The clock is counting down to the start of the new season for the Lights in Blackpool – and with it details of new illuminations for 2023!
Join us for an EXCLUSIVE look inside Lightworks to find out What’s NEW at Blackpool Iluminations in 2023. Meet the sponsors, artists and creators of the world’s greatest FREE lightshow – shining from 1 September 2023 to 1 January 2024.
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In addition to Airfix, sponsors and partners in this year’s display include Beaverbrooks, Affinity Lancashire, Partingtons, City Fibre, Coral Island and Northern.
TWO NEW Tableaux!
Two dazzling new tableaux will light up Blackpool seafront this autumn, designed by internationally-renowned artists Dr Chila Kumari Singh Burman, MBE, and Bruce Alfred.
Both are brand-new for 2023 and built by the Illuminations’ in-house team based at the Lightworks manufacturing facility in Blackpool.
Lollies in Love with Light
Merseyside-born Burman is celebrated around the world. She’s produced numerous high-profile works including installations for the Tate Gallery and Covent Garden in London, as well as special commissions for film companies, including Netflix. Two years ago, she produced an installation called “Blackpool, Light Of My Life” on the front of Blackpool’s Grundy Art Gallery and vowed to return to design something of scale in the world-famous Illuminations.
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And here we have it! A 26 metre-wide animated tableau entitled “Lollies In Love With Light”. It’s a stunning, kaleidoscopic celebration of Blackpool incorporating around 760 metres of LED neon lighting, with a technicolour ice cream van at its centre. It’s inspired by her parents who ran an ice cream business.
Dr Chila says “This is a dream come true. I visited the Illuminations from the age of five every year with my mum and dad, siblings and family from Punjab. It’s my childhood gone full circle and I can’t believe it’s happening! My late mum and dad would have been over the moon to see their ice cream van on a Blackpool Illuminations tableau!”
Light Around the World
Canadian-born Bruce Alfred specialises in Native American art and has created an evocative design featuring hand-drawn images of eagles and Orca whales. The first Illuminations display to be designed by a North American artist, it’s also one of the first to use 3D printing technology.
The tableau incorporates more than 13,000 programmable LED lamps. It’s the first of a new series entitled “Light Around The World”, celebrating international cultures.
Government and Arts Council funding and new manufacturing and design techniques are cementing Blackpool’s status as a world leader in illumination.
NEW Blackpool Sign
There’s a BRAND NEW Blackpool for this year – a nine-metre one in fact – as a NEW Blackpool Sign comes to the promenade!
Find it at Tower Festival headland – it’s so BIG that you certainly won’t miss it! It’s a sparkling Hollywood-inspired homage to the town of the Lights, thanks to the brilliant Illuminations team.
Perfect for the social-media, selfie-mad generation – put it on your list of things to photograph this autumn. Your selfies will never be the same again! The traditional Cabochon lights will cast a soft, warm light across your face, capturing your best blockbuster-movie self… ❤️
NEW Spitfire Tribute at Gynn Roundabout
We’ve seen the first preview of a spectacular tribute to one of the world’s most iconic fighter aircraft. It’s being unveiled for the first time in the 2023 Blackpool Illuminations display.
Spitfire Island is one of three brand new installations for Blackpool Illuminations 2023. The display starts on September 1 and shines nightly until January 1, 2024.
The installation is a collaboration between the Blackpool Illuminations team and designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Unveiled on Friday 1 September, it features three replica Spitfires as a new-look Spitfire Island. You’ll find it as the centrepiece of Gynn Roundabout in the northern stretch of the Illuminations.
In a ground-breaking partnership with VisitBlackpool, the internationally-renowned model kit company, Airfix sponsors the new installation. For the first time, 3D printing’s been used in the Illuminations, which has created the planes for this feature. And we got to see two of the three new planes before their installation at Gynn roundabout.
You’ll also be able to buy a limited-edition, scale model of a Spitfire with a bespoke Blackpool livery on its fuselage. 4,000 of them will go on sale at VisitBlackpool’s Tourist Information Centre (TIC) during the Illuminations season.
The three Spitfires in the new display are Progress I, II and III. They were all based at Blackpool Airport during World War Two, and paid for by local residents. The team at the Hangar 42 Spitfire Visitor Centre at Blackpool Airport have provided historical data to help the build.
Read More: Have you seen the replica Spitfire which flies high above Fairhaven Lake at nearby Lytham St Annes? Take a look at it here.
Celebrating Blackpool’s History
Cllr Lynn Williams is Leader of Blackpool Council. She said: “The roundabout has previously accommodated a single Spitfire which was hugely popular with visitors. This new installation uses 3D printing technology for the first time and takes it to a completely different level.
“The stunning piece of work is a deserving tribute to an important part of Blackpool’s history. We’re delighted to announce a new partnership with Airfix. Visitors and residents will be able to take home a unique keepsake.”
A range of other aircraft kits will also be available for purchase at the TIC during the summer and at the Blackpool Air Show on 12/13 August. At the event you’ll see some of the world’s best aircraft including the Red Arrows, Typhoon and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
The new features are possible thanks to Blackpool’s Town Deal funding. Rejuvenating the Illuminations through new features and infrastructure with part of the funding.
NEW: Iconic Blackpool
Iconic Blackpool is a new section of Illuminations which you’ll find at New South Promenade in 2023, outside the Hampton By Hilton hotel.
Featuring a selection of posters dating back to the 1920s, it’s a stunning ode to Blackpool’s rich heritage. All carefully selected, nostalgia will transport you back to a bygone era. See how Blackpool once advertised itself to the world! Featuring a selection of posters dating back to the 1920s, this section is an ode to Blackpool’s rich heritage. From timeless Illuminations displays to the iconic landmarks that have graced the promenade for generations. These tourism posters have been carefully selected to transport you back to a bygone era.
Plus the Return of New (& updated) Favourites
2022 saw the unveiling of a dazzling makeover for the Golden Mile with a new stretch of Art Deco-style features designed by Laurence Llewelyn Bowen. It was also the year when the huge, alien forms of Odyssey appeared on Tower Festival Headland.
Golden Mile 2.0
A brand new, art-deco inspired section was a record-breaking first for the Illuminations in 2022 between Chapel Street and Talbot Square. This area marked one of the largest roadway sections ever built and the first step-change in the display. For 2023, the over-road lights will seamlessly link with the iconic Blackpool Tower for a mesmerising symphony of light.
These 21 installations appear as three distinct styles – arches, wings, and fans measuring almost 14-metres long. This season, the talented in-house Illuminations team will have full control of the programmable lights. Watch in amazement as the roadway section and the iconic Blackpool Tower choreograph together in one stunning spectacle of synchronised lights.
Spiro Light Tunnel – with NEW Lighting
Spiro is back for the 2023 season! It’s an immersive walk-through sculptural tunnel of light that’s a whopping 26 metres in length.
See beautiful, complex patterns dance around the audience, thanks to individually mapped LEDs. Spiro will return to the Promenade for the full Illuminations season with brand new lighting. Make sure you’re selfie-ready! It’s a perfect subject for your socials, an ideal Instagram and TikTok opportunity – you can’t miss it!
Book Hotel accommodation for your Illuminations Break
Book your hotel accommodation for the Illuminations season with the Visit Fylde Coast and StayBlackpool guide. Know that you’ll have a great place to stay while you enjoy this event. Find Trusted accommodation, right here on this page.
Book your stay with the Visit Fylde Coast and StayBlackpool accommodation guide. Know that you’ll have a great place to stay with a choice of Trusted accommodation.
All the properties listed on the Visit Fylde Coast websites by StayBlackpool are annually inspected. This means that you can book with confidence, safe in the knowledge of a great stay.
Bookings from these sites are also zero commission. This means that more of the money from your booking helps to support the local economy.
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We Need Your Help
We Need Your Help
Hi, I am an Masters architecture student currently doing a design project based in Blackpool. I am very interested in the Blackpool illuminations, especially the process behind designing and making them. Is there any member of the illuminations team that I could contact to found out more about the design process behind the illuminations? Any response would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.