Blackpool Tower Ballroom chandeliers are coming down - and they all have to be dusted and checked by hand to keep them sparkling
Annual spring-cleaning has started to get the Blackpool Tower Ballroom chandeliers sparkling again – and they all have to be dusted and checked by hand.
Fourteen giant chandeliers will be carefully lowered for the clean, which has taken place every year in the Ballroom's 124 year history.
The two main chandeliers each weigh one tonne and take the strength of four men to lower. The other twelve weigh 500kg each.
The chandeliers, which date back to the Edwardian period, will be lowered by hand and then individually cleaned, polished and dusted.
And each one has more than eighty lightbulbs, meaning 1,120 lights have to be individually cleaned and inspected by hand to ensure they are in full working order.
The lights are then returned to their positions so they can continue to sparkle over the ballroom for another 12 months.
The ballroom traditionally closes every year for one month to allow the chandeliers to be cleaned – but this year the work is being carried out in the week to enable the loyal dancers to continue to dance at the weekends.
Aaron Edgar, Head of Operations at Blackpool Tower said: "The crystal on the chandeliers is hand cut from Italy.
"So there's a huge amount of pressure on the people in there. There's four people hand winching these down.
"It's very nerve racking but the people up here have done it many many times."
The process of cleaning each chandelier can take up to one week to complete – and two weeks for each of the large ones.
General manager Kenny Mew said: "The Blackpool Tower Ballroom is home to thousands of dancers, spectators, afternoon tea-goers and tourists every year so in order to maintain it we need to take a couple of weeks out at the start of January to ensure it is looking its best.
"Our ballroom is unlike anything found in the country and to reach such a special milestone is testament to the incredible work the team do each year in maintaining it.
"From the stunning gold leaf decorations to the legendary Wurlitzer and spring dance floor, it really is a national treasure.”
Located in the Grade 1-Listed Blackpool Tower, the ballroom had a £1.1m refurbishment to restore the famous venue to its original glory in 2021.