Lightpool Festival 2021

A festival of light and performance in Blackpool, 15-30 October 2021

Lightpool Festival 2021

A festival of light and performance in Blackpool, 15-30 October 2021

After last year’s break due to the pandemic, Blackpool’s award-winning Lightpool Festival is back. For 16 nights a myriad of indoor and outdoor spaces will come alive with spectacular large-scale light installations, larger than life projections, music and performance.

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Lightpool Festival 2021

This year, through a varied and imaginative programme from national and international artists you can look forward to 16 new artworks, 9 world premieres and one UK premiere, showcasing an unforgettable experience.

There is so much to see and do at this year’s festival – why not take part in one of our famous LumiDogs workshops, or join us to make your own lantern and shine in the 100 lanterns exhibition. Bring all your family and friends to the Illuminated Tram Parade headlined by LED drummers Spark!, boogie along at our silent disco, marvel at our light, laser and fire show, and experience an exhilarating evening of Carnival Magic with giant puppets, Indian elephants and red-hot carnival drummers.

It’s 16 nights of pure magic, music and illuminated magnificence – and it is all free!

pROGRAMME

Fit2Glow

October

Lightpool Festival in partnership with Blackpool Football Club Community Trust are to hold UV Football events for Blackpool Year 2 Primary Schools and Blackpool Academy, during October.

Teams from local schools and the academy will don neon bibs, glow in the dark accessories for the 5-a-side competition, in an innovative and fun-filled event.

100 Local Lanterns

October

All ages are invited to take part in a drop-in lantern-decorating workshop at Blackpool’s newest creative venue The Old Electric (Springfield Rd, FY1 1QW) 4-6pm on Mondays during October (4,11,18,25) with artist Janine Walker.

All lanterns will then be installed to form an immersive community exhibition inside the theatre at the venue and everyone is invited to come along and enjoy this light up wintery wonderland from 6-10pm Wednesday 27-Friday 29 as part of Lightpool Festival.

Symphony of Light

22 October

Symphony of Light fuses music, lasers, artwork, and immersive lighting effects to create an unforgettable live experience.

Immerse yourself in an eclectic range of music as the sounds come alive in an environment of light and sound! 

The Nixies of Oakpool

27 October

This interactive story uses animation, puppetry, lights and music to retell how the illuminations really came about! How years ago, a magical oak forest inhabited by multi-coloured Nixies was destroyed by humans and how each year we try to entice them back, but nothing quite compares to a Nixie light show! 

Illuminated Tram Parade

27 October

To celebrate Blackpool’s unique tramway history, this Parade is a tribute to the rich heritage of our Illuminated Trams. Starting at Manchester Square, the parade presents a unique opportunity to witness Blackpool’s historic collection of illuminated tramcars featuring a battleship, trawler and Great Western train.

Back by popular demand, are Spark! the original and best LED drummers. Combining high impact drumming, dynamic choreography, playful characters and colourful lighting design.

Carnival Magic

28 October

An exhilarating menagerie of illuminated Carnival will hit the Tower Ballroom for an electrifying static showcase of music, puppetry and dance. Internationally recognised Carnival performers will present a showstopper over 30 minutes, bringing a diverse melting pot of Carnival magic.

From giant hand-crafted puppets to stunning illuminated dancers, there will be something for all the family. 

Silent Disco

29 October

Suitable for all ages – our Silent Disco will have three different music choices playing continuously throughout the night. Catering for all music tastes young and old, you’re bound to find a track you want to dance to! 

The Art Trail

Nightly, 18–30 October, 6pm to 10pm

The Lightpool Festival Art Trail is a self-guided tour over 13 nights. Recognisable indoor and outdoor spaces are transformed by spectacular artworks and captivating performances by local, national and international artists.

Tower Projections - Lightpool Festival 2021
Tower Projections

Blackpool Illuminations

The Blackpool Tower Projections transform The Blackpool Tower into a sea of light, colour and sound, as a stunning, digitally mapped multi-media show is projected onto this iconic building. There are five individual projection shows, including the three headline shows :

The Moon Folk - Lightpool Festival 2021
The Moon Folk

Guildhall School of Music

This stunning projection follows a group of curious animals on a journey of discovery.

The 5 minute sequence features a collection of charming, fantasy animals that begin their lives in a ridged monotone that gradually explore their world and their friendships bringing light and colour into their lives.

The Nature Takeover - Lightpool Festival 2021
The Nature Takeover

Ant Dickinson and Al Johnson

Vines, flowers, fruit, fungus and creatures take over St.Johns Church as it is reclaimed by nature as a large scale, playful, rhythmic projection.

Bold and colourful hand drawn animations dance over the building’s surface, synchronised to music taking the audience on a journey in to the interconnected rhythms of the natural world.

Blackpool Light of my Life - Lightpool Festival 2021
Blackpool Light of My Life

Chila Kumari Singh Burman

Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool Illuminations and Lightpool Festival are excited to announce a new light art installation by the internationally recognised artist, Chila Kumari Singh Burman. After high profile projects for Tate Britain and Covent Garden in London, the artist has now turned her sights to Blackpool and the town’s Grade II listed Grundy Art Gallery.

White Tiger - Lightpool Festival 2021
White Tiger

Chila Kumari Singh Burman

White Tiger created to celebrate the launch of the critically-acclaimed film The White Tiger, which is based on the New York Times bestseller and 2008 Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. Netflix partnered with the internationally-renowned artist, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, to explore the concepts of ambition, class, society and entrepreneurship from the film.

Aqualux - Lightpool Festival 2021
Aqualux

Phil Holmes for Lightpool Festival

An 8m by 3m creative lighting installation composed of 48 unfilled water containers, which typically hold 1,000 litres of water each, specially adapted to create a stunning, transportable and eco-friendly light feature to raise the importance of water.

Did you know the average person uses the same amount of water these containers hold within the space of a year? And that’s only at home! Our great grandparents managed with only three containers.

100 local lanterns - Lightpool Festival 2021
100 local lanterns

Electric Sunshine Project

All ages are invited to take part in a drop-in lantern-decorating workshop at Blackpool’s newest creative venue The Old Electric with artist Janine Walker.

All lanterns will then be installed to form an immersive community exhibition inside the theatre at the venue

Big Bird - Lightpool Festival 2021
Big Bird

Blackpool Illuminations

The 1 tonne pigeon was originally created for the Museum of London’s immersive experience Beasts of London, created in partnership with Guildhall School of Music & Drama, but it will spread its wings and head to Blackpool for Lightpool Festival.

Portrait of Self - Lightpool Festival 2021
Portrait of Self

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

Portrait of self is a deliberately and stylishly surreal statement that suggests that the self-revelatory image of a self-portrait is not always as honest as it seems.

And Then I Slipped - Lightpool Festival 2021
And Then I Slipped

idontloveyouanymore

Slip under the shimmering lights of the waterfall and see where it takes you.

idontloveyouanymore’s And Then I Slipped allows you to step into a scene reminiscent of your childhood films, a dreamy space, where anything could happen.

Entwined Light - Lightpool Festival 2021
Entwined Light

Antoniya Stoitsova & Nicolo Bencini

Entwined Light is a multi-layered piece that unfolds throughout the day-night cycle. Variations in colour and illumination invite the visitors to take part in the story and revisit the installation at different stages throughout the cycle. Taking inspiration from bioluminescence in nature, the installation demonstrates alternative methods of generating light by utilising the inherent properties of photo-luminescent materials.

Exponential - Lightpool Festival 2021
Exponential

Lucid Creates

Exponential is a kaleidoscopic audio responsive installation with an immersive soundscape, surprise reflections and an ever changing swirling core. Exploring the power of group action through light and sound, Exponential offers an opportunity for self reflection and discussion around our impact on the planet and society.

Digital Playground - Lightpool Festival 2021
Digital Playground

Studio Little Lost Robot

A walk-through forest installation of oversized robotic flowers. Reminding us all to take it slowly, breathe and play! As visitors move around, the sculpture will subtly change in mood and appearance. Not replacing nature, but representing our relationship with the environment and exploring possibilities of technological innovation to aid ecological sustainability. A SHINE commission

Brilliance - Lightpool Festival 2021
Brilliance

This light and sound show was the first of its kind in the UK. Based on a continuous ribbon spiralling in and out of the ground, its six metal arches criss-cross Birley Street with custom-designed luminaires.

Astral Dreams - Lightpool Festival 2021
Astral Dreams

Jack Irving

Laser-mapped projection show created by Lady Gaga designer, Jack Irving, beamed directly on the front of the Tower nightly - the ambitious light depiction has been inspired by abstract dreams.

Five high-powered lasers will beam the display on to the historic frontage, accompanied by a new soundtrack composed by local music composer and producer, George Cornes.

House of Cards - Lightpool Festival 2021
House of Cards

OGE

Our House of Cards is a beautiful light art installation that is slick and joyful in the daytime and turns into a fulminant lightshow at night time.

Luma - Lightpool Festival 2021
Luma

Air Giants

Luma is a huge robot; an 8m long, inflatable snail who loves an audience. She looms above visitors with a presence which is gentle, welcoming and otherworldly.

Luma is a joyful and hopeful work which champions both nature and technology, and reimagines what robots can be for.

500 - Lightpool Festival 2021
500

Since the 1800s, Blackpool has been Britain’s most popular resort. With entertainment at the heart of our beloved Blackpool, our seaside town has been synonymous with fun-filled and action-packed adventures.

At 500 we show you a small part of it as we celebrate four of the town’s glittering venues that have been a mainstay of Blackpool for 125 years each, each with their own film. So grab a deckchair, relax, and enjoy our enviable history.

Tower Light Show - Lightpool Festival 2021
Tower Light Show

Greg McLenahan

Blackpool Tower is emblazoned with a glowing heart, and 25,000 lights on the structure. Join us for this sensational light show, as we bring the Tower to life with a sound and light spectacular. This brand new featured light show runs every night during Lightpool Festival at 7pm, 8pm, 9pm and 10pm

Power The Tower - Lightpool Festival 2021
Power The Tower

Can you pedal hard enough on our specially adapted light up bike, to generate enough power to light up our Blackpool Tower model?

Illuminate Project - Lightpool Festival 2021
Illuminate Project

Blackpool’s Grand Theatre in partnership with the renowned Lightpool Festival create a two-year project ‘Illuminate'

Blackpool young people return to our venue with creative sessions that ‘shine a light’ on their stories and experiences on-and-off the stage.

Spiro - Lightpool Festival
Spiro

A family-friendly immersive walk-through sculptural tunnel of light.

Stained Glass - Lightpool Festival 2021
Stained Glass

Originally part of the Blackpool Illuminations ‘Leaded Lights’ road section, designed by Graham Ogden in 2004

Spaceman - Lightpool Festival 2021
Spaceman

Originally designed for the Space Age road section by Alan Cockcroft in 1970. Get up close and personal with a giant interpretation from the famous moon landing over 50 years ago – they’re out of this world!

Blackpool Light of my Life
Contact Us

Phil Holmes

Creative Director

2021 will see the Lightpool Festival, returning to the town, celebrating Blackpool’s unique relationship with light.

Building on the successes of the inaugural Lightpool Festival 2016; from October 15 to 30 the town centre will be transformed with a number of spectacular light art works, inspired by the buildings, history and people of the town.

To complement this we will run a programme of live performances over 5 nights.

Light art festivals are a phenomenon spreading across the globe, and just in the North of England you may well have heard of Lumiere in Durham, Light Up Lancaster, Lightwaves, Light Night Leeds and many others.

The Lightpool festival will take place in the spiritual home of illuminations. By running during the October half-term, the festival allows us to present different sorts of work. It means we can transform the town centre into a playground for people to explore. By being free to attend, the Lightpool Festival 2021 will offer a wonderful opportunity for whole families to experience something different.