Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, in the north west of England. Lying along the coast of the Irish Sea, it is fifteen miles (25 km) west from the city of Preston, and has a population of 142,900.
Blackpool rose to prominence as a major centre of tourism during the 19th century, particularly for the inhabitants of northern mill towns.
Geography and administrationThe town boundaries of Blackpool are drawn very tightly, and exclude the nearby settlements of Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Thornton, Poulton-le-Fylde and Lytham St Anne's. Blackpool Borough, unlike its neighbours, is almost completely urbanised.
Between 1894 and 1974, Blackpool was its own independent county borough unit within the administrative county of Lancashire. With the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, Blackpool's independent status was abolished and it was made part of the shire county of Lancashire. On April 1, 1998, however, Blackpool was made an independent unitary authority and reformed as an autonomous local government unit. It remains part of Lancashire for ceremonial purposes however.
EtymologyBlackpool is believed to get its name from a long gone drainage channel which ran over a peat bog.[5] The water which ran into the sea at Blackpool was black from the peat and formed a 'black pool' in waters of the Irish Sea (In Irish, Black Pool is Dubh Linn, which in turn became Dublin). Locally people originating from Blackpool are called 'Sand Grown' or 'Sandgrown'uns'.
Early history LandmarksBlackpool boasts some important landmarks, most of which appeared originally as part of the flourishing tourist industry.
Opened in 1894, Blackpool Tower has been a dominant landmark of the Blackpool skyline for well over a century. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower of Paris, France it is 158 m (518 ft 9 in) tall.
Other landmarks include the Winter Gardens, the Blackpool Pleasure Beach and the North Pier.
The Pleasure Beach Blackpool is a very famous theme park within Blackpool which hosts rides such as 'The Pepsi Max' which is known as the largest roller coaster in the theme park and as one the largest in Britain.
EconomyThis is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Blackpool at current basic prices by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.[1]
TourismBlackpool is heavily dependent on tourism. Major attractions include:
In what is often regarded as its heyday (1900-1950), Blackpool thrived as the factory workers of northern England took their annual holidays there en masse. Any photograph from that era shows crowds of tourists on the beach and promenade. Blackpool was also a preferred destination of visitors from Glasgow and remains so to this day[6]. Reputedly, the town still has more hotel beds than the whole of Portugal.[6] The town went into decline when cheap air travel arrived in the 1960s and the same workers decamped to the Mediterranean coast resorts due to competitive prices and the more reliable weather. Today, many visitors stay for the weekend rather than for a week at a time.
Blackpool is continually striving to improve its position within today's tourist industry. One controversial proposal, which has the involvement of the local council, is to transform Blackpool into a casino resort along the lines of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, making it the centre point of gambling in the UK. This plan is dependent on the selection of Blackpool as the location of Britain's first 'super-casino' following the slight liberalisation of Britain's gambling laws. Although Blackpool was the bookies' favourite to win the casino, Manchester was unexpectedly selected by the Government on January 30, 2007 for this role.[7] Blackpool council claim their bid was misunderstood.
A controversial aspect of Blackpool's night-life is its hen and stag parties. Brides- or bridegrooms-to-be and their friends, often dressed alike in absurd or risqué attire, roam the town's many bars and clubs getting increasingly drunk. Their rowdy behaviour is claimed to discourage family visitors and has led to complaints from hotel and guest house owners keen to attract a more upmarket clientele.[8]
Blackpool has gained renown as a lesbian and gay destination, (see Gay Blackpool) with clubs such as the Flamingo, Mardi Gras, the Flying Handbag pub, and many gay-run hotels and guest-houses [7], with some catering exclusively for the gay community. These tend to be inland, nearer to the railway station 'Blackpool North' than to the sea. There is a transvestite show bar, Funny Girls, alongside the Flamingo in the building that was formerly the Odeon Cinema; the building retains many of its Art Deco features.[9]
Blackpool remains a summer entertainment venue, specialising in variety shows featuring entertainers such as Ken Dodd. Outside the main holiday season, Blackpool's Winter Gardens routinely hosts major political and trade union conferences, ranging from that of the Conservative Party and the TGWU with thousands of delegates and visitors, to substantially smaller gatherings such as the CWU or NUS conferences.
Blackpool Illuminations consisting of a series of lighted displays and collages arranged along the entire length of the sea front (11 km/7 miles), attract many visitors in September and October at a time when some resorts' holiday seasons have already ended. This results in some spectacular traffic snarl-ups as most people now view the lights from cars and coaches which crawl nose-to-tail along the whole length of the sea front, particularly so at weekends and during school holidays.
Non-tourist industryMajor employers include:
Many Blackpool residents work in the retail sector, either in the town centre or the retail parks on the edge of town.
The town's tramway was for a long time Britain's only working tramway outside of museums. It was also the UK's first electric system. However other cities, including Manchester and Sheffield, have been rebuilding their tramways since the late 20th century.
Blackpool had two railway termini with a total of over 30 platforms, mainly used by excursion traffic in the summer. Blackpool Central, close to the Blackpool Tower, was closed in 1964, whilst Blackpool North was largely demolished and rebuilt as a smaller facility. The route of the former excursion line into Blackpool Central is now used as a link road from the M55 motorway to the town centre. The original 'main line' into Blackpool via Lytham St Annes now has a station serving Blackpool Pleasure Beach but terminates at Blackpool South station. The line into North station is now the more important.
Blackpool International Airport operates regular charter and scheduled flights throughout the UK and Europe. The airport is actually in St Annes although a proposal to reorganise Blackpool's borders would see the airport incorporated into Blackpool Borough.
The M55 motorway links the town to the national motorway network.
FilmographyThe resort is featured in the 1934 film Sing as We Go, starring Gracie Fields, as well as other cinema and TV productions, including Funny Bones (1995) starring Lee Evans and Oliver Platt and directed by St. Annes born Peter Chelsom, as well as 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) Blackpool is mentioned but not shown. The remake was also directed by Peter Chelsom.
Blackpool is the setting for Bhaji on the Beach (1993) directed by Gurinder Chadha.
The film Like It Is (IMDB) (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 fictionalized, seedier aspects of Blackpool.
The town of Blackpool also features heavily in the BBC television serial Blackpool starring David Morrissey and first broadcast in 2005 along with the one-off follow-up Viva Blackpool, broadcast in June 2006.
The Jimi Hendrix - Experience video and DVD features concert footage of Hendrix's performance at Blackpool's Opera House in 1967.[11]
MediaIn addition Blackpool falls in the coverage area of Rock FM, Magic 999, 105.4 Century FM and Smooth FM 100.4 as well as ITV Granada.
SportBlackpool has been the birthplace and home to many famous people, including:
Blackpool is twinned with:
