Light Art Trail

Every year, Lightpool Festival offers a fantastic free Art Trail suitable for all ages. This self-guided tour over 12 nights, from 18 - 29 October, will see outdoor spaces and iconic buildings transformed by spectacular light works.

Showcasing a spectacular array of international works from France and Netherlands and exclusively premiering new artworks never seen before in the UK, this year’s event promises to be the most visually spectacular light festival ever!

The festival programme will be complemented by the world-famous Blackpool Illuminations, the Lightpool 3D projection shows, which will be projected each night onto The Blackpool Tower building, and by our seafront festival village adjacent to the Comedy Carpet. Remember to also check out Lightpool’s spectacular live performances and find out ways you can get involved.

For the very first time, Lightpool’s Art Trail is now split into five zones. So, go on, follow our enchanting journey and see what you discover!

The festival programme officially gets underway on October 14 with the extensive Art Trail and new projection shows commencing on October 18. Some of the Art Trail features run for a limited time only. Please check the individual installation dates to avoid disappointment. 

Zone One 

Location: Tower Festival Headland

Take your place on the Tower Festival Headland to immerse yourself in a series of gripping Tower Projections and, at select intervals, The Blackpool Tower will be brought to life with a sound and light spectacular.

Grab a bite to eat or a hot drink from the wooden chalets on the Headland and experience Odyssey, the largest 3D installation ever seen in the Blackpool Illuminations display.

  
Zone Two

Location: Victoria Street and Blackpool Grand Theatre

After experiencing the buzz on the Tower Festival Headland, stroll over to Zone Two on Victoria Street.

View Aqualux, a creative lighting installation composed of 48 unfilled water containers, and watch it come to life; see over one thousand butterflies which have fluttered over to Blackpool Grand Theatre; and get dancing to the energetic community project, The Blackpool Way.

       

Zone Three

Winter Gardens

Winter Gardens Conference Exhibition Centre

The newly-opened Conference & Exhibition Centre within the Winter Gardens hosts a number of large-scale light installations for this year's Lightpool Festival, including Flux and CRYSTALLIZED, two impressive installations premiering in the UK for the first time.

Please access the Winter Gardens Conference & Exhibition Centre via the Leopold Grove entrance.

  
   

Location: Winter Gardens (Olympia and Derham Loungel)

The journey at the Winter Gardens doesn't stop at the Winter Gardens Conference & Exhibition Centre.

Head over to the Olympia to see a selection of old Illuminations favourites from years gone by, including the dazzling Tiffany Umbrellas and the otherworldly Spacemen; speak to NORMAN, an old-school ‘smart’ screen but with attitude; and watch the inspiring community project, We Are Blackpool.

     

Zone Four

St John's Square | Birley Street

Step back outside and engross yourself in The Nature Takeover, a journey into the interconnected rhythms of the natural world as it consumes St John's Church. Cleverly interact with the projection and control insects crawling on the building with your mobile device.

Round the corner, discover six metal arches which dominate Birley Street with a light and sound show spectacular. 

   

Zone Five

Location: Bickerstaffe/Grundy Art Gallery

Last but certainly not least, marvel at Big Bird, the 3.5 metre high pigeon sculpture constructed from parts of London Black Cabs (Hackney Carriage) and tastefully illuminated by the Blackpool Illuminations team. 

During the daytime on selected days,  Grundy joins with the Blackpool Illuminations and the town’s Lightpool Festival to celebrate Blackpool’s season of light. From Mark Leckey, a Turner Prize winning artist, to the prize’s namesake, JMW Turner,  the programme explores how artists use illuminated and natural light in their work.

 
 

Not only can you enjoy the ambiance and atmosphere of the town’s Art Trail but Lightpool Festival also involves a selection of stunning live performances, the world-famous Blackpool Illuminations, and fantastic 3D projection shows, all of which is free to enjoy.