The numbers give an indication of the size of the event. It was first held 98 years ago. The 14-day event adds £6m to the local economy. It attracts almost 20,000 spectators, with 500,000 more watching online. More than 2000 dancers from 60-plus countries will perform over 3000 dances.
The Winter Gardens hosts eight dance festivals a year – including the European Championships and the British Nationals – but the original, and the biggest, is the simply-titled Blackpool Dance Festival.
And as impressive as the statistics are, to really appreciate the scale of the event, you need to be there.
For two weeks the atmosphere crackles with excitement from morning until late at night. Every room in the 4.9 acre venue is used for meetings, exhibitions and rehearsal and there is a thrilling bustle as dress makers, shoe makers, make-up artists and hair and beauty experts showcase their skills to competitors.
The competition itself – in the spectacular Empress Ballroom – has been a favourite with generations of dancers from across the globe.
‘It’s the highlight of a dancer’s year – everyone loves it because it is such a beautiful, colourful event,’ says Michael Williams, the managing director of the Winter Gardens who oversees the event.
Originally from Wigan, his first role at the Winter Gardens was as a casual member of the bar staff during his time as a student at Blackpool and the Fylde College.
After his studies he worked with the Liverpool Philharmonic and at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and then joined Crown Leisure – owned by billionaire businessman Trevor Hemmings – which operated the Winter Gardens and the Tower.
Both buildings were bought by Blackpool Council in 2010 and Michael adds: ‘When I started here, the festival was six days long. Now, it’s 14 days. There are workshops and pro-am events, conferences, exhibitions, dinners, a retail emporium, meetings of the World Dance Council, and then the competition proper.
‘The Blackpool Roar is unique to the Empress Ballroom and it really is one of those things that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
‘They are two weeks that bring people together. And the event brings a huge amount to the town and to the county.’
Blackpool is synonymous with ballroom dancing and while the Tower Ballroom hosts social dancing throughout the year – and annual visits from the Strictly team – the Empress Ballroom is where the world’s best compete.
‘In the run-up to the festival we make sure the ballroom is looking its best – there's some frantic painting and tidying up going on,’ Michael adds. ‘We even install a full-size dance floor upstairs in the new conference centre as a rehearsal space.
‘Once the festival starts, dancers are here practicing in the morning and the competitions go on until gone midnight and I’m here pretty much all day every day. It is exhausting, but I love my job and I have met so many different people and fantastic businesses.
‘We work with the World and the British Dance Councils and we attend other events around the UK and around the world to promote Blackpool.
‘Pre-Covid we launched the Blackpool Dance Festival China but after the first of 12 scheduled events the pandemic forced us to stop. We have now re-started those conversations.
‘There are 50m registered ballroom dancers in China and about 27 per cent of the dancers at the festival come from Asia, so that is a huge market for us.
‘Home-grown dancers love competing against the world’s best in Blackpool. People come back year after year after year.
‘There are highlights throughout the festival, but one of the best moments for me is making the last presentation on the closing evening. I’m the happiest man in Blackpool when it’s all gone well and everyone has had a great time.’
* The 98th Blackpool Dance Festival runs from May 18-31. blackpooldancefestival.com
