Thousands of people lined the Promenade to watch a colourful parade as part of the two-day Baylight festival of illuminations in Morecambe.
The 1.5km light art trail was open for the public to see on Friday and Saturday, with the community parade pulling the crowds on Saturday evening.
The parade included local bands Samba Espirito, Batala and Baybeat, and the centrepiece of a giant whale.
The whale was made by artist Donna Campbell and sponsored by Morecambe Business Improvement District (BID).
Baylight '25 is organised by Morecambe Sparkle CIC with the idea of reinventing the old-time Morecambe Illuminations for the 21st century.
This year's trail included a lit-up galleon paying homage to the Moby Dick ship from TV and films, which was moored in Morecambe and was a tourist attraction until it was destroyed by fire in 1970.
Here is the Moby Dick installation, with our very own Beyond Bear!
There were also many other illuminated artworks running from close to the Stone Jetty to opposite Buzz Bingo - some interactive, some musical - and town landmarks were also lit up for the occasion.
“I would like to congratulate the Baylight team for another fantastic event again this year," said David Waddington, chairman of Morecambe BID.
"There’s no doubt it is a fantastic advertisement for Morecambe and continues to draw incredible crowds. The parade in particular was a tremendous spectacle of light and sound, with the incredible backdrop of a Morecambe sunset. What more could we have asked for?”
WATCH our video of Saturday's parade. (Apologies over the lack of sound).
Morecambe BID said that the town’s independent venues and local businesses enjoyed significant trade boosts across both evenings.
Mr Waddington, who also runs local cafe Miogelato and restaurant MiaItalia, said: “It was great to see our town full of people having a wonderful time, and all of our venues enjoying a significant swell in trade.
“Events like Baylight help significantly to attract visitors for overnight stays rather than just day trips. Spread across two nights, Baylight ’25 gave local businesses an early-season boost and encouraged more people to discover Morecambe as a destination for short breaks.”
He also thanked the Morecambe Sparkle organising team, the volunteers and helpers who worked tirelessly to put the event on, and its chair, Sian Johnson.
“There is a huge amount of work in organising this event, so I would like to express our thanks to the Morecambe Sparkle team and all their helpers and volunteers. Sian works tirelessly as the nucleus and driving force of the event—thank you, Sian!
“Well done, team Baylight! We look forward to next year and to supporting another transformational event for our town.”
Beyond Radio hosted a live three-hour radio show from Miogelato at Baylight '25 on Saturday, which you can hear on LISTEN AGAIN at beyond.radio or via our app.
Saturday's parade received huge praise from the public, but the light art trail itself had mixed reviews on Beyond Radio social media.
Jill said: "It is lovely to see Morecambe so busy and the pretty lights."
David said: "A brilliant parade and night, another great success for Morecambe with thousands watching."
Sarah said: "It was fantastic! The atmosphere was amazing."
Georgina said: "So I have the same thoughts as others, what was there was absolutely amazing and there was a lovely atmosphere on Friday night with everyone enjoying themselves. But compared to the first year there wasn't as much interactive things to do and definitely less installations which was a shame."
Val said: "It was brilliant the weather was good tonight the people supported the local community. Great all round effort."
Glen said: "There seemed to be more installations than last year, which was just packed with food and gift stalls. First year was easily the best but, with the parade, I thought this year’s was good. And great to see the place so busy on a February weekend."
But Mark, who attended on the Friday evening, said: "There was more light from the street traders then then event. Bit disappointing really."
And Jamie, who also went on the quieter Friday, said: "Unfortunately each year is getting less and less appealing. First year was very good. Last year was lacking and this year is poor.
"Better than nothing, but at this rate it will be stopped within a few years or less. Probably less than half the amount of displays of previous years and less interactive with poor atmosphere."
The Baylight festival began in 2023, when it originally benefited from a large injection of funding from Lancashire County Council, contributing £425,000 over two years. Additional local funding came from Morecambe Town Council and Morecambe BID.
For Baylight '25, the county council agreed to provide £30,000 in direct funding, Lancaster City Council agreed to provide £15,000 in direct funding as well as ‘in-kind’ support equal to £15,000, to cover costs associated with public safety such as road closure and barriers, and Morecambe Town Council agreed to provide £75,000 in direct funding over the next three years. Morecambe BID is continuing to support Baylight with a grant of £10,000 this year.
Here are more photos from this year's Baylight festival. There are others available at Beyond Radio social media.
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