The Winter Gardens has begun the removal of the final 654 seats for re-upholstering in its Opera House Theatre as part of ongoing restoration works.

The 654 chairs from the balcony is the final group of seating to be removed, re-upholstered and reinstalled over a two-week period.

The completion of these works will mean the whole Opera House seating configuration has now been reinstated with the investment of the restoration levy, introduced in July 2021, at a cost of £45,000, raised solely by ticket sales.

The Opera House seats were originally installed in 1939 following the redevelopment of the Opera House that year. Over the years they have seated over 45 million guests including the Her Majesty The Queen.

The levy was introduced to ring-fence £1.50 of every ticket sold to directly fund some of the restoration costs of the Grade 2 listed building.

Each year, the routine maintenance bill is £500,000 and with essential repairs and the impact of COVID that cost has increased dramatically.

Michael Williams, Managing Director of the Winter Gardens said: “The levy has been a game changer for the theatre and is money raised by our theatre lovers that directly improves the theatre and the experience for generations to come.

“We know that tickets are an investment for people and so to capture this work happening is a great way of showing people how the levy is helping.”

The works are expected to take three weeks and then the newly re-upholstered seats will be reinstated before the main season gets underway in early April.

Blackpool’s tourism industry bounced back in spectacular fashion last year with record-breaking levels of footfall.

Newly-released figures show a huge upsurge in visitor numbers over the final part of the year on the back of a two-month extension of the Illuminations season and the most ambitious Christmas campaign ever staged in the resort.

Today, Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council and tourism portfolio holder, hailed the figures as “a total vindication” of the decision to invest £1m in events and marketing to kick-start the tourism, retail and hospitality industry as it began to emerge from COVID lockdowns and restrictions from May onwards.

Footfall figures for the town centre and Promenade show exceptional increases across all four months of the autumn/winter season.

The Christmas By The Sea campaign, which ran on the Tower Festival Headland from November 19 to January 3, and included a free skating rink, artificial snowfalls, light projection shows, log cabins, large-scale light installations, and the Star Flyer ride as part of the Winter Gardens Wonderland event, resulted in a 75% increase in footfall on the seafront compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

The additional Winter Wonderland activity around St John’s Square and the Winter Gardens, combined with a heavily-discounted parking offer, resulted in town centre footfall increasing by almost 28% over the same period compared to 2019.

The footfall figures are supported by record amounts of visitor interest recorded on the VisitBlackpool website over the extended Illuminations season with all four months showing huge increases over 2019 (the last full year of tourism activity) and December more than three times the volume of 2019.

There was a similar picture on parking usage during the Christmas campaign with both town centre and Promenade showing large increases in patronage. For most of this period, car parking was offered at a special rate of £1 for three hours across most Council car parks.

Cllr Williams said: “We witnessed extraordinary volumes of people coming into the town centre and on to the Promenade over the final part of the year, and particularly during the Christmas By The Sea campaign.

“As we came out of the pandemic restrictions partway through last year, we were determined to put in place a tourism recovery plan that was of sufficient scale and quality to give our businesses the best possible chance of recouping some of the losses they incurred over two years of COVID disruption.

“The overall results are a total vindication of our investment. The Christmas By The Sea event over several weeks on the Tower Festival Headland clearly captured the public’s imagination and gave us the best Christmas visitor numbers we have seen in living memory.

“What we now need to do is work with our partners to not just replicate what we delivered in 2021, but build on what was a remarkable campaign.”

The Council has already announced that this year’s Illuminations season will once again be extended by two months, starting on September 2 and running through to January 2, 2023.

Discussions are also underway with private sector partners, including the newly-established Tourism BID, to look at a return of the highly-successful Christmas events.

RECOVERY FIGURES AT A GLANCE

Promenade Footfall

	2021	2020	2019	2018
September	4,230,460	3,305,710	2,997,048	3,016,977
October	6,314,918	3,305,710	3,516,766	3,393,376
November	3,471,686	1,367,556	2,095,888	1,980,209
December	3,202,584	1,703,969	1,857,419	1,877,807
Total	17,219,648	9,682,945	10,467,121	10,268,369

 

Town Centre Footfall:

	2021	2020	2019	2018
September	2,902,003	2,278,259	2,531,173	2,527,674
October	4,145,177	2,115,648	2,894,629	2,721,229
November	2,598,018	914,430	1,970,406	1,875,572
December	2,555,608	1,383,238	1,903,537	1,995,875
Total	12,200,806	6,691,575	9,299,745	9,120,350

 

Footfall during the Christmas campaign (November 19 to January 3)

	2021-22	2019-20	% change from 2019-20 to 2021-22
Town centre	3,924,036	3,068,688	+27.9%
Promenade	4,966,570	2,835,421	+75.2%

 

Unique Website Visits on VisitBlackpool

	2021	2020	2019	2018
September	366,224	263,529	179,004	183,415
October	408,025	262,361	194,366	214,405
November	231,564	66,381	73,108	74,828
December	179,213	98,763	45,808	51,893
Total	1,185,026	691,034	492,286	524,541

 

Page views on VisitBlackpool website

	2021	2020	2019	2018
September	1,030,044	765,971	611,544	697,654
October	1,239,013	696,907	722,253	821,841
November	651,865	141,859	232,075	249,597
December	457,825	232,786	131,575	161,607
Total	3,378,747	1,837,523	1,697,447	1,930,699

Note: Some elements of Christmas By The Sea were part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

 

One of the country’s most unique wedding venues is celebrating a 10-year anniversary.

It was on 12 January, 2012, that the sun set on a spectacular day in Blackpool as Kelly Goudie and Simon Garrick tied the knot in Festival House, Blackpool’s new register office.

Mr and Mrs Garrick became part of Blackpool’s history as they exchanged their vows and shared their first kiss as husband and wife in the Tower View Room, looking out across the Promenade to the world-famous Blackpool Tower.

A decade on, almost 5000 couples have tied the knot in the Wedding Chapel at Festival House and its popularity continues to increase every year.

The eye-catching gold clad venue on the Promenade offers couple the chance to get married with a backdrop of Blackpool Tower. Alternatively couples can book the Sea View Room, for smaller ceremonies of up to 12 people. The building is also home to the town’s Tourist Information Centre and the Beach House bar and restaurant.

Joceline Greenaway, Head of Life Events at Blackpool Council, said: “We are so proud to have such a unique venue as our register office. When couples come to look round they are wowed by the building itself and also the views from the rooms and the balcony.

“Legislation surrounding weddings has changed a number of times during the last ten years so we are now able to offer evening ceremonies which has been really popular for couples wanting to get married with the Illuminations in the background.

“In 2013 The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act was passed allowing all couples to choose a civil partnership or marriage ceremony. This was such an important step for equality and couples took advantage of it the very first day the legislation changed.”

First bride, Kelly Garrick, said: “The day was magical and in my opinion the Wedding Chapel is the most magical place on earth. It has such a unique atmosphere and we were blessed with an amazing Blackpool sunset.

“My husband said it best when he told me that “it’s not every day you marry your best friend”. Walking down the aisle seeing the Blackpool Tower in the backdrop and having all my family and friends there to witness our special moment will stay with me forever. The Wedding Chapel captured our love and we continue to feel so grateful. We’re now celebrating 10 years of very happy marriage!”

Click here for more information on The Wedding Chapel

Showtown, Blackpool’s new museum of entertainment, has received a grant for almost £120k from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

The grant will support key senior staff roles for Showtown who are vital to the museum’s development.

Without these key people, the museum, which is due to open its doors in the Sands Venue Resort Hotel building on Blackpool’s Central Promenade in spring 2023, would not be possible.

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is one of the largest independent grant-makers in the UK. In 2020, the foundation provided £53.5m in grant funding towards work in support of their aims and their emergency response to COVID. The foundation also has a £45m allocation to social investment for organisations with the aim of creating social impact.

One of Blackpool Museum Trust’s main objectives is to develop a museum that will deliver community, cultural and economic regeneration in Blackpool. With the support of funders like Esmée Fairbairn Foundation it is one step closer to fulfilling these objectives.

The New Year may have only just arrived but already thousands of aspiring ballroom stars from across Europe have made their way to the Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom to compete in the Champions of Tomorrow event.

The world-renowned Winter Gardens has been pivotal to the development of ballroom dancing and has hosted dance festivals for over 90 years that have come to define the town’s dancing heritage.

In January, The Empress Ballroom and Spanish Hall were alive with dancers from across Europe who were in Blackpool for the first dancing event of 2022.

Michael Williams, Managing Director of Winter Gardens Blackpool commented: “It is a delight to welcome dancers back to Blackpool for Champions of Tomorrow. It is the first of many dance events that we host annually here at the Winter Gardens Blackpool which sees dancers from across the globe travel to Blackpool to compete in the magnificent Empress Ballroom.”

“To our delight and despite current circumstances, the numbers attending our first festival of 2022, meant an expansion across the venue, utilising the recently renovated Spanish Hall as well as the Empress Ballroom which received wide praise from competitors and spectators.”

Champions of Tomorrow provides opportunities for dancers of all abilities to compete in categories from under six years of age right through to seniors. Featuring competitions for solos, couples, all girls and pro-am/teacher students, it is one of 10 festivals which take place at the Winter Gardens each year, attracting thousands of visitors from across the globe.

Mr Warren Bullock, who travelled to Blackpool with his dance school, Zig Zag based in Wolverhampton, said: “To see the Winter Gardens so alive again with dance was very special. It was a pleasure to see the dancers in person and live rather than on ZOOM. I loved everything about the weekend, the impressive stage and lighting, the energy and the fantastic music. Wow! We do have some brilliantly talented dancers!”

The next festival is set to take place this April and will welcome juniors from across the world to compete in the Blackpool Junior Dance Festival across 29 different competitions. To find out more visit Blackpooldancefestival.co.uk

Photos attached credit: Gilbert Wu photography.

VISION FOR LANCASHIRE

Lancashire’s council leaders have made a historic pledge to work together to deliver a bold vision for a County Deal.

For months, all 15 of the council leaders who make up Greater Lancashire have been working in close collaboration to develop a set of ambitious and forward-thinking proposals. If adopted they would represent a New Deal for a Greater Lancashire across a range of areas including the economy, transport, jobs, skills and the environment.

In a demonstration of cooperation, each of the councils that make up Greater Lancashire – Lancashire County Council, the 12 district councils, Blackpool Council and Blackburn-with-Darwen Council – are to consider setting up a new formal body to help drive co-operation to the next level to help secure a deal with government.

In July 2021, as part of its levelling up plans the government announced it would introduce County Deals as part of its devolution plans, with the aim of transferring powers from Whitehall to local areas.

As the local authorities await the much-anticipated levelling up White Paper from government, Lancashire’s political leaders are seizing the initiative to drive forward a bold set of proposals which will be considered by all 15 councils in the coming weeks.

Councillor Lynn Williams, leader of Blackpool Council, said:

“For too long, decisions that impact Lancashire have been made in London. Devolving funding and power to the most local level possible is absolutely the right thing to do.

“A strong Lancashire can ensure that the significant inequalities affecting our communities can be addressed and that the Levelling Up agenda truly delivers the investment in people and place that we need.”

All 15 councils that comprise Greater Lancashire will discuss these proposals at full council meetings in the coming weeks, where they will be asked to agree a joint report.

Blackpool’s annual Illuminations display is to be extended by two months for a third consecutive year.

This year’s Illuminations season will now start on Friday 2 September and run until Monday 2 January, 2023.

Blackpool Council said it had made the decision after the first month of the 2021 extension showed exceptional growth in visitor numbers with key indicators such as parking usage was more than double the volume experienced pre-pandemic.

Although the Illuminations were extended for the first time in history in 2019, the final part of the year was heavily disrupted by tier restrictions and lockdowns.

The extension of the Illuminations season was first introduced to give the resort’s tourism industry an added boost after the pandemic created severe disruption over the first few months of the year.

It was repeated last year as part of a £1m Council-led investment in marketing and events to help kick-start Blackpool’s tourism recovery plans.

That resulted in Blackpool’s most ambitious winter offer with a Christmas By The Sea village on the Tower Festival Headland with a free-to-use skating rink, magic forest, log cabins, artificial snowfalls, light installations and themed projection shows

Blackpool has unveiled a spectacular programme of events, shows and attractions for the coming year as it looks to build on the staycation boom of 2021.

The resort’s 2022 Destination Guide showcases a brand new family attraction, the return of major events including the two-day Air Show, a vast range of top-quality shows and entertainment, and a two-month extension of the annual Illuminations season.

The guide, illustrated with stunning photography, also celebrates a very special milestone – the 50^th anniversary of Blackpool Zoo – as well as featuring an extensive range of hotel and guest accommodation to suit all pockets.

Highlights within the 88-page glossy publication include:

What’s Hot: A taste of things to come with the opening of a new £1m Peter Rabbit-themed attraction on the Golden Mile; the reimagining of the award-winning Valhalla thrill ride at Blackpool Pleasure Beach; and the opening of a new £28m conference and exhibition centre alongside the famous Winter Gardens.

World Class Events: A sneak peek at the resort’s multi-million-pound events programme including some established favourites such as Pride, Air Show Weekend, Rebellion Punk Festival, Ride The Lights, World Fireworks, Lightpool Festival, Illuminations Switch-On weekend and Christmas By The Sea. And there’s a promise of more special events still to be announced.

Curtain Up: A chance to book ahead for a brilliant line-up of shows at venues including the Opera House, Grand Theatre and Blackpool Pleasure Beach. Shows already announced include The Osmonds, A New Musical; The Cher Show; Jersey Boys; Dream Girls The Musical; Strictly Ballroom The Musical; Gangsta Granny and Rapture, a brand new production on ice.

Child’s Play: A bucket and spade list of kid-friendly things to do in Blackpool including family attractions such as Sandcastle Waterpark, the Blackpool Tower Circus, three piers, donkey rides, Marvel superheroes – and not forgetting the miles of glorious beaches.

 Insta-worthy Locations: A visitors’ guide to how to create the best photographic memories of a trip to Blackpool. Images of our glorious sunsets over the Irish Sea are definitely high on the list of favourites!

A Taste Of The Good Life: Whether it’s award-winning restaurants, lavish tasting menus or good old-fashioned fish and chips eaten al fresco, the guide gives an at-a-glance look at the best places to eat and drink both on the Promenade and off the beaten track.

 Baywatch, Blackpool-style: Spotlight on our Beach Patrol team who work tirelessly, around the clock, 365 days a year, to protect the hundreds of thousands of people who flock to our beaches every year.

 Access All Areas: A visitor guide to how Blackpool rolls out the welcome mat to make the resort accessible for everyone whether people have physical, sensory, mental health or learning difficulties.

 Check Out, Check In: A must-have guide to Blackpool’s diverse accommodation ranging from traditional guest house to luxury hotel, from budget bolthole to boutique chic – there is something to suit all tastes and pockets and all carrying the Blackpool seal of approval.

 The 2022 guide also provides a wealth of information on how to get around the resort as well as highlighting some of the many initiatives that are already in place to create an eco-friendly environment.

To view the guide online and order your copy, please head to Visit Blackpool

Last month, Blackpool Football Club , Blackpool FC Community Trust and the Supporters Trust made the announcement that all Year 2 children in Blackpool primary schools would receive a football shirt, instilling pride across the town and creating a new fan base for the club that puts the community at its heart.

This is a major initiative that would not have been possible had they not worked in close partnership together. They will continue to look for opportunities to demonstrate the power that a football club, it’s charitable organisation and its supporters can have when they collaborate.

Michelle’s little boy, Otis was one of these lucky recipients and safe to say, he’s happy to be a ‘seasider’!

Read the full article here: https://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/post/club-community-trust-and-supporters-trust-announce-new-collaboration

Empowerment, is a Blackpool based charity; passionate about getting people’s voices heard, especially those who are never listened. Recently they’ve received some fantastic support through members of our responsible business network.

Staff from Atos as part of their ‘Helping Hands’ volunteering programme took part in painting their office space with their new brand colours and giving the space a fresh look for those who they support.

Meanwhile Vinci Construction and their supply chain (Chris Bowker Ltd, Altrad, Network, MAC & Constructicon Ltd) donated 415 selection boxes and 300 Christmas cards to support children affected by domestic abuse.

We’re so proud of our business community and the support they provide to those who need it most.