BLACKPOOL
The biggest and most popular seaside resort in Europe, Blackpool offers just about everything a holidaymaker can wish for. Everyone has heard of the Tower and the Golden Mile, but there's so much more to offer.
Start with the Pleasure Beach, the single biggest tourist attraction in Britain with six and a half million visitors a year. Try the fabulous Sandcastle and the Big Wheel. Go on to the Sea Life Centre, Louis Tussaud's, the three piers
Entertainment Blackpool remains a summer entertainment venue, specialising in variety shows featuring entertainers such as Ken Dodd and Roy 'Chubby' Brown
Events and festivals
- Blackpool Dance Festival is a world famous annual ballroom dance competition of international significance
- For the last three years, Blackpool has played host to the Rebellion Punk Rock Festival, an annual event which moved back to Blackpool after a few years in nearby Morecambe
- Blackpool Illuminations consisting of a series of lighted displays and collages arranged along the entire length of the sea front, seven miles (11 km) in total, attract many visitors from late August to early November; a time when most British seaside resorts' holiday seasons have already ended. 2009's festival dates are 4 Sep 2009 - 8 Nov 2009. This results in some spectacular traffic snarl-ups as most people now view the lights from cars and coaches which crawl nose-to-tail along the whole length of the sea front, particularly so at weekends and during school holidays. Each season a famous person "flicks the switch" to turn the lights on in an opening night switch on ceremony. The BBC Top Gear team, minus James May, were on hand to activate the lights for 2008.
BRITISH STEEL WEEKEND IN BLACKPOOL
FAMILY TRIPS TO BLACKPOOL
Major attractions
- Blackpool Tower, opened in 1894; it has been a dominant landmark of the Blackpool skyline since that time. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, it is 518 feet & 9 inches (158 m) in height. Beneath the tower is a complex of leisure facilities, entertainment venues and restaurants, including the world famous Tower Ballroom and Tower Circus.
- North Pier - The northernmost of Blackpool's three piers. It includes a small shopping arcade, a small tramway and the North Pier Theatre toward the end of the pier. The pier end also used to have a helicopter pad, but this was damaged in a Christmas storm in 1997 and collapsed into the sea.
- Central Pier - The middle pier, includes a large Ferris wheel and shops.
- South Pier - The southernmost pier. Almost directly opposite the Pleasure Beach, it houses a theme park.
- Pleasure Beach Blackpool - An amusement park with rides including the Pepsi Max Big One, which was the world's fastest and tallest complete circuit rollercoaster between 1994 and 1996.
- The Winter Gardens is a large entertainment and conference venue in the town centre. It includes the Opera House (one of the largest theatres in Europe), Pavilion Theatre, Empress Ballroom, Spanish Hall, Arena and Olympia.
- Stanley Park - Grade II historic park and gardens with golf course, cricket club, sports arena, lake, art deco restaurant, model village, gardens, etc.
Other attractions
- Beach - Stretching along the whole seafront. The main natural attraction for tourists.
- Funny Girls - Drag Cabaret Burlesque Showbar, located on Dickson Road.
- Blackpool Zoo - provides a home to over 1,500 animals from all over the world.
- Grand Theatre - Victorian theatre designed by Frank Matcham. Also now known as the National Theatre of Variety.
- Great Promenade Show - Series of modern artwork installations along Blackpool's South Promenade. Includes the Blackpool High Tide Organ an unusual musical monument which uses the movements of the sea to make music.
- Louis Tussaud's Waxworks - waxwork museum, featuring models of celebrities, musicians, sports personalities and the famous Chamber of Horrors.
- Doctor Who Exhibition - the biggest Doctor Who exhibition in the UK - contains props and costumes from the long-running BBC TV series, including some from recently aired programmes.
- Sandcastle Water Park (now known as Waterworld) - An indoor swimming pool with slides and waves. Next to the South Pier.
- Odeon Cinema - Situated on a multi-complex site, on Rigby Road, with 10 screens.
- The Syndicate Nightclub, holds just over 5,000 people.
Tall structures
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Gay Blackpool
Blackpool is often described as the "gay capital of the North" (with Brighton often being described as "the gay capital of the South"). Blackpool had its first gay pride celebration in 2006. Historically, seaside resorts have been able to provide niches for minority groups. Blackpool, like other English resorts, has had a reputation for being a safe community for gay people. During World War II, there was a proliferation of cafés, pubs and clubs where homosexual men could meet in Blackpool. In the 1990s, the town began to be promoted as a gay tourist destination. Blackpool contains several bars, pubs and nightclubs aimed at the LGBT community. These include Funny Girls (a burlesque cabaret showbar), FG2, the Flamingo, the Flying Handbag, Lucy's Two, Pepe's, Roxy's, Mardi Gras, KAOS, Taboo and dtBar. The local gay community is now also catered for by two online radio stations - 3D Radio and Blackpool Gay Radio featuring a mix of music, local news, features and celebrity interviews.