Blackpool Illuminations 'a celebration' designer says

Being at the switch-on for Blackpool's annual Illuminations is "an extraordinarily friendly moment", Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, one of the designers behind the attraction, has said.

Llewelyn-Bowen has been designing for the Illuminations since 2007 and switched them on in 2022.

This year, British pop favourites Five will headline a concert on the Tower Festival Headland on 4 September, marking the start of the Illuminations season.

Llewelyn-Bowen said this 2026 display "feels very reinvigorated" and includes an "extraordinary imagination-scape" tableau designed by singer-songwriter and 80s icon, Toyah Willcox, " at her punk princess storytelling best". He said: "Blackpool was founded on this idea of making culture, making art fun".

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