List of people who have switched on the Blackpool Illuminations facts for kids
The Blackpool Illuminations is a super cool annual lights festival in Blackpool, England! Imagine over a million light bulbs lighting up the town. This amazing event started way back in 1879. It happens every autumn, usually from August until November, lasting for 66 nights each year.
Since 1934, there's been a special tradition. A famous person gets to "switch on" the lights to start the festival. The very first person to do this in public was Lord Derby. Over the years, many different people have had this honor. Most of them are from the world of entertainment, like singers or actors. But sometimes, sports stars or even political figures have switched on the lights. Some really unique guests have included a Canberra bomber plane in 1969 and the famous racehorse Red Rum in 1977!
Who Switched On the Blackpool Illuminations?
| Year | Switch-On Host |
|---|---|
| 1934 | Lord Derby |
| 1935 | Audrey Mosson (Railway Queen of Great Britain) |
| 1936 | Sir Josiah Stamp |
| 1937 | Prince George, Duke of Kent |
| 1938 | Councillor Mabel A. Quayle (Mayoress of Blackpool; first woman councillor) |
| 1939–1948 | Cancelled due to World War II |
| 1949 | Anna Neagle |
| 1950 | Wilfred Pickles |
| 1951 | Stanley Matthews |
| 1952 | Valerie Hobson |
| 1953 | George Formby |
| 1954 | Gilbert Harding |
| 1955 | Yakov Malik (Soviet Ambassador) |
| 1956 | Reginald Dixon |
| 1957 | John H. Whitney (American Ambassador) |
| 1958 | A. E. "Matty" Matthews |
| 1959 | Jayne Mansfield |
| 1960 | Janet Munro |
| 1961 | Violet Carson |
| 1962 | Shirley Anne Field |
| 1963 | Cliff Michelmore |
| 1964 | Gracie Fields |
| 1965 | David Tomlinson |
| 1966 | Ken Dodd |
| 1967 | Horace King |
| 1968 | Matt Busby |
| 1969 | Canberra Bomber |
| 1970 | Tony Blackburn |
| 1971 | The cast of Dad's Army |
| 1972 | Danny La Rue |
| 1973 | Gordon Banks |
| 1974 | Wendy Craig |
| 1975 | Cast of Doctor Who: Tom Baker (as The Doctor), Elisabeth Sladen and Ian Marter |
| 1976 | Carol Jean Grant (Miss United Kingdom) |
| 1977 | Red Rum |
| 1978 | Terry Wogan |
| 1979 | Kermit the Frog and The Muppets |
| 1980 | Cannon and Ball |
| 1981 | Earl & Countess Spencer |
| 1982 | Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward |
| 1983 | Cast of Coronation Street, switched on by Doris Speed |
| 1984 | Johannes Rau (Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia) and David Waddington,(Minister of State, the Home Office) |
| 1985 | Joanna Lumley, BBC Children in Need, and Audrey Mosson (50 year anniversary) |
| 1986 | Les Dawson |
| 1987 | Frank Bough, Anne Gregg and Kathy Tayler, all from the BBC's Holiday programme |
| 1988 | Andrew Lloyd Webber and Sarah Brightman |
| 1989 | Frank Bruno |
| 1990 | Julie Goodyear and Roy Barraclough |
| 1991 | Derek Jameson and Judith Chalmers |
| 1992 | Lisa Stansfield |
| 1993 | Status Quo |
| 1994 | Shirley Bassey |
| 1995 | Bee Gees |
| 1996 | Eternal |
| 1997 | Michael Ball |
| 1998 | Chris de Burgh |
| 1999 | Gary Barlow |
| 2000 | Westlife |
| 2001 | Steps |
| 2002 | Ronan Keating |
| 2003 | Blue |
| 2004 | Geri Halliwell |
| 2005 | Chris Evans |
| 2006 | Dale Winton |
| 2007 | David Tennant |
| 2008 | The Stig with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from BBC Top Gear |
| 2009 | Alan Carr |
| 2010 | Robbie Williams |
| 2011 | Keith Lemon |
| 2012 | 6 of Team GB's London 2012 medalists. (Beth Tweddle, Greg Rutherford, Karina Bryant, Luke Campbell, Max Whitlock and Sophie Hosking) |
| 2013 | Jonathan Ross |
| 2014 | Peter Kay |
| 2015 | Tim Burton |
| 2016 | Barbara Windsor |
| 2017 | Star Trek: Discovery (Jason Isaacs) and Diversity |
| 2018 | Alfie Boe |
| 2019 | Lucy Fallon |
| 2020 | A group of Britain's Coronavirus NHS Heroes |
| 2021 | Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas |
| 2022 | Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (replacement for Johnny Vegas) |
| 2023 | Sophie Ellis-Bextor |
