At this time of year, the British coastal resort of Blackpool shows its best face by night, when one million LED lamps light up the seafront for more than six miles (10 kilometres). After the Covid pandemic, the tourism-reliant town in northwest England was aiming for brighter times. Then the war in Ukraine and an energy-fuelled inflation crisis hit.
Even though organisations across Britain face soaring electricity bills, the Blackpool Illuminations will stay on this autumn, from early September to January 2. “It is unthinkable not to have our autumn illuminations,” Ivan Taylor, the deputy leader of the town council, told AFP. “In terms of our tourism sector, it is very, very important,” he said.—APP
