Light Odyssey Launches Half-Term Lightpool Festival

Blackpool’s award-winning Lightpool Festival is back for October half-term, with a spectacular launch event featuring the BBC Philharmonic, widely recognised as one of the best orchestras in Europe.

The festival will see the return of the illuminated tram parade, as well as a mix of live performance, light art installations and immersive projection mapping.
 
On Thursday 18 October, Light Odyssey, will bring the iconic Empress Ballroom in the Winter Gardens to life with 2D and 3D light animation, pushing the boundaries of light, space and sound.  Partnering with QED Productions, 16 top-of-the-range projectors will transform the ballroom’s interior into a giant canvas with international teams of animators responding to the architecture’s unparalleled grandeur.
 
The 90-minute performance will include around 90 musicians, with live performances of Copland, Britten and Saint-Saëns, and classical favourites such as Barber’s Adagio for Strings, conducted by acclaimed Norwegian conductor Elvind Aadland.
 
Artists have been selected to work across seven chapters of the performance, and a 3D model of the venue has been created to enable tailor-made projection visuals to interpret the music and the architecture in a new way.  And in partnership with the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the next generation of animators complete the journey, as students of Video for Live Performance end the show.
 
Tickets are priced from £20 and are available from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/light-odyssey.  VIP options are also available, please call 01253 629600 to book and for more information. As the visuals will be projected on the front, sides and ceiling of the auditorium, each audience member will have a different experience of the indoor spectacular depending on where they are seated in the ballroom.
Over the following week from 25-27 October, there will be a light-based art trail along the promenade and through the town centre, with live fire and light-related performances, including RUSH on 26 October, an epic dance and light performance by Southpaw Dance and produced by LeftCoast.
 
The Lightpool Festival has been made possible with £85,000 of public funding through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants; other key partners include VisitBlackpool, LeftCoast and the BBC Philharmonic. 
 
Cllr Gillian Campbell, Deputy Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “I am thrilled that the Lightpool Festival is teaming up with BBC Philharmonic for this innovative and cinematic event in the grandeur of the ballroom.
 
“The indoor spectacular will bring the ballroom to life in a way that hasn’t been experienced before with 3D artist projections and the magnificent BBC Philharmonic.
 
“Light Odyssey promises to be a unique addition to a stunning programme of live entertainment during October half-term.”
 
Simon Webb, BBC Philharmonic General Manager said: “The work that the BBC Philharmonic does across the North or England is essential in taking great orchestral performance throughout the region.

“By performing Light Odyssey in Blackpool, we are able to reach new audiences, reimagining the orchestral experience with a new and spectacular concert format fusing great orchestral music with contemporary light displays, whilst also broadcasting from Blackpool to the nation.”
 
The festival programme will be complemented by the Lightpool 3D projection shows, which will be projected each night on to the Blackpool Tower buildings throughout the Illuminations season, starting on 7 September to November 4.
 
For regular updates and more information, go to www.visitblackpool.com/lightpoolfestival