BBC Strictly Come Dancing: How Blackpool became the capital of ballroom dancing

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Blackpool Week is the highpoint of Strictly Come Dancing. Regarded as the 'spiritual home' of ballroom dancing in Britain, Blackpool's Tower Ballroom has been a fixture in the seaside town for nearly 120 years.

Apart from 2020 when Covid-19 pandemic struck, Strictly has held its annual Blackpool special in November for the past decade.

Before contestants can even think about lifting the Glitterball trophy, their sole aim is to at least survive the course and make it to Blackpool Week without being eliminated from the competition.

So why is it so special that the contestants get to dance at Blackpool's Tower Ballroom? Well, it's all to do with the long and prestigious history of dance in the venue, as our sister title Lancs Live first reported. READ MORE: BBC Strictly Come Dancing star becomes 'underdog' ahead of Blackpool special as they have 'advantage' READ MORE: Read more top Strictly stories from the Manchester Evening News The ballroom first opened in 1894, but as a smaller pavilion with its stage on the south side of the room.