Ride The Lights returns!

Blackpool is preparing for one of the most magical nights in its calendar when, for one night only, the six miles of Promenade will be closed to give cyclists a sneak preview of this year’s Illuminations.

Ride The Lights will take place on the night of Tuesday 27 August – three days before the Illuminations are officially switched on by Spice Girl Mel B.

Bikes of all shapes and sizes can take advantage of the seafront route in a free family event that is suitable for all ages. The Promenade will be closed to traffic from 6.30pm until 10.30pm with the Ride The Lights event starting at 7pm and finishing at 10pm.

Cyclists can participate in Ride The Lights at any time during that period and are recommended to join the event at either the Starr Gate or Red Bank Road gateways to the promenade. Overspill car parking will be available at a pop-up car park at Blackpool Airport.

Participants will be able to get a first look at some of the new Illuminations in this year’s display, including designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s extraordinary new installation on the Tower Festival Headland.

Entitled Disco Donkey Cavalcade, it is a celebration of one of Blackpool’s iconic beach attractions, with 12 donkeys dressed in 70s-inspired swimwear, parading on a 16ft high platform, beneath a giant ice cream topped with a disco ball!

The preview event will also showcase a new overhead roadway section that pays homage to the hugely popular Aliens feature that graced the Illuminations display several years ago. The new section has been designed by students at Blackpool Sixth and includes 10 individual illustrations of Alien life.

Cllr Lynn Williams, Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Ride The Lights is a fabulous event that is unique to Blackpool. Where else can you ride a bike in a traffic-free environment under a million shimmering lights!

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our own residents and for visitors to come on to Blackpool seafront with their families and enjoy a magical experience.” Full details and safety information can be found here: www.visitblackpool.com/ridethelights

Ride The Lights marks the start of the build-up to the Illuminations season, which has again been extended by two months, ending on Monday 5 January, 2025.

On Wednesday 28 August, Trinity Hospice will stage its annual Night Run, starting on the Tower Festival Headland opposite the Blackpool Tower. Full details at www.trinityhospice.co.uk

Then, on Friday 30 August, it’s the biggest night in Blackpool’s events calendar – the annual Illuminations Switch-On celebration.

The entertainment will start at around 5pm with some of Blackpool’s brightest young musicians taking to the stage. The Upbeat Rock Academy, which organises rock music tuition for more than 300 students from across the Fylde Coast, will present Blackpool Introduces, a 90-minute-long showcase of local talent.

They will be followed by the Massaoke show performed by Rockstar Weekend, a unique mass participation touring production featuring lyrics from some of the greatest crowd-pleasing hits of all time projected on the giant LED screens.

They will be followed on stage by American-born Kimberly Wyatt, who achieved worldwide fame with The Pussycat Dolls, one of the biggest-selling girl groups of all time. She will bring her high energy, fun DJ set, featuring some of the biggest tracks of the Noughties, dance hits and other pop classics.

Headliner Ella Henderson will then take to the stage to perform an extended set from her extensive catalogue of hits, before Mel B pulls the famous switch to light up Blackpool.

Mel will be making a nostalgic return to the resort where her career first started as a 16-year-old dancer in the Mystique show at Blackpool

The whole event will be free to access with no tickets required.