Council Rejects Bid to Shorten Illuminations Extension

A proposal to discontinue Blackpool’s prolonged Illuminations period, citing concerns about its cost-effectiveness, has been turned down by local authority leaders, who assert the event significantly benefits the town. Conservative councillor Graham Baker stated that extending the Illuminations’ duration by an additional two months had, in his view, dispersed visitor attendance rather than augmenting it. During a full council meeting, he remarked: “I am wondering about the cost effectiveness of the Illuminations, running for four months from the beginning of September to the beginning of January.” Nevertheless, council leader Councillor Lynn Williams opposed his suggestion, stating that the light display drew millions of tourists during both the summer and winter seasons. Baker commented: “What seems to be happening is visitors are spreading their visits to Blackpool out now over this period, whereas at one time it was a tighter period.” He continued: “You used to avoid the Promenade during the Illuminations because it was a nightmare travelling north to south or south to north. “These days you can go up and down without too much trouble.” According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Baker mentioned that conversations with hoteliers revealed they were “not busy” yet still needed to employ staff continuously. He acknowledged the Fireworks Championships and Christmas by the Sea as significant draws but further stated: “I’m just wondering if we should be looking at the cost of the Illuminations and whether it would be better to go back to having a break at some point for three or four weeks or maybe just having the Illuminations on at the weekend.” However, Williams affirmed that there were no intentions to discontinue the Illuminations extension, which was initially implemented in 2020 to stimulate tourism amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. She noted that the exhibition played a crucial role in the resort drawing 20 million visitors last year, with seven million of those being winter guests. She further commented: “While other tourist towns are shutting down, we are getting going again with the Illuminations.” She described the council’s Christmas by the Sea initiative as a “massive success,” attracting “millions of visitors not just for car parks, but restaurants and all our businesses.” She concluded: “If you have been down, even in this inclement weather over the last couple of weeks it is still really busy during the week.” Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk and via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.