Borough of Blackpool
Geography
Status:	Unitary, Borough
Region:	North West England
Ceremonial County:	Lancashire
Area: - Total	Ranked 330th 34.92 km²
Admin. HQ:	Blackpool
ONS code:	00EY
Demographics
Population: - Total (2002 est.) - Density	Ranked 115th 141,920 4,064 / km²
Ethnicity:	98.4% White
Politics
Blackpool Borough Council http://www.blackpool.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Labour
MPs:	Joan Humble, Gordon Marsden

Blackpool is a seaside town in England, on the coast of the Irish Sea. It is traditionally part of Lancashire but on April 1, 1998 was made into an independent unitary authority.

The town boundaries are drawn very tightly, and exclude the nearby settlements of Fleetwood, Cleveleys, Thornton, Poulton-le-Fylde and Lytham St Anne's. If the Regional Assembly referendum in 2004 adopts a 'yes' vote, then Blackpool Council will either expand to cover Fleetwood and Cleveleys, or will amalgamate with the Wyre and Fylde districts.

Blackpool has three piers, the North (built in 1863), Central (1868) and South (1893). Blackpool Tower, built in May 1894, is a 518-foot-tall copy of the Eiffel Tower. It was painted gold for its centenary.

The town also has a tramway, which for a long time was Britain's only one left. Other cities have been rebuilding their networks since late 20th century.

Blackpool had two railway stations with a total of over 30 platforms, mainly used by excursion traffic in the summer. Blackpool Central, close to the Blackpool Tower, was closed in 1964, whilst Blackpool North was largely demolished and rebuilt as a smaller facility.

Blackpool is notable as the home of sports car manufacturer TVR and the original site of Jaguar Cars. There is a football team, Blackpool F.C. It is also home to the amusement park Blackpool Pleasure Beach. ERNIE, which picks the Premium Bond numbers, is based here.

In its heyday, say 1900-1960, Blackpool heaved as the factory workers of northern England took their annual holidays there en masse. Look at any photo from this era and you will be unable to find space on the beach or "The Golden Mile" as its promenade is known. The town went into decline when cheap travel arrived in the 1960s and the same workers decamped to the Mediterranean coast resorts. They will probably not return as it is more reliably sunny there, and that tends to be what holidays are about. So now Blackpool is struggling to find a role although the local council want it to become the Las Vegas of Britain by attracting investment into casinos.

At present the town is becoming notorious for its hen and stag night-life as soon-to-be-weds of both sexes, along with packs of their friends often dressed alike in absurd or risque attire, roam the town's myriad bars and clubs getting increasingly drunk. This is said to be putting off the "family visitors".

The resort is featured in the 1934 film Sing as We Go, starring Gracie Fields, as well as other cinema and TV productions.

Blackpool remains a major summer entertainment venue, specialising in variety shows featuring entertainers such as Ken Dodd. Outside the main holiday season, Blackpool's Winter Gardens routinely hosts major political conferences, ranging from that of The Labour Party (UK) with tens of thousands of delegates and visitors, to substantially smaller gatherings such as the TUC or NUS conferences.

External links

• Official tourism (http://www.visitblackpool.com)

Districts of England - North West England
Allerdale | Barrow-in-Furness | Blackburn with Darwen | Blackpool | Bolton | Burnley | Bury | Carlisle | Chester | Chorley | Congleton | Copeland | Crewe and Nantwich | Eden | Ellesmere Port and Neston | Fylde | Halton | Hyndburn | Knowsley | Lancaster | Liverpool | Macclesfield | Manchester | Oldham | Pendle | Preston | Ribble Valley | Rochdale | Rossendale | St Helens | Salford | Sefton | South Lakeland | South Ribble | Stockport | Tameside | Trafford | Vale Royal | Warrington | West Lancashire | Wigan | Wirral | Wyre
Administrative counties with multiple districts: Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside