Illuminating facts

Did you know?

• The Illuminations started with a display of eight arc lamps back in 1879.
• The event was so innovative it even preceded Thomas Edison’s patent of the humble electric light bulb which didn’t arrive until the following year.
• In 1879 the Illuminations were described as artificial sunshine and 100,000 people came to see this first great light show.
• Forty large tableaux holding more than 5,000 square metres in surface area are included in the display.
• The equipment weighs more than 711,000 kilograms which is equivalent to 350 Blackpool trams.
• Illuminations have been sold to Jeddah.
• There are over a million lamps in the display.
• There are more than 500 floodlights and spotlights.
• In 1939 the lights were erected but never switched on because of the outbreak of war.
• In the 1960's electronic controllers were pioneered in the Illuminations. Rope light or "linear light" as it was originally known was also pioneered here.
• It takes 22 weeks to erect the Illuminations.
• It takes nine weeks to dismantle them.
• Most of the display now operates on low voltage eg. 12v and 24v.
• There are more than 100 miles of festoon strip strung between promenade poles and across the carriageway.
• Cable and wiring in the display stretches more than 200 miles.
• The Illuminations cost £2.4 million to stage.
• The equipment itself is worth about £10 million.
• In 2003 the Illuminations cut its electricity consumption by 11% using new technology.
• Wind turbines at the Solarium on New South Promenade contributed to powering the llluminations for the first time in 2004.
• In 2002 the display included a world’s first in exterior LED technology.