Strictly stars open Blackpool festive village

Blackpool’s spectacular Christmas By The Sea village is open – with a helping hand from the stars of Strictly Come Dancing.

Four of the show’s professional dancers quickstepped the short distance from rehearsals at the nearby Tower Ballroom to pull a switch that triggered the start of seven weeks of festive entertainment on the seafront.

The outdoor village on the Tower Festival Headland includes a free skating rink at the heart of an exciting collection of themed family attractions, food and drink huts, snowfalls, projection shows and light installations, and festive tram rides

Carlos Gu, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu and Neil Jones performed the opening ceremony on the eve of the much-anticipated return of Strictly Come Dancing to the world-famous ballroom.

Kai Widdrington said: “Blackpool really is a special place for the four of us. We used to complete in the Blackpool Tower and up in The Winter Gardens”.

Carlos Gu added: “I came here 14 years in a row, it’s one of my favourite towns – I love you guys, we all love you”.

The opening event also featured the children from the Blackpool Ice Drome Charities Association (BIDCA) who performed a routine taken from their forthcoming Christmas Ice Show, Snow White: A Fairytale Adventure On Ice. It will be performed in full at Pleasure Beach Resort later in December.

The super-talented youngsters from Scream Theatre Schools joined the skaters. They took to the stage with a lively mix of musical theatre and festive medleys, bringing a taste of holiday magic to the opening event.

This year’s Christmas By The Sea village is the biggest to date, with extended opening hours for the free rink, which will be open every day between noon and 9pm until January 5, 2025 (barring Christmas Day).

Last year, the event brought record visitor numbers on to the seafront during the winter months.

In addition to the free-to-use skating rink, this year’s village will see an extended range of themed children’s attractions, exciting new rides including a Snow Dome Waltzer, helter skelter and German Swing Grill, and the return of the thrilling Star Flyer, which at 196ft tall, is one of Europe’s tallest swing rides.

The festive event is complemented by a full Illuminations display along the seafront after VisitBlackpool announced earlier this year that the Illuminations would once again be extended by two months to run from August 30 through to January 5.