Blackpool to get its first museum after winning £4m National Lottery Heritage Fund grant

Show Town: The Museum of Fun and Entertainment will celebrate Blackpool as the UK’s most popular seaside destination and its role in the development of British popular culture. Located in the Sands Building on the Promenade, the museum will highlight Blackpool’s links with dance, comedy, live variety, illumination, circus and sideshows.

It will be an immersive, family-friendly experience, offering a look at memorabilia, film, music, and live performance.

Due to open in 2021, the £13 million attraction will be free to all Blackpool residents and is expected to attract 296,000 visits annually, deliver 39 full-time jobs and provide £13.16 million of regional economic benefit.

David Renwick, Director of England, North, National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players these grants will see a dazzling new museum of UK entertainment for Blackpool – it’s first-ever; an iconic 1930s cinema building reimagined as a world-class entertainment venue – putting Bradford firmly on the map; and Stockton-on-Tees complete its ‘regeneration jigsaw’.

Items on display, among approximately 100,000 in the town’s collection, include those belonging to some of the biggest names in British entertainment, such as Stan Laurel’s hat and Morecambe and Wise suits.