The young creatives shining a light on Blackpool

When Julia Czuczwara moved to Blackpool as a child, she admits that she knew very little about the seaside resort.

But it was in this town along the Lancashire coast where her passion for dancing has thrived.

The dance teacher, who was born in Poland, now records some of her street dance routines for TikTok, outside famous landmarks across the town better known for ballroom.

"There's so many people commenting saying 'I always come on a holiday there' or 'It's so fun, there's so many things to do'," she said.

"So it's really, really nice to hear about the town that you live in."

From beatboxers and music producers to dancers and fashion creatives, young people want to prove there is far more to Blackpool's story than simply its seaside heritage or negative headlines.

"Blackpool can literally be the next London," said Inimfon Iniama, who is a choreographer and dancer.

"It doesn't have to be a place where people think, 'Oh, it's just London or Manchester or Birmingham'...people should also know about Blackpool.

"Blackpool is such a lovely place for entertainment to thrive.

"I love the fact that, even if sometimes it feels like things are sizzling out here, people just keep pushing like the grind, people keep hustling."

These young people say they are determined to shape the town's future and prove that culture is very much alive.

"I think because a lot of people come from nothing so you really have to hone in on those passions and what brings you life," said DJ and music producer Sophie Heaton

"Blackpool is beautiful.

"You've got big lights, you've got so much going on."

Aishley and Sam Bell-Docherty, who run the House of Wingz, are backing Blackpool's bid to become the UK City of Culture 2029.

The seaside resort faces competition from Inverness, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Swindon and Wrexham.

The winner, which will succeed Bradford, will be announced at the start of next year.

"There's a few places that I've been in the world that feel like a bit of a magnet and Blackpool feels like one of them for creative people and creatively minded people," said Sam.

"I think it's because there's not really many rules here, it's very very diverse in terms of people who live here, it's very transient, there's people in and out all the time so there's a lot of references, there's a lot of influences.

"It's unexpected, it's still quite underground.

"There's a lot of things going on all the time that people don't necessarily know about and that gives us all quite a lot of creative freedom to try things."

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