Blackpool

History

Early history

In 1970, a 13,500-year-old elk skeleton was found with a barbed bone point embedded in one leg. Now displayed in the Harris Museum, this find provided the first evidence of humans living on the Fylde. Some of the earliest villages on the Fylde, which were later to become part of Blackpool town, were named in the Domesday Book in 1086.

In medieval times, Blackpool emerged as a few farmsteads on the coast within Layton-with-Warbreck; the name came from "le pull", a stream that drained Marton Mere and Marton Moss into the sea. The stream ran through peatlands that discoloured the water, so the name for the area became "Black Poole". In the 15th century, the area was just called Pul and a 1532 map calls the area "the pole howsys alias the north howsys".

In 1602, entries in the Bispham Parish Church baptismal register include both Poole and for the first time Blackpoole. The first house of any substance, Foxhall, was built by the Tyldesley family of Myerscough Lodge and existed in the latter part of the 17th century. By the end of that century, it was occupied by squire and diarist Thomas Tyldesley, grandson of the Royalist Sir Thomas Tyldesley. An act of Parliament in 1767 enclosed a common, mostly sand hills on the coast, that stretched from Spen Dyke southwards (see Main Dyke).

In the 18th century, sea bathing gained popularity for health benefits, drawing visitors to Blackpool as a tourist resort. By 1788, there were about 50 houses on the sea bank. Of these around six accommodated wealthy visitors while a number of other private dwellings lodged the "inferior class whose sole motive for visiting this airy region was health." In 1781, The town's amenities, including hotels, archery stall, and bowling greens, slowly expanded. By 1801, the population reached 473. Henry Banks, instrumental in Blackpool's growth, purchased Lane Ends estate in 1819, building the first holiday cottages in 1837.

19th century

By the early 19th century, small purpose-built facilities began catering to a middle-class market, although substantial numbers of working people from manufacturing towns were "being drawn to Blackpool's charms." In 1846, a pivotal event marked the early growth of the town: the completion of a railway branch line to Blackpool from Poulton. This spurred development as visitors flocked in by rail, boosting the town's economy. Blackpool prospered with the construction of accommodations and attractions, fostering rapid growth in the 1850s and 1860s. A Board of Health was established in 1851, gas lighting in 1852, and piped water in 1864. The town's population exceeded 2,500 by 1851.

North Pier opened in 1863, designed by Eugenius Birch for Blackpool's "better classes", and always retained its unique qualities of being a quieter, more reflective place compared with Blackpool's other two piers. The following half century included the construction of two further piers – South Pier (now Central Pier) in 1868 and Victoria (now South Pier) in 1893 – the Winter Gardens (1878), Blackpool Tower (1894) and the earliest surviving rides at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (founded in 1896).

Blackpool's Royal Palace Gardens at Raikes Hall was a world-famous destination for variety and music hall stars from the mid-18th century. It boasted a Grand Opera House, Indian Room for theatrical and variety performances, a Niagara café with cyclorama, a skating rink and fern house, an elaborate conservatory, monkey house, aviary and outside dancing platform for several thousand people. The gardens also had carriage drives and walkways with Grecian and Roman statues for promenaders to enjoy. There was also a boating lake and a racing track with grandstand for several thousand. More than 40,000 visitors passed through its gates during the opening week in 1872.

Working-class tourists dominated the heart of the resort, which was the go-to destination for workers from the industrial north and their families. Entire towns would close down their industries during Wakes Weeks between June and September, with a different town on holiday each week. Communities would travel to Blackpool together, first by charabanc and later by train. Blackpool still catered to a "significant middle-class market during the spring and autumn", favouring the residential area of North Shore.

Blackpool's growth since the 1870s was shaped by its pioneering use of electrical power. Electric lighting came to the town in 1879, as it became the world's first municipality with electric street lighting along Blackpool Promenade, setting the stage for the Blackpool Illuminations. 100,000 people congregated to see the promenade illuminated on the evening of 19 September 1879.

1900 to 1960s

In 1911, the town's Central station was the busiest in the world; in July 1936, 650 trains came and went in a single day. In May 1912, Princess Louise officially opened a new section of North Promenade – Princess Parade; lights were erected to mark the occasion. The First World War called a temporary halt to the display in 1914 but, by 1925, the lights were back with giant animated tableaux being added and extending the Blackpool Illuminations to almost six miles from Squires Gate to Red Bank Road.

The inter-war period saw Blackpool develop and mature as a holiday destination. By 1920, Blackpool had around eight million visitors per year, still drawn largely from the mill towns of East Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Blackpool's population boom was complete by 1951, by which time some 147,000 people were living in the town; this compared with 47,000 in 1901 and 14,000 in 1881. In the 1920s and 1930s, Blackpool was Britain's most popular resort, which JB Priestley referred to as "the great, roaring, spangled beast." It provided visitors with entertainment and accommodation on an industrial scale. At its height, it hosted more than 10 million visitors a year and its entertainment venues could seat more than 60,000 people. In 1939, the illuminations were again suspended for the Second World War, not resuming until 1948.

Blackpool remained a popular resort through much of the 20th century and, in contrast to most resorts, increased in size during the Second World War; it remained open while others closed and with many civil servants and military personnel sent to live and work there. The town continued to attract more visitors in the decade after the war, reaching a peak of 17 million per year.

1960s to present

By the 1960s, the UK tourism industry was undergoing radical changes. The increasing popularity of package holidays took many of Blackpool's traditional visitors abroad. The construction of the M55 motorway in 1975 made Blackpool more feasible as a day trip rather than an overnight stay. The modern economy, however, remains relatively undiversified and firmly rooted in the tourism sector.

Many seaside resorts fell from grace during the latter half of the 20th century as mobility, wealth, visitor aspirations and competition were in a state of flux, but Blackpool managed to retain its popular/working-class appeal as the "Las Vegas of the North".

Despite economic restructuring, increased competition and other challenges, Blackpool continues as a seaside visitor destination. Tourism in the town supports 25,000 full-time equivalent jobs – one in five of the workforce. In 2023, the town was named the nation's best-value holiday destination. In 2021 18.8 million visitors contributed £1.5 billion to the local economy, making Blackpool the nation's biggest seaside resort. In 2022, the resort attracted a further 1.5 million visitors – a total figure of 20.33 million - contributing £1.7bn to the local economy and supporting more than 22,000 jobs.

Geography

Physical

Blackpool rests in the middle of the western edge of The Fylde, which is a coastal plain atop a peninsula. The seafront consists of a seven-mile sandy beach, with a flat coastline in the south of the district, which rises once past the North Pier to become the North Cliffs, with the highest point nearby at the Bispham Rock Gardens at around 34 metres (112 ft). The majority of the town district is built up, with very little semi-rural space such as at Marton Mere. Due to the low-lying terrain, Blackpool experiences occasional flooding, with a large-scale project completed in 2017 to rebuild the seawall and promenade to mitigate this.

Climate

Blackpool has a temperate maritime climate according to the Köppen climate classification system. Typically, it experiences cool summers, frequent overcast skies and small annual temperature range fluctuations.

The minimum temperature recorded was −15.1 °C (4.8 °F), recorded during December 1981, however −18.3 °C (−0.9 °F) was recorded in January 1881.

The absolute maximum temperature recorded in Blackpool was 37.2 °C (99.0 °F) during a 2022 United Kingdom heat wave. During an average summer, the warmest temperature reached 28.5 °C (83.3 °F) between 1991 and 2020.

Precipitation averages slightly less than 900 mm (35 in), with over 1 mm of precipitation occurring on 147 days of the year.

Green belt

Blackpool is within a green belt region that extends into the wider surrounding counties. It is in place to reduce urban sprawl, prevent the towns in the Blackpool urban area and other nearby conurbations in Lancashire from further convergence, protect the identity of outlying communities, encourage brownfield reuse, and preserve nearby countryside. This is achieved by restricting development deemed as inappropriate within the designated areas, and imposing stricter conditions on the permitted building.

As the town's urban area is highly built up, only 70 hectares (0.70 km2; 0.27 sq mi) (2017) of green belt exists within the borough, covering the cemetery, its grounds and nearby academy/college playing fields by Carleton, as well as the football grounds near the airport by St Annes. Further afield, portions are dispersed around the wider Blackpool urban area into the surrounding Lancashire districts of Fylde and Wyre, helping to keep the settlements of Lytham St Annes, Poulton-le-Fylde, Warton/Freckleton and Kirkham separated.

Demographics

Blackpool's population was approximately 141,000 in 2021 according to census figures – a fall of 0.7 per cent from the 2011 census. It is one of five North West local authority areas to have recorded a fall in this period, during which the figure for England as a whole rose by 6.6 per cent. Blackpool is the third most densely populated local authority in the North West, with 4,046 people per square kilometre, compared with 4,773 in Manchester and 4,347 in Liverpool.

In 2021, 41 per cent of Blackpool residents reported having 'No religion', up from 24.5 per cent in 2011. Across England the percentage increased from 24.8 per cent to 36.7 per cent. However, because the census question about religion was voluntary and has varying response rates, the ONS warns that 'caution is needed when comparing figures between different areas or between censuses'.

According to the 2021 census, 49.5 per cent of residents aged 16 years and over were employed (excluding full-time students), with 3.8 per cent unemployed (a drop from 5.4 per cent in 2011). The proportion of retired residents was 23.8 per cent. Just over a tenth of people aged 16 and over worked 15 hours or less a week.

Blackpool's population is forecast to rise slightly to 141,500 by 2044, with the 45-64-year-old group showing the greatest decrease. The number of residents over 65 years old is projected to rise to almost 36,000, making up 26 per cent of the total population.

A Mosaic classification based on 2021 census data showed that Blackpool has particularly high proportions of households in the groups labelled as 'Transient Renters' (single people renting low-cost homes for the short term) and 'Modest Traditions' (mature homeowners of value homes enjoying stable lifestyles) compared to the UK as a whole.

Governance and politics

There is just one tier of local government covering Blackpool, being the unitary authority of Blackpool Council, which is based at Blackpool Town Hall on Talbot Square.

Parts of the Blackpool Urban Area extend beyond the borough boundaries of Blackpool into the neighbouring boroughs of Wyre (which includes Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Thornton and Poulton-le-Fylde) and Fylde (which covers Lytham St Annes).

Administrative history

Blackpool was historically part of the township of Layton with Warbreck, which was part of the ancient parish of Bispham. The township was constituted a Local Board of Health District in 1851, governed by a local board. In 1868 the Layton with Warbreck district was renamed the Blackpool district.

In 1876 the district was elevated to become a municipal borough, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Blackpool", but generally known as the corporation or town council. The borough was enlarged several times, notably in 1879, when it took in parts of the neighbouring parishes of Marton and Bispham with Norbreck, in 1918, when it absorbed the rest of Bispham with Norbreck, and in 1934, when it absorbed the rest of Marton.

In 1904 Blackpool was made a county borough, taking over county-level functions from Lancashire County Council. This was reverted in 1974 when Blackpool became a lower-tier non-metropolitan district with the county council once more providing services in the town. Blackpool regained its independence from the county council in 1998 when it was made a unitary authority.

Blackpool remains part of the ceremonial county of Lancashire for the purposes of lieutenancy.

Parliamentary constituencies

Blackpool is covered by two Westminster constituencies:

Blackpool North and Fleetwood

Blackpool South

Until 1945, the area was represented by just one constituency, named Blackpool. This was replaced by the new Blackpool North and Blackpool South constituencies. Blackpool North became Blackpool North and Cleveleys for the 2010 general election, when Conservative Paul Maynard became MP. Another Conservative, Scott Benton, won Blackpool South from longstanding Labour MP Gordon Marsden in 2019. Benton resigned on 25 March 2024, however, after the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards investigated a fake lobbying role he was offered by undercover reporters from The Times.

The constituencies were reorganised for the 2024 general election, following recommendations from the Boundary Commission for England that aim to make the number of voters in the country's seats more equal. Blackpool South was expanded to take in new wards near the north of the constituency. The Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency incorporated Fleetwood and five wards from the Blackpool Council area, and was renamed Blackpool North and Fleetwood – as a similar seat was known between 1997 and 2010. In 2022 Maynard told the Blackpool Gazette: "I am sure that residents of Fleetwood will be glad to be reunited with the rest of the Fylde coast, as they are geographically."

Economy

As a local authority area, Blackpool's gross domestic product (GDP) was approximately £3.2 billion in 2020 – 0.2 per cent of the English economy. GDP fell by 2.2 per cent between 2019 and 2020.

Seventy-five per cent of people of working age in Blackpool were economically active in 2021, with 51,600 in full-time employment and 7,900 self-employed. The average for the North West is 72.9 per cent and for England is 74.8 per cent.

Twenty-five per cent of jobs were in human health and social work – compared with 13.6 per cent nationally. Reflecting Blackpool's strong tourism industry, 10.9 per cent were in accommodation and food services. With aerospace company BAE situated in the wider area and the Civil Service one of its major employers, the proportion of people working in public administration, defence and compulsory social security is also higher than the national average – 12.5 per cent compared with 4.6 per cent.

In a survey of the UK's 63 largest cities and towns – using primary urban areas, a measure of the built-up area rather than local authority boundaries – the think tank Centre for Cities said Blackpool's gross value added (GVA) was £5.2 billion in 2020, with GVA per hour of £32.7. That placed it at 53rd and 40th place in the survey respectively. It was also in the lower half of the rankings for business start-ups, closures and overall stock, as well as the proportion of new economy firms.

Blackpool is the third lowest local authority area in the UK for gross median weekly pay. Its growth rates were forecast to be among the lowest localities in the UK Competitiveness Index 2023 - along with Blaenau Gwent (Wales), Burnley (North West), Torbay (South West), and Merthyr Tydfil (Wales).

Blackpool is also the main centre of the wider Fylde Coast sub-regional economy, containing other coastal towns, including Lytham, market towns, an agricultural hinterland and some industry. Polymers company Victrex, in Thornton and formerly part of ICI, is one of the major private sector companies headquartered in the area. Sports car manufacturer TVR was based in Blackpool until 2006, and national jewellery chain Beaverbrooks, founded in 1919, relocated its head office to St Annes in 1946.

Conferences and exhibitions

During the second half of the 20th century and up to 2007, Blackpool was one of the country's leading locations for political conferences, with the three main parties as well as bodies such as the TUC holding events at the Winter Gardens.

With the Winter Gardens in need of refurbishment at the time and parties preferring inland city locations to coastal resorts, Blackpool held no major political conferences between 2008 and 2021. The Conservatives returned for their spring event in 2022 in the newly rebuilt Winter Gardens Conference and Exhibition Centre.

Regeneration

Like most UK coastal resorts, Blackpool declined from the 1960s onwards with the rise of overseas holidays. This coincided with a lack of investment in the town and its facilities for both residents and tourists.

Fulfilment of a 1965 masterplan to remodel the town centre was "limited and piecemeal", according to Historic England. Ambitious plans to redevelop the centre "stuttered to a halt in the early 1970s". Large numbers of homes were deemed unfit for human habitation and by 1993, almost 30 per cent of households did not have central heating, compared with the national average of 8.5 per cent. A new masterplan in 2003 was a response to this decline and the growing threat from coastal erosion. It was described by English Heritage as a "bold attempt to ensure the future of the town".

Blackpool had looked at regeneration possibilities that would include an Atlantic City– or Las Vegas–style resort casino that Leisure Parcs, then owner of Blackpool Tower and the Winter Gardens, unveiled £1 billion plans for in 2002. By 2007, Blackpool and Greenwich in London were considered frontrunners among the seven bidders for Britain's first and only supercasino licence; however, nearby Manchester won the bidding process. The Casino Advisory Panel ruled that the "regeneration benefits of the supercasino for Blackpool are unproven and more limited geographically than other proposals". The government later abandoned the supercasino licence altogether following a legislative defeat in the House of Lords.

In response to Blackpool losing the supercasino bid and lobbying from the town's disappointed leaders, ministers increased its regeneration spending, coordinated by an Urban Regeneration Company ReBlackpool, set up in 2005. Before being wound up in 2010, ReBlackpool led on Central Seafront, a £73 million coastal protection scheme that brought new promenades and seawalls for the town, funded by Government, the North West Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund. ReBlackpool also prepared the Talbot Gateway scheme, appointing Muse Developments to develop 160,000 sq m of office and business space, as well as retail and hotel units, on a 10ha plot near Blackpool North Station. Blackpool Council agreed to relocate its offices to the development and there were plans for a new public transport interchange.

In 2010, Blackpool Council bought landmarks Blackpool Tower, the Winter Gardens and the Golden Mile Centre from leisure entrepreneur Trevor Hemmings, aiming to refurbish them in a "last-ditch effort to arrest Blackpool's economic decline". Public ownership enabled significant further investment in the facilities. The restoration of the Tower's stained glass windows was carried out by local specialist Aaron Whiteside, who was given a Blackpool Council conservation award for the work.

Talbot Gateway

The first phase of Talbot Gateway was completed in 2014 with the opening of the Number One Bickerstaffe Square council office, a supermarket and a refurbished multi-storey car park, and public spaces. Bickerstaffe Square is named for Sir John Bickerstaffe, who was pivotal in Blackpool's early development.

Phase two, including a new Holiday Inn and a tram terminal for the extended tramway between North Pier and North Station, began construction in 2021 and opened in May 2024. But new ground floor retail units were released in July 2023.

Construction started in February 2023 on new government offices as part of phase three of Talbot Gateway, and 3,000 Department for Work and Pensions staff are due to be relocated to the town after an expected completion date of March 2025.

In January 2023, Blackpool and Wyre councils were awarded £40 million from the government's Levelling-Up Fund for a new education campus as part of phase four of Talbot Gateway. The campus will provide a new carbon-neutral base for Blackpool and The Fylde College. This will involve "relocating" the existing Park Road campus which is considered to present challenges including dated infrastructure. The future of the 1937 building on Palatine Road – designed by civic architect JC Robinson for Blackpool Technical College and School of Art – is unknown.

Blackpool Central

Plans for Blackpool Central's multi-storey car park and Heritage Quarter were approved in October 2021, and construction of the car park began in 2022. But the £300 million development was stalled because of a lack of funding to move the Magistrates and County Courts from the site. In November 2022, Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove said his department would award £40 million of funding to enable that relocation and "revitalise this great town by delivering much-needed homes, more jobs and new opportunities for local people".

Heritage Action Zone

The Blackpool Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) aims to bring new uses to the town centre by restoring buildings and promoting creative activities. Blackpool is one of more than 60 locations in the UK to have Heritage Action Zones, and its initial funding of £532,575 was secured in 2020.

Restoration of buildings is taking place on Topping Street, Edward Street and Deansgate, while the largest part of the scheme is the Church Street frontage of the Winter Gardens. The Art Deco building of 28 Topping Street has become a community creative hub run by Aunty Social, a voluntary arts organisation focussing on socially engaged work in gentle spaces and directed by Catherine Mugonyi and a building on Edward Street is to be converted into live/work for local artists and creatives.

Abingdon Street Market was partially reopened to the public in May 2023 after a three-year closure due to urgent maintenance works. The Edward Street side of the market was redesigned as a food hall and space for live entertainment and community events. The retail side of the market – located via the Abingdon Street entrance – was due to open in Winter 2023. The market was purchased by the council with £3.6 million of government funding through the Getting Building Fund. Renovations were funded with further government money – £315,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and £90,000 from the HAZ. The market is operated by Little Blackpool Leisure which comprises local directors.

The HAZ cultural programme has included artist-led workshops and activities, and pop up creative markets.

Tourism

Education

As well as 29 state primary schools and eight state secondary schools, there are also a range of activities for children and young people in the town. Some of these are delivered by Blackpool Young People Services (a part of Blackpool Council).

Transport

Air

Blackpool Airport lies just over the borough boundary into Fylde, although a proposal to reorganise Blackpool's borders would see the airport incorporated into the Borough of Blackpool. Formerly known as Blackpool Squires Gate Airport, it is one of the oldest in the UK, having hosted public flying meetings in 1909 and 1910.

Airlines that served Blackpool before its temporary closure in late 2014 included Jet2.com and Aer Arran. It was reopened to small aircraft, after failing to find a buyer in December 2014, but scheduled flights ceased in 2017.

Access to the town by air is now via Liverpool John Lennon Airport or Manchester Airport, both approximately 40 miles (64 km) away.

Buses and coaches

Services are operated predominantly by the following companies:

Blackpool Transport operates the main bus services in and around the borough

Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire operates regional bus services, including routes to Preston, Lancaster and Garstang

National Express operates long-distance coach services to Birmingham and London.

Railway

The borough is served by four railway stations:

Blackpool North is the principal terminus. Northern Trains provides services to Liverpool Lime Street, Wigan North Western, Preston, Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds and York. Avanti West Coast operates two daily services to London Euston.

Layton lies one stop beyond North station, with Northern Trains services to Manchester Airport, via Preston.

Blackpool South is also a terminus station. Northern Trains operates a service to Preston, via Lytham.

Blackpool Pleasure Beach lies one stop beyond South station, with Northern Trains services to Preston.

Squires Gate lies just outside of the borough boundary, but serves Blackpool Airport on the line from South station.

Blackpool once had two railway terminals with a total of over 30 platforms, mainly used by excursion traffic in the summer. Blackpool Central, close to Blackpool Tower, was closed in 1964, while North station was largely demolished and rebuilt as a smaller facility. The route of the former line into Central station is now used as a link road, Yeadon Way, from the M55 motorway to the town centre.

Road

The M55 motorway links the town to the M6 at Preston. Other major roads in the town are the:

A583 to Kirkham and Preston

A584 and B5261, which both lead to Lytham St Annes

A585 and A587 to Fleetwood

A586 to Poulton-le-Fylde, Garstang and Lancaster.

Trams

The Blackpool Tramway runs from Starr Gate to Fleetwood. It is the only surviving first-generation tramway in the United Kingdom; it dates back to 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is operated by Blackpool Transport, owned by Blackpool Council. The tramway runs for 11 miles (18 km) and carries 6.5 million passengers each year.

In April 2012, the tramway reopened after the major reconstruction. Day-to-day services are run by the 16 Flexity 2 trams. Several double-deck English Electric Balloon trams from the older fleet work alongside the new trams to provide additional capacity in the summer months. Several non-modified older trams also operate a heritage service from Pleasure Beach to Little Bispham on weekends and holidays, with a slight upcharge.

An extension of the new service to North station opened in June 2024.

Culture

Art

The Grundy Art Gallery on Queen Street opened in 1911 and adjoins Blackpool Central Library.

Blackpool Art Society was formed in 1884 by George Dearden as Blackpool Sketching Club. The first exhibition was at the YMCA Rooms in Church Street. In 1886 the club hosted an exhibition of 226 exhibits in the Victoria Street schoolrooms. The Grundy brothers were prominent members, and in 1913 the society was granted the use of the new Grundy Art Gallery for its annual exhibition, where it still exhibits today. Grundy art gallery includes the work Blackpool Stands Between Us and Revolution, which was displayed temporarily outside on the roof of the gallery in 2022 before moving inside. It is an illuminated text-based artwork by Tom Ireland that is based on a quote by a local businessman to architect Thomas H Mawson in the 1920s to explain the town's importance to working-class people.

Blackpool School of Arts, part of Blackpool and The Fylde College, opened in 1937 on Park Road in a building designed by civic architect JC Robinson. The building houses a gallery space which hosts a range of exhibitions. Alumni visual artists include Jeffrey Hammond, Adrian Wilson, Sarah Myerscough and Craig McDean. Plans for a new town centre 'multiversity' are set to replace the current Park Road campus in 2026.

Established in 2011 and named after its former use for the production of Blackpool rock, the Old Rock Factory consists of studios housing printmakers and other artists in Blackpool. Residents include printmaker and painter Suzanne Pinder and its founder, screen printer Robin Ross who brought the building back into use. Ross, a former radio DJ, also founded the Sand, Sea and Spray street art festival. Running between 2011 and 2016, the festival featured live street art by international artist produced on walls and billboards in various locations throughout central Blackpool.

Opened in 2014, Abingdon Studios is a contemporary visual art project space and artist studios curated and directed by Garth Gratrix, who champions working-class and queer artists. In 2021 he and artist Harry Clayton-Wright produced We're Still Here, the first permanent collection of LGBTQIA+ heritage in Blackpool, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Founded and directed by local artists, HIVEArts is a gallery space and grassroots arts collective that hosts regular exhibitions. Exhibitions have included The Art Of Forgery by Peter Sinclair (2022), the Gallery Space open exhibition (2022) and The Air That A Breathe, a group exhibition raising money for the Aspergillosis Trust (2023). In 2022 the gallery hosted an art auction of 250 original paintings, photos and sculptures donated by local artists raising £8,000+to help victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Performing arts

At its peak in the 1930s Blackpool's numerous theatres and cinemas could seat more than 60,000 people.

The Theatre Royal on Clifton Street first opened as the Assembly Rooms and Arcade in 1868. It later became the Tivoli Electric Theatre and eventually Yates's Wine Lodge before it was destroyed by fire in 2009.

In 1874 the Indian Pavilion was built on North Pier to host regular concert performances. After being damaged by fire in 1921 and destroyed by another in 1938 it was replaced by the Art Deco Pavilion Theatre (now the Joe Longthorne Theatre) in 1939. One of few remaining pier theatres in the country, it hosts variety acts during the summer season. The theatre is Grade II listed but has been on the Theatres At Risk Register since 2014.

The Borough Theatre (later Queens Theatre) opened in September 1877 on Bank Hey Street. A blue Plaque marks the location of the building which was demolished in 1972/73.

Her Majesty's Opera House, part of the Winter Gardens complex, was built in 1889 and designed by architect Frank Matcham. The 2,500 capacity was soon deemed insufficient and was redesigned by architects Mangnall and Littlewood in 1910. In October 1938 the old Opera House was demolished and the third and current Opera House, with a classic Art Deco design, replaced it. Seating 3,000, it was the largest theatre in the country when it opened. The first Royal Variety Performance to be held outside London was staged there in 1955. The Opera House is one of only three remaining historic theatres in Blackpool still in operation, regularly staging touring musicals.

The Empire Theatre and Opera House on Church Street opened in 1895 and by 1900 it had been converted into a circus venue and renamed Hippodrome. In 1929 it became the ABC cinema but continued to host stage shows, including in the 1960s TV variety show Blackpool Night Out in which the Beatles appeared on 19 July 1964. The theatre became The Syndicate superclub in 2002 until it was demolished in 2014.

The Prince of Wales Theatre was built in 1879 next to the site of Blackpool Tower. It was replaced in 1900 with the grand Alhambra complex but, unable to compete with the neighbouring Tower hit financial difficulties in 1902. Architect Frank Matcham remodelled the building and it became the Palace Theatre in 1904. It was demolished in 1961.

Music

Blackpool has a rich musical heritage associated with its tourist industry alongside a number of popular music scenes and artists that have emerged there. The first registered venue offering musical entertainment in Blackpool was the original Uncle Tom's Cabin, situated on the cliffs at North Shore, from the early 1860s.

The Wurlitzer organ at Blackpool Tower Ballroom was played by Reginald Dixon from March 1930 until March 1970, with live broadcasts of his performances being aired each week during the summer season on the BBC Light Programme. Phil Kalsall has been principle organist at the venue since 1977.

Lawrence Wright was a successful music publisher and songwriter who moved to Blackpool in the 1920s and opened 20 song booths, hiring musicians to play his sheet music inside which passers-by would purchase after entering to listen and sing along.

Blackpool was instrumental in the music of big bands who performed jazz and swing music in its dancehalls and ballrooms from the 1930s-1950s. Frequent performers from 1946 to 1959 were Ted Heath, Joe Loss and Jack Parnell.

In the post-war period Blackpool was the centre of live entertainment outside London and there was a proliferation of musical talent coming from and discovered in the town. The town hosted three or four variety shows per night during tourist seasons, each featuring popular music including The Shadows, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck and American stars including Frank Sinatra who performed twice in the early 1950s.

The heyday of Blackpool's musical history to date and the golden era was the 1960s when live music was offered in the town's many pubs, clubs, theatres and concert venues to accommodate its millions of visitors. All the top British beat groups played in Blackpool, forging a tradition at the Winter Gardens Empress Ballroom of staging of rock, alternative and indie music with visiting bands through the decades including Queen, the Stone Roses, Blur and New Order.

Smaller music venues of note include The Galleon bar on Adelaide Street which opened in 1954 and was a magnet for musicians and Mama & Papa Jenks on Talbot Road, which attracted emerging acts of the 1970s including the Eurythmics and the Buzzcocks and evolved into a punk music venue hosting bands such as the Fits and the Membranes.

Film

The resort is featured in the 1934 film Sing as We Go, starring Gracie Fields, as well as other cinema and TV productions, including Forbidden (1949), Hindle Wakes (1952), Holiday (1957), Coasting (1990), Funny Bones (1995) starring Lee Evans and Oliver Platt and directed by St. Annes born Peter Chelsom, and The Parole Officer (2001) starring Steve Coogan.

The Japanese film Shall We Dance? (1996) closes with a scene at the World Ballroom Dancing Championships in Blackpool. All the hair styling for the film was completed by Blackpool-born-and-bred hairstylist Eileen Clough, who has been in the trade since the 1960s. In the Hollywood remake of the film (2004), directed by Peter Chelsom, Blackpool is mentioned but not shown.

Blackpool is the setting for Bhaji on the Beach (1993) directed by Gurinder Chadha. The film Like It Is (1998) directed by Paul Oremland was also partly filmed in Blackpool. The opening scenes were filmed in the Flamingo. The 2005 television comedy/thriller series Funland revolved around the fictionalised, seedier aspects of Blackpool.

The town also features heavily in the BBC television serial Blackpool, starring David Morrissey, Sarah Parish and David Tennant and first broadcast in 2004, and the one-off follow-up Viva Blackpool, broadcast in June 2006.

In 2006 Lion Television filmed The Great British Summer, which featured many buildings in Blackpool. The Royal Windsor Hotel was featured, with the owner talking all about the hotel seasons and industry. Bernard Manning was also shown at the hotel doing his spot through the season hosted by Blackpool Born local Entertainer & DJ Gordon Head and other local acts. The Great British Summer was narrated by Alan Titchmarsh.

Between 10 September 2012 and 19 November 2012 the resort was featured in Channel 4's 999: What's Your Emergency?

The resort was featured in the three-part reality television series, Blackpool Lights on Channel 5 in December 2013.

The 2016 Tim Burton film Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children features Blackpool and its key tourist attraction, The Blackpool Tower.

Media

Newspapers that cover the Blackpool area are the Blackpool Gazette, the daily newspaper covering the Fylde Coast area, known locally as The Gazette. The Lancashire Evening Post is a daily evening newspaper covering the county of Lancashire.

The principal local radio station is Central Radio North West - across The Fylde, Leyland and Chorley areas of Lancashire, news, talk, and music. The former local radio station Radio Wave, was based on Mowbray Drive in Blackpool. This radio station closed and last aired on 20 August 2020. Blackpool also falls in the coverage area of BBC Radio Lancashire, Hits Radio Lancashire, Greatest Hits Radio Lancashire, Smooth North West and Heart North West.

Bay Trust Radio is a hospital radio station run by volunteers and broadcast throughout Blackpool Victoria Hospital, other hospitals in Lancashire and Cumbria and online. Radio Victoria, Blackpool was merged with Bay Trust Radio in October 2018.

In September 2022, Fun Coast Digital, a not for profit Community Interest Company, was awarded an Ofcom licence to operate a DAB radio transmitter from the top of Blackpool Tower, allowing radio stations to broadcast across the Fylde Coast.

Blackpool Social Club is an independent, volunteer-led online arts, culture and listings magazine which has been operating since 2012 (formerly as AltBlackpool) and has had various print editions. It is part of Aunty Social, a Community Interest Company and community arts organisation in Blackpool. Other online publications serving Blackpool include Lancs Live and The BPL Bible.

National television with local opt-outs is provided by ITV Granada, the ITV franchise holder for the North West, BBC North West, the regional BBC station for the North West region.

Blackpool also has a dedicated local TV news service, That's Lancashire, part of the That's TV network, broadcast from their studio in Preston.

LGBTQ+

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 LGBTQ+ community. These include Funny Girls (a burlesque cabaret showbar), Flamingo and the Flying Handbag. As of the 2021 census, 3.26% of Blackpool residents aged over 16 identified as gay men or lesbians – this is the twelfth highest proportion among the 331 local authorities in England and Wales.

In 2022, We're Still Here – an oral histories project supported by Heritage Lottery Fund was established by queer-led arts organisation Abingdon Studios and artists Garth Gratrix and Harry Clayton-Wright. Blackpool Pride has seen an arts and heritage strand as well as an international art project that aimed to raise awareness of sites of homophobic attack or insult reclaimed as sites beauty.

In October 2023 Blackpool Council launched a public survey to gather views on its vision to build on the strength of the high concentration of gay venues in the north of the town centre to create an area celebrating the resort's LGBTQ+ heritage.

Twin towns

Blackpool is twinned with Bottrop, Germany and Sanya, China.

Sport

Blackpool has two main venues for boxing fight nights: the Tower Circus Arena and the Winter Gardens, which both hold regular fight nights throughout the year. Events at these venues have been screened on Sky Sports, British Eurosport and Channel M. Blackpool is home to many current and former professional boxers, including Brian Rose, Jack Arnfield, Jeff Thomas, Mathew Ellis, Matty Askin and Scott Cardle.

Blackpool Cricket Club is Blackpool's major cricketing team, playing in the Northern Premier Cricket League, formerly the Northern Cricket League. It has won the league 18 times (once jointly with Preston), making it the most successful side in the competition. Established in 1893, the club's home is in the grounds of Stanley Park, which also hosts Lancashire County Cricket Club.

The annual Blackpool Marathon is staged on the Promenade each April. Thousands of competitors run on the closed Promenade, organised by Fylde Coast Runners.

The second stage of the Tour of Britain Women's cycle race finished in Blackpool in 2026.

Football

The town's professional football club is Blackpool F.C., which has spent 31 seasons in the top division and won the 1953 FA Cup Final. Former Blackpool players include Sir Stanley Matthews, Jimmy Armfield and Roy Gratrix. Affiliated with them are the women's Blackpool F.C. Girls & Ladies founded in 2008. There are other smaller football clubs located within the borough, including A.F.C. Blackpool, Blackpool Wren Rovers and Squires Gate.

Rugby

Blackpool Borough were the first professional rugby league club in the town. However, they eventually folded after leaving the town in 1987. Blackpool Panthers were formed in 2004 and played in Co-operative Championship One. They ground-shared at Bloomfield Road then in 2007 at Woodlands Memorial Ground, the home of Fylde Rugby Club in the neighbouring town of Lytham St Annes. The club ceased to exist after the 2010 season due to lack of finance.

Blackpool Stanley, Blackpool Scorpions and Blackpool Sea Eagles are amateur rugby league clubs in the town.

The resort formerly held the now discontinued Northern Rail Cup Final at Bloomfield Road, a Rugby League knockout competition for all clubs outside of the Super League attracting many thousands of visitors.

Blackpool is currently home to the annual 'Summer Bash' rugby league tournament held at Bloomfield Road, where an entire round of Championship matches are played in the town to showcase the sport.

Blackpool also has a rugby union club, called Blackpool RUFC. Their home ground is Norbreck Rugby Ground.

Golf

There are three golf clubs in Blackpool. Blackpool North Shore Golf Club opened in 1904, moving to its present site on Knowle Hill in 1927; the new course was designed by Harry Colt. In 1926, an Alister MacKenzie designed course opened within Stanley Park; it is home to Blackpool Park Golf Club. The newest addition is Herons' Reach Golf Resort, which was designed by Peter Allis and Clive Clark and opened in 1992. Blackpool Golf Club, which opened in 1894, was located in South Shore; it closed at the beginning of World War II, with the land subsequently becoming part of Blackpool Airport.

Professional wrestling

The Pleasure Beach's Horseshoe Show Bar was home to professional wrestling events throughout the season, promoted by Bobby Baron. The bar shows were home to a "wrestling booth" where members of the public could challenge the wrestlers for cash prizes for each round they survived. These challenges would be taken by shooters, wrestlers skilled in the brutal submission holds of catch wrestling, which they could deploy to defend the prize money even against skilled amateur wrestlers. Booths such as these had been a foundation of the professional wrestling industry since the 19th century, and Baron's booth is reputed to have been the last of its kind in the world.

Numerous renowned professional wrestlers worked as carnival shooters at the booth, including future WWE star William Regal; his tag team partner Robbie Brookside; Shak Khan, who runs a catch wrestling school in the area; Dave Duran (John Palin) and future women's champion Klondyke Kate. The booth ended with Baron's death in 1994, although other promoters have since held shows in the bar. Additionally, the Tower Circus was a frequent venue for wrestling shows. A photograph of noted wrestling villain Jack Pye in action at the circus was, for some time in the late 2000s, displayed by the entrance to the circus. The tradition was revived by All Star Wrestling when they promoted a summer season at the venue in 2008, and a similar summer season in 2012 at the Winter Gardens. The Tower Ballroom hosted one date of the six show live tour of the World of Sport Wrestling TV show in February 2019.

WWE held a tournament at the Empress Ballroom on 14 and 15 January 2017 to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion. In attendance were Regal and Triple H, with the latter commenting to local journalists, "Blackpool has this reputation. It's easy to get to, a lot of people come here and when they come here they lose it and that's what we wanted. I almost feel like there wasn't really another choice." Tyler Bate won the inaugural tournament to become the first WWE United Kingdom Champion.

Several renowned wrestlers have invested in Blackpool. Kendo Nagasaki owns the Trades Hotel and KAOS Nightclub, Rex Strong (born Barry Shearman, 1942–2017) owned the Hadley Hotel, and Johnny Saint owned a block of holiday flats in the town. Shirley "Big Daddy" Crabtree worked as a lifeguard on Central Pier. He was reunited, on a 1979 edition of ITV's This Is Your Life, with a woman whose life he had saved in the course of his duties.

Skateboarding

Ramp City is an indoor skatepark in Blackpool. It is made up of wooden ramps and consists of a large street, park and transition section. The park was home to a full pipe and kidney-shaped bowl but these were removed in 2016 to make way for a roller rink. It houses one of the UK's biggest vert ramps (13 ft 3in) and hosts the UK Vert Series Seaside Sessions. In 2014, then number one UK female skater Lucy Adams named the park one of her favourites in England. Ramp City also contains a branch of independent skate shop, Big Woody's, that first opened in Blackpool in June 2002. In 2020 the park began hosting girl's only skate nights.

The Skate Like A Girl (SLAG) collective is a group of female skaters from Blackpool who aim to reclaim the derogatory language they claim can be used towards women in the sport and create safe and inclusive skating environments for women. It works closely with Reclaim Blackpool, a project mapping sexual harassment in public spaces in the town.

In May 2022, an all-concrete skatepark was built on Stanley Park in Blackpool following a community fundraising effort to replace an old run down skatepark.

Live Like Ralph is a charity celebrating the memory of local skater Ralph Roberts who died suddenly of Sarcoidosis in 2021. It aims to provide skateboards and equipment to young skaters and build and maintain skateparks. In 2023 it collaborated with another Blackpool charity, Skool of Street, to build a safe and supportive indoor skatepark called Ralph's House at House of Wingz studio on Back Reeds Road.

Disorder is a 2021 short film by the ATB Collective highlighting hidden and well-known skate spots in Blackpool. Curb Culture is a skateboarding zine highlighting local skateboarding culture.

Religion

Blackpool has a number of Christian churches, including 18 Anglican and 10 Catholic churches. Other Christian groups in the town include Blackpool Baptist Tabernacle, Blackpool Christian Centre, Blackpool Community Church, Kings Christian Centre, Liberty Church, and New Life Community Church. The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes is now redundant and is being converted into a community centre by the Historic Chapels Trust.

There were previously two synagogues in Blackpool for its Jewish population, now down to one. The Blackpool Reform Jewish Congregation caters to the Reform population and is located on Raikes Parade with a synagogue hall and classroom facilities, a purpose-built sanctuary hall and an assembly room. Blackpool United Hebrew Congregation was an Orthodox synagogue located on Leamington Road with a synagogue hall and community centre. The synagogue closed in May 2012 due to a declining Orthodox population, with the final rabbi David Braunold having retired in 2011. As of January 2022, the building which formerly housed the synagogue was awaiting new use.

There is a residential Buddhist Centre in North Shore called Keajra Kadampa Buddhist Centre which is a member of the New Kadampa Tradition. There are also two mosques for the Muslim population: the purpose-built Blackpool Central Mosque & Islamic Community Centre is located on Revoe Street and provides prayer facilities while the Blackpool Islamic Community Centre (BICC) offers Islamic education.

Blackpool also has small communities of Baháʼís, Hindus, Jains, Mormons, and Sikhs. The Blackpool Faith Forum was established in 2001 in conjunction with Blackpool Council to provide interfaith dialogue between the various faith groups in the town, to raise awareness of the various faiths in the town and to promote a multifaith community. It is linked to the Interfaith Network of UK. In February 2007 a youth forum was established, Blackpool Faith Forum for Youth (BIFFY).

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Blackpool.

Military units

R (Blackpool) Battery 288 (2nd West Lancashire) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery, Territorial Army: 1961.

HMS Penelope RN: 1990.

12th Regiment Royal Artillery: 2005.

The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment: 2017.

The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment.

HMS Triumph RN: 2017.