cliff Michelmore
1962 Shirley Ann Field
1961 Violet Carson
1960 Janet Munro
1959 Jayne Mansfield
1958 A E ´Matt´ Matthews
1957 John H Whitney (American Ambassador)
1956 Reginald Dixon
1955 Jacob Malik (Russian Ambassador)
1954 Gilbert Harding
1953 George Formby
1952 Valerie Hobson
1951 Stanley Mathews
1950 Wilfred Pickles
1949 Anna Neagle
1939 Cancelled when war broke out, no display during War years or indeed until 1949
1938 Councillor Mrs Quayle
1937 Alderman Ashton and the Duke of Kent
1936 Sir Josiah Stamp
1935 Audrey Mossom (Railway Queen)
1934 Lord Derby
The concert during which the guest will throw the switch marks the start of Blackpool´s Big Switch On Weekend. We hope that thousands of fans of the celebrity, and of Blackpool, will join us in the celebrations and that they stay to enjoy all the free events Blackpool will be hosting throughout the weekend and indeed during the Illuminations Season.
