Tuesday August 26th 2008 - Ride the Lights


This free event is open to everyone and will enable cyclists to enjoy a preview of Blackpool Lights  on a traffic free promenade.  It takes place between 8.00 pm and 10.00 pm  on a section  of the Illuminations from Gynn Square and Squires Gate.  The date is provisional and some parts of the lights may not be in operation for this preview.

Friday August 29th - Blackpool Illuminations 2008 Switch On

This is Blackpool’s biggest night of the year when a star-studded cast will perform at the illuminations launch concert.  The identity of the celebrity who will switch the lights on is expected to be announced in the near future.

Sunday August 31st 2008 - World Fireworks Championships

Major international fireworks companies are given the opportunity of demonstrating their skills on Blackpool Central Promenade during the opening weeks of the illuminations.  The contestants are expected to offer advanced and innovative  fireworks and music designs which  represents the styles and traditions of their countries.. Each competitor will launch fireworks unique to their homelands and simultaneously  showcase their own  levels of  expertise  in order to earn the votes of the public. - The event is subject to suitable weather conditions.

Friday September 5th 2008 to Friday September 26th 2008 (Fridays only) - World Fireworks Championships Blackpool 2008 For general information please visit Blackpool Fireworks

Saturday September 20th 2008 - Honda Goldwing Light Parade

As part of Blackpool’s Festival of Light, illuminated Goldwings will parade along the Promenade, and Bikes will be on display  from 2.00 pm on St Chad’s Headland  which is between Central and South piers.  At 7.45 pm the parade will move off from from the North side of the Metropole hote travelling Northwards and will turn at Gynn Square returning South  along the Promenade, finishing at about 8.30 pm at Pontins.

Saturday November 1st 2008 to Sunday November 2nd 2008 - End of Season Fireworks Spectacular

Blackpool Pleasure Beach presents free fireworks extravaganzas on both these nights.  Plus Rock FM provides a great live band and top radio DJs playing music against the background of  colourful  loud explosions.  A sensational combination of  colour and sound.  Location  of concert – the Rock FM stage in the centre of the Pleasure Beach opposite the Gold Mine ride.

Blackpool Illuminations 2008 – Design competition.

People will have the opportunity to see their names in lights and to have their work admired by millions of sightseers, as a result of a competition to design part of the Blackpool 2008 illuminations. Three thousand pounds will be awarded to the winner and the panel of judges will be chaired by Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen who created a section of the previous years Blackpool Illuminations. Entries were submitted from all over the UK by people of all walks of life including designers, artists, and members of the public. The entrants showed a tremendous amount of diversity and creativity, and the winning design was 'Local Heads' by Andy Mckeown from Shrewsbury. This will be an interactive media installation providing an opportunity for community participation, with the public invited to feature in a colourful portrait based Blackpool 2008 illumination. The concept is visually influenced by 1960's Pop Art and comprises hundreds of 'heads' forming a vista of architectural arches spanning the road featuruing portraits of Blackpool people mixed with images of iconic artists of the past and present day. The design will allow local people and visitors to the resort to be involved in the illuminations, and about five hundred faces will appear in the lights, and it is hoped that the majority of these will be of lBlackpool residents. Another shortlisted design was Lunar Moth by Gaslight by Pip Dickens and work is in progress to have this installed in Stanley Park away from the Promenade Blackpool Lights. Also in 2008 plans were announced for the future of Blackpool illuminations, including: increased business sponsorship, triumphal arches at each end of the lights, and an extension of the Dr Who display.

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