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A group of 9 Blackpool Sixth Form College students will (literally) see their work in lights when the 2024-25 season of the historic Blackpool Illuminations has its switch on at the end of August.

Several of the students had a sneak preview of some of their designs at the press launch today at the Illuminations workshop and depot.

Speaking at the preview event, Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “This year we have given our designers an opportunity to let their imaginations run wild – and that is illustrated in these amazing new installations.

“They bring to this year’s display a real sense of fun and humour. Where else on earth, for example, would you see 12 donkeys wearing Seventies-style retro bathing costumes and parading beneath a giant disco ball?

“We are hugely grateful for the creative genius that has been brought to the table by both Laurence and Leigh Francis, by the brilliant students from Blackpool Sixth and by our amazing team at Lightworks.

“This promises to be a really special year for what is undoubtedly one of the UK’s best-loved visitor attractions.”

Laura Goodinson, Assistant Head of Visual Arts at Blackpool Sixth, added: "It was such an honour to have been considered to create art work for the Illuminations team. Even more so when we heard  Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen judged the work and chose nine of our students’ art pieces, 8 of whom were Lower Sixth. 

“The BTEC art and design students are thrilled to have had the opportunity to get involved in a prestigious project like this one and are extremely excited to see the future developments. Live brief projects like this help mould and shape our young people into innovative and confident individuals."

Illuminations sponsors attending the event included Andrea Challis, CEO of Partington’s Holiday Parks and representatives from Virgin Media O2. Other sponsors in the 2024 display include Airfix Beaverbrooks, and Coral Island.

The Blackpool Illuminations display is one of the biggest and longest-running light-based festivals in the world. It started in 1879 with just a handful of carbon arc lamps creating what was described at the time as “artificial sunshine”. It now extends the entire six miles of Promenade with more than a million LED lights.