Tom Grennan announced as top act at this year's Blackpool Illuminations Switch-On show

Tom, whose second studio album Evering Road topped the UK charts last year, will take to the stage at the big Switch-On show in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom on September 2.

The Bedford-born singer had his first big hit with ‘Little Bit of Love’, which peaked at number 7 last year and charted across Europe. He subsequently achieved more top 10 hits with ‘Let's Go Home Together’, a collaboration with Ella Henderson, and ‘By Your Side’ with Calvin Harris, earning two Brit Award nominations in the process.

Tom was nominated in two categories in this year’s Brit Awards and his homecoming concert at Bedford Park earlier this month attracted a sell-out crowd of 15,000 ahead of a series of planned festival appearances this summer.

And just to add to his list of talents, Tom also put in a man-of-the-match performance at last weekend’s star-studded Soccer Aid charity match.

A VisitBlackpool spokesman said: “We are delighted to announce that Tom Grennan will be joining the Switch-On line-up.

“He recorded a song for our first ever virtual Switch-On concert in 2020 when we couldn’t stage a live show because of pandemic restrictions and we are thrilled that he will be coming to Blackpool to perform in the iconic Tower Ballroom with a live audience.”

The annual Blackpool Illuminations Switch-On, one of the biggest events in Blackpool’s calendar, moved indoors during 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19 restrictions.

However, VisitBlackpool said the indoor venue had proved ‘so successful’ that it would remain indoors for a third successive year.

Full details of more of the acts that will perform at this year’s event will be revealed over the coming weeks – along with the identity of the highly-anticipated Switch-On star.

Last year’s Switch-On celebration saw Shirley Ballas, head judge of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, pull the famous switch, watched by a worldwide audience with more than 160,000 views from as far afield as Australia, Canada and the United States.

The ballot for free tickets is now open, with 2,000 tickets to be split equally between Blackpool residents and visitors, with a maximum of four tickets per person.