Illuminations

Illuminations are secular Autumn festivals of electric light held in several English cities, towns and villages, in particular: Blackpool (1879–present) Matlock Bath (1897–present) Mousehole (1963–present) Sunderland (actually Roker and Seaburn Illuminations; 1937–1959, 1986–1990s, 2012–present). Blackpool Illuminations Blackpool Illuminations run for 66 days each year. They switch on in late August with a star-studded 'Switch On' show and run to early November. At six miles (9.65 kilometres) long and using over one million bulbs, the Blackpool Illuminations are an awesome spectacle. The Blackpool Illuminations consist of a wide variety of light displays: lasers, neon, light bulbs, fibre optics, searchlights and floodlighting. There are set pieces made out of wood studded with light bulbs; the characters and objects portrayed seem to “move” by way of winking lights. Three-dimensional illuminated scenes are also popular. There are over 500 road features attached to lamp posts linked together with festoon lighting. Strings of lights along the structure of buildings pick out landmarks in luminous detail – you can always make out the Blackpool Tower and the Pleasure Beach Blackpool rides in this way.