The History Of The Illuminations
At 10 kilometres long and using over one million lamps, Blackpool Illuminations are an awesome spectacle. But how did it all begin? Photography: Visit Blackpool
The illuminations have been lighting up Blackpool since 1879, when the Council devoted the sum of £5000 to experiment with the concept of electric street lighting, starting off with eight arc lamps on 60ft poles on the seafront. The public, who were used to lighting their homes with candles, were in awe of the lights calling them ‘artificial sunshine’. The lights even used to go out as the tide came in due to water leaking into the cast iron wiring pipes.
The nearest to modern-day displays were first staged in May 1912 to commemorate Blackpool’s first royal visit as Princess Louise opened the new section of promenade, Princess Parade. Thousands of people visited the resort to see the illuminations and the event was judged a commercial success. The response from the public was astonishing, however, hopes were short lived with the outbreak of the First World War the following year.
The illuminations were back in 1925 on a more ambitious scale with lights festooned along the Promenade from Manchester Square to Cocker Square. However, the illuminations were prevented by the outbreak of the Second World War. The austere climate of post-war Britain meant the lights did not come on again until 1949 when Anna Neagle pressed the switch and the lights shone once again.
Many famous names have travelled to Blackpool over the years to commemorate the beginning of the annual illuminations. Celebrities who have pulled the lever include comedian Kenn Dodd, singer Gary Barlow, actor David Tennant, film director Tim Burton, and even some unlikely names such as Red Rum the race horse and even Kermit the Frog.
One man who has the important job of overseeing the illuminations, is delivery development officer at Blackpool Council, Mark Gillingham.
Mark has worked for the council for several years, but he has big shoes to fill, as on 1st June this year he took over from his predecessor’s role as head of illuminations who had worked on the lights for more than 29 years.
“As well as my day to day responsibilities for the council, I am also business manager of Blackpool Illuminations,” said Mark. “That involves looking at the programming of the event, dealing with sponsors and contractors. It’s just a continuous process and as soon as this year’s display is switched on, we will be looking ahead to next year and are already looking at working with some organisations up until 2020.”
All the illuminations are made in house at our light works depot in Blackpool. “We have our own team of designers, electricians and engineers,” added Mark. “Which means we can work closely with our partners and have control of what we can produce. If a company has an idea, we are able to create something bespoke for them within their budget. We tend to work on a two-year cycle where we will take down half of the illuminations, take it in house, give everything a full maintenance check and then we will service the other half while they are still up. It would be impossible to take everything down every year.
“Our sponsorship packages vary and we are very flexible with what we offer. We work with a lot of local businesses, but we have the occasional national company. Sponsorships work for a length of time, from 12 months to five years and some are renewed consistently.”
So what changes, if any, will Mark make in his new position? “I’ll be looking at what we can do in terms of adaptations with new features on an annual basis, as well as looking at new and innovative ways of incorporating more diversity into the illuminations. We’ve got projection mapping on the front of the tower and this year, our award winning Lightpool Festival is back for October half term with a spectacular launch event featuring the BBC Philharmonic, widely recognised as one of the best orchestras in Europe. The festival will see the return of the illuminated tram parade, as well as a mix of live performances, light art installations and immersive projection mapping.
“We’ve lots of ideas, it’s an exciting time. I just hope I can carry on the tradition of lighting up Blackpool and providing a great attraction for lots of families all over the north west for many years to come.”
Blackpool illuminations facts
• Blackpool Illuminations will shine nightly from Friday 31st August to Sunday 4th November 2018.
• There are approximately one million lights in the illuminations.
• Blackpool Illuminations attract more than three million visitors to the resort each year.
• They are funded by Blackpool Council as part of its vision to make Blackpool a great place to visit, an even better place to live and help towards achieving the goal of improving Blackpool’s economic prosperity, creating local jobs and opportunities for local people.
• The illuminations display stretches for more than six miles and costs £2.4 million to stage.
Any companies wishing to get involved in the illuminations from 2019 onwards can contact Mark to discuss opportunities on: mark.gillingham@blackpool.gov.uk
For more information on Blackpool Illuminations and Lightpool, please go to: www.visitblackpool.com/illuminations
