Champions of Tomorrow at Blackpool's Winter Gardens hailed a huge success

And the Champions of Tomorrow received a record number of entries this year, including dancers from all China.

 The three-day event last week saw 5,500 entries, a 35 per cent increase from 2023 and the largest entry numbers for single dance competitors to date.

With twenty-five International judges five floors of the Winter Gardens Blackpool complex, including the new Blackpool Conference & Exhibition Centre, were utilised during busy sessions.

The estimated economic impact to the resort is £1.4m and underlines the importance of Winter Gardens Blackpool promoted dance events to the town and wider region.

The packed dance programme included both adults, teachers and children competing in Ballroom, Latin American and Sequence.

Michael Williams, Managing Director, Winter Gardens Blackpool said: “This has been an exciting start to our annual programme of dance for 2024.

 “With more entries than ever before, we have witnessed some fabulous competitors take to the floor and it has created real excitement across the resort.

"It has paved the way for another spectacular year of competitions in the magnificent Empress Ballroom.”

A team from Malta arrived in Blackpool, ahead of the start of the competition, with over sixty competitors in addition to their teachers, family, friends and supporters, occupying more than half of the allocated seats on the plane that they arrived on!