Blackpool Tower’s world-famous ballroom is being prepared to reopen to the public with a £1.1 million refurbishment.
Dancers hope to be allowed back into the venue on June 21, but in the meantime the ballroom has undergone its most extensive programme of work and deep-cleaning for more than 60 years.
A team of highly skilled craftsmen, who worked on projects including the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace, have dedicated more than 21,000 hours over a period of six months, each climbing an average of 85 flights of scaffolding every day, to restore the ballroom to its original glory.
During work to angel figures on the ceiling of the ballroom, which first opened in 1894, workers discovered newspapers dating back to 1911, old cigarette packs and even a walking stick, believed to date back to the 1950s.