Business Partnerships Report – November 24, 2017 Section 1: Visitor Economy PLEASURE BEACH HOTEL PLAN Blackpool Pleasure Beach is planning to build a new hotel on the site of The Star pub on Ocean Boulevard. The new hotel, which will complement the existing Big Blue Hotel, will have 120 rooms, including 10 suites and family rooms, and provide business facilities with meeting, conferencing and banqueting space for up to 200 delegates. It will also boast a stunningly designed bar and restaurant along with a roof-top bar with food service and views over the sea. The new hotel is planned to open in 2019 and the £12m investment will see the creation of 30 new permanent jobs and 40 seasonal vacancies. An application has been submitted to Blackpool Council to demolish The Star, which is a locally listed building. Blackpool has lined up one of its most extensive programmes of Christmas shows and attractions for 2017. Among the highlights are: Cinderella pantomime at The Grand Theatre (runs from December 5 to January 7) Mooky Dolittle at The Blackpool Tower Circus (November 25 to January 21) Peter Pan, a musical adventure at the Winter Gardens (December 16 to January 7) The return of The Snowman, a magical film and music production in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom (two shows, December 17) Wizard Of Oz On Ice (selected dates December 10-27) and the Nicktoons Grotto at Blackpool Pleasure Beach (selected dates, November 4 to December 24) Unique activities in resort attractions, including Christmas On The Cobbles, a Coronation Street themed celebration in Madame Tussauds and a chance to get up close and personal with real-life reindeer at Blackpool Zoo Guest appearances by Santa on a seafront illuminated tram (selected dates in December) A host of party nights at numerous bars, restaurants and entertainment venues Further information on Blackpool’s Christmas programme can be found at www.visitblackpool.com/christmas BATHING WATER RESULTS Blackpool has maintained its high standards in the 2017 bathing water results. Blackpool South retained its “excellent” rating for a third year running, meaning it is on course to retain its prestigious Blue Flag. Blackpool North, Blackpool Central, Bispham, Cleveleys, Fleetwood, St Annes and St Annes North were all rated “good”. MUSEUM FOR BLACKPOOL A potential new location for the proposed Blackpool Museum has been identified within the new Sands Venue hotel development on the Promenade. A scaled-back scheme, costing in the region of £10m, is being worked up to replace the original £25m scheme planned for the Winter Gardens. The scheme is dependent on bids for funding being successful. PETER’S GOLDEN GESTURE Fifty pairs of golden tickets to see Pater Kay in Blackpool next year raised an astonishing £633,225 for Children In Need. The comedian, who is performing at the Winter Gardens’ Pavilion Theatre on July 7 next year, gave 100 tickets for an auction on Radio 2’s Breakfast Show with Chris Evans. During the radio broadcast, Peter added a number of additional elements into the package including hotel accommodation; a fish and chip supper; a tram ride and Pleasure Beach passes. One individual bid more than £40,000 to secure two of the tickets. CIRCUS 250 Blackpool is among six towns and cities to be chosen to help celebrate 250 years of circus in the UK next year. The Circus 250 programme will be launched in the New Year, giving each of the destinations an opportunity to showcase circus-themed activities in their particular area during 2018. The other designated areas are London, Great Yarmouth, Bristol, Belfast and Newcastle-under-Lyme, the birthplace of entrepreneur and showman Philip Astley. He created the first circus on an abandoned patch of land in London’s Waterloo area in 1768 with a line-up of jugglers, acrobats, clowns, strong men and horse riders. The Blackpool activities will be announced in the early part of next year. LANCASHIRE TOURISM AWARDS Blackpool dominated the Lancashire Tourism Awards for 2017, winning six categories including Large Tourism Event and Large Visitor Attraction. The prize for the best Large Tourism Event was awarded to the Festival @ LightPool, a six- day programme of spectacular live entertainment and international light-based art installations staged in Blackpool over the October half-term in 2016. The prize for best Large Visitor Attraction was awarded to Viva Blackpool, the Central Promenade entertainment venue that has shown dramatic growth since it opened, adding a new Vegas Diner restaurant to its portfolio earlier this year. The Winter Gardens won two of the categories – the Culture & Heritage Award and the Business Tourism Provider Award. The Ascent Trampoline Park was named as Best New Business and Newton Hall Holiday Park won the best Self-Catering Holiday category. Fylde Coast winners included: The Villa at Wrea Green (Small Hotel); The Cartford Inn, Little Eccleston (Lancashire Pub/Inn); and Dewlay Cheesemakers, Garstang (Lancashire Producers & Makers Award). The awards, organised by Marketing Lancashire, were presented at The Blackpool Tower Ballroom in front of an audience of around 500 guests. The University of Central Lancashire was the headline sponsor and VisitBlackpool the host sponsor. JOJO ROCKS SLIMEFEST A galaxy of stars – including the teen phenomenon JoJo Siwa - experienced music, mayhem and slime as Blackpool once again hosted the Nickelodeon SLIMEFEST shows. The six shows, spread over three days at the Pleasure Beach Arena, featured performances from top acts including Professor Green, Pixie Lott, The Vamps, Diversity, Matt Terry and Five After Midnight. JoJo, famed for her appearance in Dance Moms USA and her trademark large hair bows, was making her debut performances in the UK. SLIMEFEST, produced by Nickelodeon in partnership with VisitBlackpool, attracted more than 12,000 spectators from all over the UK to the six sell-out shows The three-day event also attracted a whole host of celebrities including Stacey Solomon, Danielle Lloyd, Chelsee Healey, Brooke Vincent, Ayden Callaghan, John Thomson and Blackpool’s very own child superstar, Issy Simpson. The show was broadcast on Nickelodeon on November 3, attracting record viewing figures. Discussions are already underway to bring back SLIMEFEST in 2018. LEAD ROLE FOR AMANDA Amanda Thompson, Managing Director of Blackpool Pleasure Beach, is to become only the third woman to chair the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) in its 100-year history. Amanda will take over the chairmanship in 2020. It will be the first time a second member of the same family has chaired the association – Amanda’s father, Geoffrey, led IAAPA in 1996. THREE PIERS ON WATCH The World Monuments Fund has announced that all three of Blackpool’s piers are to be included on the 2018 World Monuments Watch. The World Monuments Watch serves as a catalyst for action for hundreds of sites, leading to improved safeguarding of places of cultural heritage, more suitable tourism management, and increased community engagement. The historic Blackpool piers are included on the 2018 Watch due to threats from the effects of climate change. Blackpool is unique in being the only UK seaside resort with three piers and the Grade II listed North Pier is particularly significant as it is now the oldest remaining example of a pier designed by Eugenius Birch using his revolutionary screw pile system. They also incorporate important and innovative design and engineering elements that make them a unique collection of seaside structures. Blackpool Council is working on an action plan setting out how it will work with the World Monuments Fund and other local and national partners to create a programme of events and activities that both highlight the serious challenges and bring people back to the piers to celebrate their place in Blackpool’s seaside story. RESORT PASS OFFER The Blackpool Resort Pass is to remain on sale during the winter months with the price held at 2017 prices. The passes, which will be valid from Easter 2018 onwards, can be purchased at this year’s price of £55 for a Resort Pass and £80 for a Resort Pass Plus anytime up to midnight on January 28, 2018, pre-empting any price increase. The 2018 version of the pass will give visitors the opportunity to try out the brand new Icon rollercoaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, a new super-heroes attraction at Madame Tussauds and the new elephant facility at Blackpool Zoo. 2018 DESTINATION GUIDE Blackpool’s new Destination Guide for 2018 will be published at the end of November. The guide, which features a cover photograph of the newly- illuminated Big Wheel on Central Pier, focuses heavily on the new attractions planned for 2018: The Icon rollercoaster, the superheroes attraction at Madame Tussauds and the new elephant facility at Blackpool Zoo – along with planned new hotels and shows. STRICTLY BLACKPOOL Blackpool benefited from several hours of prime-time television coverage as Strictly Come Dancing returned to the Tower Ballroom for another spectacular weekend of entertainment. The two Blackpool shows invariably attract some of the biggest audiences of the series. In addition, to the coverage in the ballroom there was extensive coverage on BBC before and after the show. Among the celebrity contestants in this year’s show is actress Gemma Atkinson (right), who has been coming to Blackpool for her summer holidays since she was a child. FESTIVAL@LIGHTPOOL The 2017 Festival@LightPool was staged over three nights during the October half-term, bringing large crowds to the Promenade and St John’s Square. The festival featured three nights of live entertainment and the world’s first Illuminated tram parade, showcasing Blackpool’s unique fleet of illuminated heritage trams. The parade was so successful that a similar event is already being planned for next October as part of another festival programme.