THE CLIENT
Admission All Classes was created through a partnership between the National Fairground Archive and Blackpool Council Department of Leisure, Culture and Community Learning supported by Blackpool’s Theatre Group (the consortium of private commercial theatrical venues in the resort) and the North West Regional Development Agency
THE PROJECT
This ambitious project took the form of a series of events inspired by research about the history of fairground, music hall, circus and sea-side entertainments. The aim was to revitalise the entertainment and cultural industry quarter in Blackpool.
I took the lead on marketing these events to the general public and was responsible for working with Comms personnel at the other partners to promote both internally and externally. The events proved a huge success with an average of approximately 1000 people attending each one of them and additional heritage tours and talks proving a real success with residents and visitors alike.
The project presented a series of high profile festivals/themed weekends, underpinned by high-class research in the history of popular entertainments, in order to give greater impact and authority to Blackpool’s tourism and heritage strategy for the next five years. This has now become part of Showzam: Blackpool’s annual festival of Circus Magic and New Variety.
The project was linked to the wider revitalisation of Blackpool as a seaside resort by improving the quality of tourism opportunities available and aimed to create the conditions necessary for a sustainable annual event of national and international significance.
FIND OUT MORE
www.sheffield.ac.uk/nfca/projects/aac
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/archives/archive-helps-tourism-in-blackpool.pdf