Interview with Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen about the Blackpool Illuminations in 2024
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen talks about the upcoming Blackpool Illuminations at a special preview event. He is celebrating 15 years working with the illuminsations in 2024.
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00:00How excited are you for the Blackpool Illuminations this year?
00:04Well I think everyone knows I'm always very excited for the Blackpool Illuminations.
00:07On a scale of 1 to 20 I think I'm now exceeding 30.
00:11It just feels so much that all that we've been building up to over the last 5 or 6 years
00:19is beginning to develop and beginning to bear fruit.
00:22And I think with things like the Curator Project with the Illuminations under the sun
00:27we're now on to our third with the Lee Francis Tableau.
00:30So we've had Chai Kamara, we've had Bruce Alfred and now we've got Lee Francis aka Keith Lemon.
00:37And that is continuing.
00:39We are going to be looking at a series of relationships over the next 10 years
00:44with people using their own experiences, their own interpretations of the Illuminations
00:49as a springboard for creativity.
00:51But I think this is something that people are going to really enjoy
00:53because by seeing how someone else tells that story
00:57is a great way of you then really having the experience heightened a bit.
01:02I think that's very important.
01:03So you're talking about people putting their own emotions and their own experiences
01:08into these artworks and these Illuminations.
01:11What reaction do you hope people will have when they see it for the first time?
01:15One of the things about the Illuminations is that when people see them,
01:19when people are here, they're in a very particular place.
01:22Their head is right, summer's over, winter's around the corner, Strictly's on telly.
01:29It's about cosy, it's about warmth, it's about gathering in the experiences,
01:35it's about quieting things down a bit.
01:38But I think it's also a very romantic time of year.
01:40I think it's a time of year that has a lot of storytelling in its own right.
01:45So I think with the Illuminations, people are here and they're open,
01:49they're wanting to have new experiences.
01:53And this is one of the points that I was making earlier
01:55and I keep making to local businesses,
01:57is that actually supporting the Illuminations, commissioning Illuminations,
02:02you're getting your business message across to people
02:06when they're in a very, very happy place.
02:09Meanwhile, of course, the Illuminations is economically absolutely essential for Blackpool.
02:14Imagine if the Illuminations weren't there,
02:18just in terms of the revenue that it generates.
02:21But the other thing that I think is very important,
02:24I'm always very nervous about, we get offers every now and again
02:27for big, scary buyouts with multinational companies.
02:31Actually, it would be lovely if we never had to do that.
02:33It would be lovely if, in fact, every second, every third Illumination
02:37was directly commissioned by a local Blackpool company
02:41with whom we've worked very closely to create an aesthetic
02:45that they're happy with.
02:47It's a bit like being in the Renaissance.
02:49You could be commissioning an illuminated Michelangelo.
02:53And what a great way to advertise your story.
02:56Yeah, so you talked about how important it is in the economic and the business of Blackpool.
03:01So how amazing is it that it's been extended until January?
03:05I think the Council's decision to extend it until January is enlightened.
03:09Obviously, it sprung out of the lockdown period.
03:14It was inspired by the lockdown period.
03:16But actually, it's now created this opportunity for Blackpool
03:19to do Christmas by the Sea, which is incredibly popular.
03:22Very, very popular.
03:24But also, I think it's almost sort of answered an unanswered question
03:29in people's minds, which is why wasn't it extended beyond Christmas?
03:33Actually, the traditional Illumination period was, in fact, really quite short.
03:38Now, we've demonstrated that this is not some ridiculous drain on the nation's resources.
03:45Now we're using LED. Now we're using digital lighting.
03:49Most Illuminations are using up less energy than an IKEA table lamp.
03:54So there's no reason why we have to turn them off in the way that we used to.
03:59In the old days, yes, the electricity bill was ridiculous.
04:02These days, no.
04:04So why not make sure that we're absolutely capitalizing on the goodwill
04:09that something like the Illuminations creates?
04:12You said you were talking earlier.
04:14Does it make this even more special?
04:16Is this the 15th?
04:18This is the 15th, yeah.
04:20I literally don't feel old enough, but I obviously am.
04:24And actually, what's lovely as well is that this is going to be the first year for Switch On
04:27where I'm going to bring my grandchildren.
04:29My daughters were always terribly excited to come to Switch On,
04:32but they're now bringing their children.
04:34And I think this is something that I've always wanted to really celebrate with the Illuminations,
04:39is the space it occupies in families' hearts, not just in people's hearts.
04:45That actually it was the moment.
04:47And these days, everyone's traveling all over the world, and they're going to very exotic locations.
04:51But actually, for many people, being here in Blackpool for the Illuminations,
04:56with their grandparents, with their parents, with their own children,
04:59that grounds the family.
05:01That's sort of the linchpin of their holiday geography.
05:05And it's the same with the Llewelyn Byrnes.
05:11What was your inspiration behind your...
05:16My disco donkey cavalcade.
05:18Well, as you can probably tell, predominantly gin.
05:21No, I mean, one of the interesting things is that people have changed.
05:26There's a big thirst now for visitors to the Illuminations
05:32for that selfie moment, for a selfie icon.
05:35And we've been very aware of that.
05:37But this is kind of the first time that we've deliberately created something
05:40that we feel people will absolutely want to have in the back of their selfie.
05:44And that's incredibly good for Blackpool.
05:47If we're in the background of that selfie, and that picture's on their fridge or on their piano,
05:51that is very much selling the message, that's getting the message across.
05:54And so it's almost a bit like, where do you start with creating an icon for Blackpool?
05:59And as I said earlier, the Spitfires were so popular, were so powerful last year.
06:05That was a story from Blackpool's past.
06:08That was a celebration of what the town did for the war effort.
06:13Actually, let's talk about what the town's been doing since.
06:16It's been doing boogie-woogie Northern Sol
06:19in a rather ill-fitted orange and brown knitted tank top.
06:24So I wanted to do something that had that, but then also had a bit of glamour to it.
06:28And this is based on a kind of Busby Berkeley, Golden Age of Hollywood, dance routine idea.
06:34But using donkeys, because what's this Blackpool more than a donkey?
06:40What are you hoping to take your grandchildren here for the first time?
06:48My eldest grandson has been here before, but the three granddaughters, no.
06:53And they're very excited.
06:55They're already planning what they're going to wear, and what they're going to do,
06:59and how many ice creams they're going to eat.
07:01What do you hope that they will get out of the experience?
07:05What I like is the fact that what I do gives my family access to so many different experiences
07:11that I think other families don't.
07:14And certainly, there we are, we live a very comfortable existence in the Cotswolds.
07:18None of their friends will be coming to the Blackpool Illuminations.
07:21They'll all be going to Dalesford or the local Soho Farmhouse Hangout BBQ.
07:27But I always said this with my daughters, that they'd be coming to the Switch-On.
07:32All their friends from their swanky private schools would be on Daddy's yacht in the Mediterranean.
07:36Actually, the friends that were on the swanky yacht in the Mediterranean,
07:40after a couple of years were desperate to come to Blackpool, because they knew it's far more fun.
07:44So I love the fact that actually Blackpool, as a draw, as an experience,
07:50is almost impossible to beat.