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A brand new recycling plan will soon be operationaBlackpool illuminations
"Intro"
We go once a year - the children love it. We usually park at Starr Gate car park and walk through the lights as far as the piers. You get a great view of Blackpool from the Big Wheel on Central Pier. Next comes fish & chips, and if we are lucky enough to catch the tram we get a lift back to the car park. If we're not, it's another long walk. Try a Friday evening in October - it's not too busy or too cold.
20 things you never wanted to know about the lights, but I am going to tell you anyway!
1.The Illuminations cost £2.4 million to stage.
2.The mountain of equipment is worth £10 million.
3.The Lights are expected to attract in excess of 3.5 million visitors to Blackpool.
4.The army of visitors will spend more than £275 million while visiting the resort during the Lights.
5.The Illuminations will shine non-stop for 66 nights.
6.The dazzling display stretches almost six miles from Starr Gate to Bispham.
7.Forty-five staff, which include Artists, Electricians, Joiners Mechanics, Painters and Engineers, work all year round to ensure the displays are ready on time.
8.Altogether 65,000 staff hours are used on maintenance, preparation, erection, operation and - finally - dismantling the features, fixtures and fittings.
9.The Rigby Road workshop, resembles something of a Santa's Grotto with its network of workshops, halls, corridors and storage area.
10.There are more than 100-miles of festoon strip strung between promenade poles and across the carriageway.
11.Cable and wiring stretches more than 200 miles.
12.There are an amazing one million lamps in various types and styles.
13.The equipment weighs more than 711,000 kilograms which is equivalent to 350 Blackpool trams.
14.There are more than 500 scenic designs and features.
15.Forty large tableaux holding more than 5,000 square metres in surface area are included in the display.
16.There are more than 5,000 floodlights and spotlights.
17.Most of the display now operates on low voltage eg 12v and 24v.
18.New infrastructure for the lights, street lighting and tramways cost £9 million.
19.The lights are supported by more than 1,500 poles.
20.Electricity consumed totals 960,000 units, at an approximate cost of £50,000. Anyone got a 10p for the meter!
