POLL RESULTS: Terrorists '˜will not win' as resort bosses say the show must go on

Armed police in front of the Tower in May

That was the defiant message from resort bosses, who said the show must go on ahead of two of the busiest weekends of the year.

With no evidence of any credible threat against the resort, visitors have been told to enjoy themselves at this weekend’s Livewire festival featuring Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff, and next week’s Illuminations Switch-On.

A poll of 686 Gazette readers yesterday revealed just half ‘feel safe’ here.

People flee the scene in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 after a white van jumped the sidewalk in the historic Las Ramblas district, crashing into a summer crowd of residents and tourists and injuring several people, police said. (AP Photo/Oriol Duran)

But Coun Tony Williams, leader of the opposition at Blackpool Council, said people ‘should not be frightened’ and cancel their trips, especially after one tabloid said Blackpool is a top terror target.

He said: “That’s what these terrorists want us to do and we won’t do it. They will not win.

“People should not be frightened or intimidated by charts based on no evidence. Blackpool is a safe place to come to.”

Armed police will continue to patrol the town, and the Promenade, in a show of reassurance, while security experts are working behind the scenes.

But while recent attacks at home and on the continent were aimed at tourists, there is ‘nothing to suggest Blackpool is a target’, the police and Blackpool Council’s deputy leader Gillian Campbell said.

Council leader Simon Blackburn said he could ‘reassure the people ... everything that can be done to prevent terrorism is being done.’