11 amazing and unmissable pictures from Blackpool’s dazzling DanceSport Festival

The Winter Gardens Blackpool takes centre stage as the WDSF DanceSport Festival 2026 gets underway, drawing thousands of elite dancers and officials from around the world.

The festival opened today with the WDSF Open Congress, bringing together adjudicators, athletes and representatives from across the global DanceSport community inside the iconic Empress Ballroom and Spanish Hall.

WDSF President Shawn Tay welcomed attendees and underlined the Federation’s commitment to education and excellence, while Vice-President for Sports Nenad Jeftic set the tone with a programme of lectures focused on Standard and Latin disciplines.

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Structured sessions throughout the day aimed to refine judging criteria and promote consistency across international competitions, culminating in the WDSF adjudicators’ GKT and ECT exams.

With the Congress now concluded, anticipation builds as the spotlight shifts to the competition floor, where dancers from across the world will begin vying for honours in a packed programme starting tomorrow.