The Blackpool Illuminations are set to be extended to the end of the year in a bid to give a much-needed boost to the North West tourism industry.
As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic having a detrimental effect on seaside town’s tourism industry, the 2020 Blackpool Illuminations event will be extended by two months and will run right through until the new year.
Visit Blackpool has also confirmed that the switch-on concert will be replaced for the first time in 70 years.
Instead of welcoming around 20,000 people to watch the switch-on live, the event will be streamed for free in association with MTV this year.
Gillian Campbell, cabinet member for tourism and culture at Blackpool Council, said she was aware of how much the tourism industry was suffering amid the pandemic and hopes this extension will give them “an opportunity to bring in some additional trade”.
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She continued: “The annual Switch-On event is the biggest night in Blackpool’s events calendar.”
“Sadly, it is simply not possible to stage an event of that scale given the current restrictions around social distancing and mass gatherings, however, it would be unthinkable not to launch our Blackpool Illuminations season with an extraordinary event.”
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Wikimedia Commons
“Staging the first ever virtual Switch-On concert to a mass audience watching from home does exactly that.”
“We are planning for a safe, socially distanced Illuminations experience and will be keeping all government health guidance under review as we move towards the autumn season.”
The hour-long switch on concert is to be hosted by Diversity’s Ashley and Jordan Banjo and will include performances from inside the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, as well as some pre-recorded at-home performances.
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The full star-studded line up for the concert will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Ashley Banjo, who has helped choreograph and performed with Diversity at live switch on events over the past four years, said: “Jordan and I are delighted to be hosting Blackpool’s virtual Switch-On. Blackpool is very much our second home and we cannot wait to return to the resort to host what will be an amazing experience that people will be able to watch, wherever they are.”
Blackpool Illuminations will take place this year between 4th September 2020 – 3rd January 2021.
You can keep up to date via the Visit Blackpool website here.
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Drama Call opening first-ever flagship shop in Manchester
Danny Jones
Streetwear superstars Drama Call are opening their new flagship store and first-ever permanent site in Manchester city centre this weekend.
Expect massive queues and lots turning up wearing the increasingly recognisable starry logo.
Already a much-loved brand not just here in 0161 but across the nation at large, the native independent business turned street-style favourites and UK fashion phenomenon are no strangers to HUGE pop-ups in their hometown.
However, they’ve never had a mainstay location anywhere in the country, let alone Greater Manchester – well, until now, that is…
Credit: Press shots (supplied)
Debuting in the Northern Quarter this Sunday, the venue located on Tib Street will effectively serve as Drama Call‘s new HQ.
The local label has done everything from popping up vans with Manc rapper Aitch to collaborating with Man United for multiple limited edition collections, so it only felt like a matter of time before they’d make a big brick-and-mortar splash in our fair city.
Most notably, they’re also taking over the same unit as the Sheep Shop, a former skate shop and legendary urban clothing tastemaker of the 90s; they were one of the first places in Britain to stock famous names like Stüssy, Supreme, Carhartt, The North Face and many more.
With that in mind, it feels only fitting that they carry on the trendsetting tradition from the same premises, and just spitting distance from the likes of Note, as well.
And that’s not all, either: before the full launch, they’ll also be holding an exclusive cash-only shirt swap event, where a limited number of certain collector’s items will be sold for as little as £10.
Other things to note are the additions of signed vinyls by homegrown artists such as the aforementioned Aitch and even The Smiths.
In fact, the store will also feature strictly Mancunian exclusives, too.
Everything from polo shirts and tees to branded mugs, matchboxes and other accessories will be available in-store only.
NQ is bound to be buzzing across launch weekend, with doors officially opening to the public on Sunday, and we wouldn’t be surprised if you see people camping outside the front well ahead of time.
What a moment the Manc shopping scene is having right now.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Pear)
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Andy Burnham explains why Number 10 North is so important as it officially ‘opens for business’
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has explained his key reasons for launching Number 10 North as it officially ‘opens for business’ this week.
You may remember that earlier last month, Andy Burnham revealed he had intentions to create a Number 10 North if he was to become Prime Minister, with the new base expected to be a ‘dominant driver of the UK’s economy’ once it was officially up and running… and now, fast forward to today, Number 10 North is officially ‘open for business’.
Operating from Heron House in Manchester city centre, as previously reported on, Number 10 North will be the Government’s new ‘situation room for growth’.
It also brings the ‘levers’ of local economic growth and devolution together under one roof for the first time ever.
Number 10 North has officially ‘opened for business’ / Credit: gov.uk (via Wikimedia Commons)
With the Prime Minister expected to work from Number 10 North each week, so that decisions about the country’s economic future will no longer exclusively be made in Westminster, and with other ministers also working from there on a regular basis, the Government says the move underlines its determination to ‘do things differently’.
Now that Number 10 North has officially opened, Andy Burnham and his fellow ministers have explained why this move is so important for not just Manchester, but the north as a whole.
“For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve,” explained Andy Burnham.
“Number 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country. It will be the situation room for making Britain better, the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.
“The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good.”
First Secretary Louise Haigh added: “Today marks a fundamental re-balancing of where power sits in our country. Number 10 North has been set up to drive economic growth in every postcode and put power in the hands of every community.
Emily Sergeant -
18th June 2020 
