Episode 1 of 1
First Switching On
- When
- 18 September 1879
- Where
- Promenade
The Blackpool Illuminations were first shown in 1879, featuring eight carbon arc lamps that bathed the Promenade.
The inaugural event took place on 18 September 1879. The display was described as 'Artificial sunshine' and consisted of just eight carbon arc lamps. This occurred twelve months before Thomas Edison patented the electric light bulb.
Sources
- Blackpool Illuminations Wikipedia, revision of 2026-03-23
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.