UAE | Tourism
British resort looks to Dubai for architectural inspiration
Blackpool is planning to build an incredible Burj Al Arab-lookalike hotel to spruce up its image for the 21st century.
- By Daniel Bardsley, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 July 28, 2006
Dubai: One of Britain's tackiest seaside resorts has turned to Dubai in a bid to spruce up its image for the 21st century.
Blackpool, which many people say had its heyday in the early 1900s, is planning an incredible Burj Al Arab-lookalike hotel.
The 152-metre five-star hotel would be a landmark to rival Blackpool's legendary seafront tower.
The hotel is part of a £350 million (Dh2.4 billion) casino complex that Blackpool hopes to build if it gets Britain's first licence for a regional casino.
Mary Smith, a Blackpool councillor who is on a committee that will decide next month whether to give the scheme planning consent, said the development was "very important" for the town. She told Gulf News: "The designers must think the hotel in Dubai is great. What other reason would there be to model their design on it?
"As far as I'm concerned, Blackpool's already the greatest resort in Europe, but it's going to change completely in the next 10 years. It's going to be the place to be."
The planned Burj Al Arab-style building, designed by American architects Gensler, features an open-air swimming pool in its roof and, even higher, a viewing platform.
It would be less than half as high as the 321-metre Burj Al Arab but almost as tall as Blackpool Tower.
Alessandra Almeida, a spokeswoman for Gensler, said: "As well as creating the Blackpool scheme, we have worked a lot in Dubai so I am sure we are inspired architecturally both ways. There is a similarity in the style of contemporary architecture it is something seen in big cities worldwide." In the first half of the 20th century, Blackpool was a popular holiday destination for factory workers from northern England.
When cheap air travel made the Mediterranean coast easily accessible to British tourists, the town's tourist industry suffered heavily. Smith said Blackpool still attracted about nine million visitors a year, but as most of them just come for a weekend or a day instead of a whole holiday, the town's tourist industry is still not the force it once was.
Its nightlife scene is popular with groups of men and women on stag or hen parties, which are held prior to a wedding.
The British government is set to announce early next year whether Blackpool has secured the casino licence, with rival bids coming from Manchester, Cardiff, Sheffield, Brent, Newcastle and Glasgow.
Big hit: Not the only one
Blackpool is not the only British seaside resort that has turned to Dubai for architectural inspiration.
Portsmouth on the south coast has built a Spinnaker Tower, the billowing sail design of which has often been compared to the Burj Al Arab.
The building of the 170-metre tower was beset by legal wrangles involving the local council, but since its opening late last year it has been a big hit with tourists, with visitor numbers exceeding forecasts.
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