Blackpool Illuminations
Everything you need to know about the world-famous Illuminations - from their history to the famous names who have switched them on.
Click on the headings below to find out more:
- What are the Blackpool Illuminations?
- A brief history of the illuminations
- The Illuminations and the Tower
- Old favourites
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The switch-on ceremony
- The Illuminations as public art
What are they?
To fans they are known as the “Eighth wonder of the world” or “The
Greatest Free Show on Earth”: six miles of illuminated Blackpool water
front, from Squires Gate to Red Bank Road, glitters for 66 nights from
late August to November. The lights are an important draw for tourists
as the summer season comes to an end.
Here is one 15-year-old visitor's description from 1953 (as quoted in the 1954 Illuminations Souvenir Brochure)
“We had only been outside for a few minutes when a great sigh came from
the millions of people strolling along. All the colours of the rainbow
suddenly winked into the darkness of the night, as the illuminations
came on. We felt very excited as we climbed on to a high horse-drawn
carriage. Slowly we went along the promenade, gazing at the masses of
colour and feeling very happy. We turned round to look at the Tower
standing like a guard over the rest of the lights." Jennifer Grahame
The Illuminations consist of almost every kind of light display you can
imagine: lasers, neon, light bulbs, fibre optics, searchlights and
floodlighting. In 2005 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 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. All 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 tram, a Space Rocket
and the Trawler (sponsored by local business, Fisherman’s Friend). You
become part of the magi
The displays aren’t completely different each year, old favourites are kept on and a few innovations introduced.
A brief history of the illuminations
The world-famous Blackpool Illuminations
©Tim Gartside / Alamy
©Tim Gartside / Alamy
A world first: eight arc lamps are used to create “artificial
sunshine” emitting the equivalent of the light from 48,000 candles. The
technology is extremely new - it is only in this year that the first
English patent for a light bulb is granted. More than 70,000 people
travel to Blackpool to see the demonstration.
May, 1912
First Royal visit to Blackpool: festoons of garland lights are used
to decorate the new section of promenade being opened by Princess
Louise. It looks very impressive.
September, 1912
Back by to popular demand! The same display is re-staged as it had
proved to be such a big draw for tourists and a boost for commerce.
September, 1913
And again! This time the displays are overseen by Frederick Fields,
who becomes known as “The Magician of the Lights”. Mr Fields remains
director of the lights until 1949.
August 4, 1914
Britain declares war on Germany. No Illuminations for several years.
1923 and1924
Carnivals held in these years feature modest light displays.
1925
Ambitious display schemes make a comeback! Lights are festooned
along the Promenade from Manchester Square to Cocker Square. The lights
become an annual event.
1932
Clifftop extravaganzas! Animated tableaux on the clifftops between
North Shore and Bispham are added. Four million visitors come to see
the lights this year. They have now reached their present day length of
six miles.
August 31, 1939
A special preview of the spectacular lights planned for that year is
held, including the first appearance of the famous searchlight from the
top of the Tower. The very next morning, German troops storm into
Poland taking Britain into the second world war. A countrywide blackout
is imposed and the lights are never switched on. Rationing of fuel
means that the lights stay dark even after the end of the war.
September 16, 1949
Government permission is granted to burn the amount of fuel required
to bring back the lights! Much is made of the fact that Frederick Field
comes out of retirement to supervise proceedings. A spectacular display
on the cliffs portrays a deep sea diver’s world of tropical vegetation.
At over 200ft long and 22ft high it is an amazing sight. Actress Anna
Neagle is the celebrity chosen to switch on the lights. For a list of
others who have had this honour, see the section below on the Switch-on ceremony. The lights now become an annual event, with no interruptions!
1953
Nursery rhymes come alive! The first 3D illuminations are displayed on the cliffs in Nursery Rhyme Land.
1982
The future arrives: lasers are used to illuminate the Tower for the first time.
2005
Your name in lights: the fusion of text messaging and the
Illuminations. By paying £1.50 you can text your message and see it
written by laser on a 100ft x 20ft screen on Blackpool Promenade. All
proceeds go towards the Illuminations budget for the following year.
The Illuminations and the Tower
The Tower is illuminated at night all year round but is a focal point during the 66-night run of the Illuminations each year.
In 1953 the Tower was given the nickname “Queen of the Lights”. The
Tower itself is always decorated with strings of lights, outlining its
structure against the dark sky. It takes 10,000 light bulbs to stretch
up past the crow’s nest to the flagpole.
The famous searchlight which shines out from the top of the Tower
was designed to be part of the 1939 Illuminations, but didn’t actually
get used until 1949. To find out why, see the Brief history (above).
The Illuminations have always been at the cutting edge of lighting
technology. 1982 was the first year when lasers were used in the
illumination of the Tower.
Due to its prominence as a landmark, the Tower is a hugely desirable
spot for big companies wanting to promote their products. In order to
help keep the Illuminations free, sponsorship is always being sought by
the organisers. 1994 was the first year that the Pepsi logo appeared on
the Tower as part of the Illuminations and others have since followed
suit.
The best place to see the Illuminations in all their splendour? The top of the Blackpool Tower, of course!
We’d like to hear from you about which displays you enjoy visiting from year to year, or any particularly spectacular illuminations you remember. Write to us at info@icons.org.uk and we’ll try to feature as many as we can! Maybe these examples will jog your memory…
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Popular displays in the post-war years often had a nursery rhyme theme: Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
watering her garden, for example, or the mouse running up the clock. In
1953, the first 3D illuminations were tried-out in Nursery Rhyme Land.
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A rejuvenating machine which showed old men going in one end and being transformed into fairies and children when they came out.
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The Juggling Seals.
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The Fairy Wedding.
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The Palace Of Fountains.
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On a more human note, 1949 saw the inclusion selection of five golfing tableaux, a favourite from before the war.
- The Windmill.
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Some of the displays celebrated moments from English history. In 1952
there was a stunning display, in the style of a stained glass window,
showing Elizabeth I and Francis Drake playing bowls. A tableau of Merrie England was also a long-running favourite.
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Literary scenes are also popular - especially the novels of Charles
Dickens, which provide some recognisable dramatic moments. The
centenary of the death of Lewis Carroll was commemorated with an Alice In Wonderland tableau. Click here to learn more about Alice.
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Well-loved pantomime scenes are often included: Dick Whittington,
Cinderella and Aladdin have all had their moment. The 1955 lights
included a special section entitled Pantomime Land.
The lights that year were switched on by Russian Ambassador Jacob Malik
– what do you think he made of these English traditions?
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The displays also tried to look beyond England in their scope. 1950 saw
an elaborate tableau at the South Shore Bath showing scenes from early
American pioneer life complete with cowboys, wagon trail and “Red
Indian” encampment. There’s been an Ancient Egyptian display as well as
Alien Attack. In the 1990s there was a long-running display entitled Into Europe featuring flags from the countries in the EEC.
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Bajra, commissioned in 2003, was a beautiful illuminated float
in the shape of a peacock. It was designed by Nandita Palchoudhuri and
created in Chandannagar, West Bengal, by the lighting expert Sridhar
Das.
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The Catch Phrase tableau provided an interactive
element where on-lookers had to guess the popular catchphrase depicted
by the illuminated scenes.
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Canine Capers: yes, you’ve guessed it, images of pet dogs in humorous poses.
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Famous faces from Hollywood and TV stars are often celebrated. Coronation Street regulars have appeared with their names and faces up in lights, as well as participating in two switch-on ceremonies.
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An award for the worst pun involved in the naming of a display has to
go to McDonald’s (and it had some stiff competition!) The display they
sponsored celebrating footballing achievements over the years is named
the GOALden Mile.
Switch-on ceremony
The official switch-on ceremony launches each year’s Illuminations with a fittingly star-spangled occasion. A topical popular celebrity is chosen to do the honours, and the range of names tells us a lot about changing trends in English culture since the first formal ceremony in 1934. If you look closely, you will notice that not all of the celebrities have been human! 1934 Lord Derby 1935 Audrey Mosson (Railway Queen) 1936 Sir Josiah Stamp 1937 Duke of Kent (following an earlier switch-on by Alderman Ashton)
1955 Jacob Malik (Russian Ambassador)
1957 John H Witney (US Ambassador)
1967 Dr Horace King (Speaker of the House of Commons)
1976 Carol Ann Grant (Miss UK)
1979 Kermit the Frog and the Muppets
1981 Earl and Countess of Spencer
1982 Rear Admiral "Sandy" Woodward
1983 Coronation Street's Doris Speed (Annie Walker)
1985 Joanna Lumley (on behalf of BBC Children in Need)
1987 BBC Holiday Programme team: Frank Bough, Ann Gregg and Kathy Taylor
1988 Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman
1990 Coronation Street’s Julie Goodyear and Roy Barraclough (Bet and Alec Gilroy)
1991 Derek Jameson and Judith Chalmers
1993 Status Quo and the Radio 1 Roadshow
1994 Shirley Bassey with the National Jazz Youth Orchestra and the JFM 100.4 Roadshow
1995 The Bee Gees and the Radio 1 Roadshow
1996 Eternal and the Radio 1 Roadshow
1997 Michael Ball and the Radio 2 Roadshow
1998 Chris de Burgh and the Radio 2 Roadshow
1999 Gary Barlow and the Radio 2 Roadshow
2000 Westlife with Billie Piper and the Radio 2 Roadshow
2001 Steps and the Radio 2 Roadshow
2002 Ronan Keating and the Radio 2 Roadshow
2003 Blue and the Radio 2 Roadshow
2004 Geri Halliwell and the Radio 2 Roadshow
2005 Chris Evans and the Radio 2 Roadshow
The Illuminations as public art
Now, you might not consider the Blackpool Illuminations as art, you
might not consider them to be innovation, but the Illuminations have
always employed cutting-edge technology, and a great deal of skill as
well as artistic imagination is used to create them.
Forty-five people, including artists, electricians, joiners, mechanics,
scenic painters and engineers are employed full-time to maintain the
installations and create new ones to amaze us every year. The workshops
at Rigby Road, where they put everything together, are like a treasure
trove covering 12,100 metres square.
In 2005 a new festival was started alongside the Illuminations, called
the Festival of Light. This showcased the work of a large number of
designers and artists from all over the world, each of whom work with
light as their medium in some way. There was a huge range of
installations featuring everything from recycled household waste to
live piranha fish. You can find out more about it by going to www.festivaloflight.co.uk
If you want to learn more about Public Art, click here to explore another of our icons, the Angel of the North.
