Blackpool Illuminations is the biggest annual light show in the United Kingdom founded in 1879, taking place each autumn in Blackpool, Lancashire. It starts in late August and runs for 66 days until early November. The 10-km (6-mi) illuminated promenade features over one million bulbs. It begins at Starr Gate in the south end of the town and stretches to Bispham in the north.
The impressive spectacle usually starts with a Switch-On concert followed by a ceremony where a celebrity gives the start to Blackpool Illuminations. The ceremony takes place at the Switch-On Golden Circle on the Tower Festival Headland Arena. The lights attract about 4 million visitors to Blackpool every year during the annual run. The display features more than 500 scenic designs and scenes. Over 40 large illuminated tableaux cover more than 5,000 sq. m of area. More than 100 mi of glowing strips connect the promenade poles and carriageways. Lights are usually switched on at 5 p.m. and are turned off at 10:30 on weekdays, at 11 p.m. on Sunday, and at midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Initially, Blackpool Illuminations was called Artificial Sunshine or Electric Sunshine. In September of 1879, it featured just eight carbon arc lamps, beginning in a few days before Thomas Edison's patented the electric light bulb.
