GLOBAL AUDIENCE WATCHES SHIRLEY BALLAS TURN ON BLACKPOOL ILLUMINATIONS

The Blackpool Illuminations Switch-On celebration was watched by a worldwide audience with more than 160,000 views from as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States, it was revealed today.

The freely-accessible streamed show, which was broadcast from the magnificent Tower Ballroom, saw Shirley Ballas, head judge of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, pull the switch to trigger four months of Illuminations in the resort.

It was the culmination of a spectacular live concert, produced by MTV and featuring performances by KSI, Wes Nelson, Ella Henderson and The Wombats.

Pre-COVID, the annual event has been staged in an outdoor arena on the promenade with a live audience of around 20,000 people.

This year, VisitBlackpool and MTV created a “hybrid” event including the show in the ballroom, attended by an audience of around 1,500 lucky ticket ballot winners, and the live stream.

It is the first time in history that an Illuminations Switch-On – the biggest event in Blackpool’s calendar – has been staged in the ballroom, which has just reopened after a £1m makeover.

On the promenade headland outside the ballroom, tens of thousands of people gathered to watch the lights come on along with a celebratory burst of fireworks at the top of The Tower.

Today, MTV revealed that two more shows will be created from the Switch-On celebrations: An individual artist special, MTV Live: KSI and a compilation show, MTV Live From Blackpool Switch-On: The Best Bits. Both shows will be broadcast on MTV MUSIC on Friday 15 October.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said today: “This year’s Switch-On was a remarkable event which gave people far and wide an opportunity to celebrate the launch of one of the most iconic and enduring tourist attractions in the world.

“The number of people who gathered on the Tower Festival Headland to watch the lights come on was quite extraordinary and illustrated what a special place the Illuminations occupy in the hearts of so many people.”

Virginia Monaghan, Vice President, Events and Experiences, ViacomCBS Networks International added: “We are delighted that we have been able to deliver a show of this quality to a worldwide audience.

“Once again, it has been a hugely successful collaboration with VisitBlackpool and the number of views over the 48 hours that the streamed event was accessible is outstanding. Our team are proud to have helped create another magical moment in Illuminations history.

“‘We are also delighted that highlights of the amazing artist performances from the Switch-On concert will also be seen by our TV audience in October.”

This year’s Blackpool Illuminations will run from Friday 3 September to Monday 3 January, 2022.

To find out further details on this year’s display, including Switch-On times, Tower projection shows and new features, head to:www.visitblackpool.com/illuminations

Photo: Visit Blackpool