Blackpool wins bid to host World Beard and Moustache Championships

The town has been successful in a bid to host the World Beard and Moustache Championships event, which is staged in a different country every two years.

It will be held in the appropriately impressive surroundings of the Winter Gardens in August 2027, bringing competitors to Blackpool from all over the globe, with many expected to come from Germany from the United States, leaders in the beard field.

The resort will be next after the 2025 event, organised by the World Beard and Moustache Association (WBMA), is staged in Pittsburgh, USA.

Playing a key part in the successful bid were the Sandgrown Beardsmen, Blackpool's only beard and moustache club.

Club founder Brian Eva, a professional barber in the resort, said: "It's great for Blackpool and I am anticipating a really big turn-out for this one.

"When the Winter Gardens hosted the British Beard Championships in 2018 we really made our mark and we even had lots of Americans coming over.

"It's the first time Blackpool will have hosted the world event so it's a big deal for us. This town is ideal for the event, with all our accommodation, the seafront, the bars and everything we have here."

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Sign up for our free newsletters now Brian, a dad of two from South Shore, doesn't shout about it but his wild whiskers won him first prize in the full natural beard category at the British Beard Championships in Liverpool, back in 2016.

When and why did beards become popular again?

Beards enjoyed a huge renaissance from the late noughties onwards and some have suggested it started with the financial crisis of 2008, with men demonstrating their masculine side with beards as their job opportunities began to suffer.

Whether that is true or not, it soon became clear that the beard was back, with younger influencers such as top footballers and movie stars suddenly sporting full beards and general facial hair.

A host of attractively-packaged beard products flooded the market too, helping to establish the beard as a style choice rather than the previously held notion of "men just letting themselves go."

When the Covid lockdowns occurred, there was yet another growth in the number of men opting for beards, as home working changed the way people presented themselves.

Shaving products even began to decline in the face of men opting for facial hair.

The Sandgrown Beardsmen, which has welcomed 'growers and lovers of fine facial hair' to its ranks since its conception in 2015, has seen more members join since Covid.

As an indication of how far things have come, the world event at Blackpool will include no less than 33 categories, several of them for moustaches alone.

Brian, 44, who runs Bearded Fool Barbering, on Newhouse Road, said: "There are so many ways to grow a beard now, with the products available, the number of barbers who can cater for all kinds of looks.

"There is also a real sense of community. One of the best things about entering these competitions is the chance to meet people and make new friends."

The Sandgrown Beardsmen meet informally once a month at Brian's barber shop and compete at various levels throughout the year.

Recently some of its members competed in an event at Glasgow and all of them were placed near the top.

Brian, who sports a glorious red beard and has not shaved since his son was born on Halloween 2013, added: "I'm not sure why I started growing a beard, to be honest, but ditching the razor was one of the best things I've done. It's opened up so many good things."