Lightpool Festival 2024

Blackpool's award wining light festival is back, 18-26 October 2024

Lightpool Festival 2024

A festival of light and performance in Blackpool, 18-26 October 2024

 For 9 nights a myriad of indoor and outdoor spaces will come alive with spectacular large-scale light installations, larger than life projections, music and performance.

get in touch

Lightpool Festival 2024

We are delighted to welcome you to Blackpool for our 2024 edition of Lightpool Festival. Over the next 9 nights, the town’s most iconic landmarks will be illuminated by a breathtaking array of light installations, brought to life by the creative minds of talented artists from around the globe.

This year’s festival offers something for everyone, with 9 nights of pure excitement featuring stunning light art, captivating live performances, family-friendly activities, and mesmerising 3D projection shows.

Featuring an impressive collection of national and international light installations, as well as the premiere of over 15 new artworks never before seen in the UK; this year’s event is set to be the most visually stunning Lightpool Festival yet!

PERFORMANCE

Carnival Magic

21 October

Carnival magic will be once again enchanting the Tower Ballroom with a spectacular 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.

Guided Tour

24 October

Immerse yourself in the beauty of this year’s festival with our complimentary guided tours, offering a unique opportunity to uncover the stories behind the captivating artworks featured in the Lightpool Festival programme. 

Engage with our knowledgeable guides, who will be delighted to answer any questions you may have. These exclusive tours will be led by a member of the Lightpool Festival team, and an accredited British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. The tour typically lasts around 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

On this special evening, Grundy Art Gallery will be open from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm, featuring this year’s exhibitions STIM CINEMA + Collection Spotlight + The pARTnership, admission is FREE.

Illuminated Ice Cream Cart

18 & 24 October

Have you ever wanted to create your own utopia? A community from Grange Park, Blackpool have been exploring just that. Made with locally grown fruit, their community ice cream project will bring a ‘taste of happiness’ to Lightpool.

The Illuminated Ice Cream Cart – a commission from LeftCoast, led by Artist Samantha Jones and Architectural Designer Ecaterina Stefanescu in collaboration with Grange Park residents, invites you to ask the questions “what makes you happy?” and “who has the right to happiness?”.

The Art Trail

Nightly, 18-26 October, 6pm to 10pm

The Lightpool Festival Art Trail is a self-guided tour over 9 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 :

LP 2024 Lightsphere
Lightsphere

Studio Vertigo

The sculpture is a geodesic sphere measuring approximately 4m in diameter constructed from 240 blown stainless steel triangular forms.

LP 2024 Turning of Tides
Turning of Tides

The Butterfly Effected

A stunning unique mural from The Butterfly Effected; a fantastic opportunity to showcase the creativity and spirit of Blackpool, collaborating with local young people to design and create an artwork piece that reflects the vibrant energy of our wonderful community.

LP 2024 Tiffany Lamp
Tiffany Lamp

Lightworks

Re-imagined for Lightpool, an original feature from the Tiffany Delights roadway section, one of the most expensive and magnificent roadway features designed by Graham Ogden; comprising 24 Tiffany inspired features first installed in 1999.

LP 2024 Warren Street
Warren Street

Chloe Rodham

Warren Street is an animation which brings the magic of the nature into unexpected places. Hundreds of light painting exposures are used to create this playful and lively piece where colourful rabbits move across the space and interact with one another.

LP 2024 World in your Hands
The World In Your Hands

Christopher Harrisson

The World In Your Hands is a surreal, playful exploration of nature. Inspired by Cabinets of Curiosity, manipulated footage morphs a pair of hands into bizarre creatures – squids, sharks, birds and insects. A grotesque yet disconcertingly familiar view of the natural world and our connection to it.

LP 2024 Somnius
Somnius

Illumaphonium

A mesmerizing sky of light and sound dances above us in response to our every movement. Reminding us of our ongoing relationship with the cosmos, nature and each other. We are free to explore another version of what life could look like. An unrestricted reimagining of the world. Together.

LP 2024 Pulse
Pulse

GSMD

Pulse – A new light and sound art installation by Guildhall Production Studio, part of Guildhall School of Music & Drama. "Pulse" aims to leverage the historical and architectural significance of the Wedding Chapel to create an immersive, multi-sensory experience through the use of light, sound, lasers, and projections.

LP 2024 Supernova
Supernova

Studio Vertigo

Some stars burn out instead of fading. The super giants destroy themselves in a huge explosion called supernova. For a brief moment, supernovas can be so powerful and luminous that they have been known to outshine entire galaxies. Like the aftermath of an enormous cosmic explosion, the Supernova and surrounding Nova sculptures will come to life at night in St Johns Square.

LP 2024 Blackpool Wings
Blackpool Wings

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen

We all know the world loves a selfie! Laurence Llewelyn- Bowen has conceived BLACKPOOL WINGS to create for Lightpool visitors the ultimate selfie self-portrait. Glamorous ethereal Art Nouveau-inspired fairy wings take inspiration from the historical links Blackpool has over the years forged with the stained glass industry.

LP 2024 Parallels
Parallels

Architecture Social

Parallels is an experiment in architectural light and sound inspired by dynamic movements and tones taken from our natural environments. Extruded light environments are created through thousands of laser beams, enveloping spectators in animated volumes of light.

Lightpool Festival 2022 - We Are Blackpool
We Are Blackpool

Phil Holmes for Lightpool

Representing Blackpool’s vibrant local community, with a bespoke soundtrack, We Are Blackpool is a once in a lifetime snapshot of soulful reflections and poignant, personal perspectives. Honest, raw, real.

LP 2024 Lightpool Eclipse
The Lightpool Eclipse

ZEROH

The Lightpool Eclipse is an exploration of local creative expression, social connection and engagement with nature. Local workshops were held in Blackpool as we challenged the community of Blackpool to be nature’s artists and create their own unique species of digital moths to be viewed as an augmented reality immersive digital experience. By using your smart phone, The Lightpool Eclipse will appear as an augmented reality digital apparition where the moths created in local workshops will flutter throughout the festival triggered by QR codes.

LP 2024 Green Man
The Green Man

Aunty Social

He goes by many names, called upon each May to bring in the spring. But, when spring has sprung and winter is upon us, where is the Green Man while he waits to be called?

LP 2024 Unity
Unity

James Fox

The artwork themed 'Unity' immerses viewers in a captivating exploration of human connection and digital expression. Through the interplay of dynamic LED lights and spatial exploration, this piece resolves as you move around or pass it, with the two dancers merging into one.

LP 2024 Neuron
Neuron

Juan Fuentes Studios

This Light Art installation, titled "Neuron," draws inspiration from the fascinating world of neurons and brain connectivity. The primary objective of this artwork is to explore the interaction between light, motion, and human perception through an artistic representation of neurons and their branches

LP 2024 Flux
Flux Extended

Collectif Scale

Flux was commissioned by the Grand Est Region and created in 2021 as part of the Constellations Festival in Metz, France. Over the last 3 years, Flux has been in high demand, travelling the world and appearing on music stages and at artistic events. Its kinetic architecture composed of lines of dynamic light is motorized and controlled in real time.

LP 2024 Medusae
Medusae

Simon Clegg for Lightworks

Are you ready for a fun aquatic adventure? Our amazing interactive installation awaits you, featuring the most vibrant and mesmerising jellyfish you've ever seen! Immersed in a sea of colours and light shows, this experience is sure to uplift your spirits and dazzle your senses.

LP 2024 Spiro
Spiro

Lightworks

A family friendly immersive walk-through sculptural tunnel of light experience. This 26m long magical experience is made of individually mapped LEDs that allow complex patterns to dance around the audience. Get your camera ready and remember the moment.

LP 2024 A KInd of Magic
A Kind Of Magic

Severi Haapala

A Kind of Magic plays with the optical illusion. It’s a modern version of the 19th-century Pepper’s Ghost illusion. It forces us to think can we believe our eyes as the magic trick is done and revealed at the same time.

LP 2024 Growth
Growth

LeftCoast

Hear local poet Nathan Parker’s words, as he teams up with illustrator Laura Kate Chapman, to create a botanical light projection that grows up the wall behind Revoe’s Temporary Public Square. Growth is a LeftCoast commission that explores the community’s Right To Grow in Blackpool.

Lightpool Festival 2024
Contact Us

Phil Holmes

Artistic Director

We are delighted to welcome you to Blackpool for our 2024 edition of Lightpool Festival. Over the next 9 nights, the town’s most iconic landmarks will be illuminated by a breathtaking array of light installations, brought to life by the creative minds of talented artists from around the globe.

This year’s festival offers something for everyone, with 9 nights of pure excitement featuring stunning light art, captivating live performances, family-friendly activities, and mesmerising 3D projection shows. Featuring an impressive collection of national and international light installations, as well as the premiere of over 15 new artworks never before seen in the UK; this year’s event is set to be the most visually stunning Lightpool Festival yet!

During 2024, with the unwavering support of Arts Council England, we are thrilled to have successfully executed our most extensive community engagement initiative ever; collaborating with over 30 artists in our diverse artist development programmes and workshops; nurtured young and emerging talent to create new artworks, and empowered artists at the start of their journey to showcase their expertise and creativity.
Get ready to be spellbound as Carnival Magic takes over the Tower Ballroom once again, showcasing a vibrant display of illuminated Carnival characters and music. Witness a dynamic mix of music, puppetry, and dance that will capture your imagination as Global Grooves International Carnival performers bring a diverse blend of music and magic to the world-renowned Tower Ballroom dance floor.

Let yourself be swept along on a unique journey as you cherish each magical moment, and let the light ignite your imagination!