Major Blackpool event to shine a light on a booming business

The Light and the Creative Economy event at the Winter Gardens on Thursday is set to attract funders, cultural businesses, artists and producers from all over the UK and beyond.

Hosted by the Lightpool Festival and the Light Up the North Network with innovation foundation Nesta, it aims to also be a market place for creative people in the lightshows field.

Phil Holmes, production manager, said: “The Creative industries are worth almost £10m an hour to the UK economy and remain one of the fastest growing sectors.

“The North’s leading light art festivals and the innovation foundation Nesta are coming together in the Winter Gardens to consider how light festivals relate to the creative economy, as drivers for regeneration.

“This is the first event of its kind outside of London, intended for creative and cultural organisations, people working on regeneration or urban planning, or anyone connected to the light industries.”

The free event will look at such themes as investment, partnership building, culture and the role of social investment in the way that funding is handed out nationally.

Organisations helping to spark discussion and debate will include Arts Council England, the Arts Impact Fund, Light Up the North Festival Producers and Directors from two of Europe’s leading Light Festivals.

The event aims to build on the legacy of the Blackpool Illuminations and coincides with the launch of Lightpool.