Lights hit 10-year low

It is the lowest attendance figure for 10 years and one of the worst in living memory. Council leisure bosses are now holding crisis talks to look at ways of boosting numbers next year with a major overhaul of the event.

Councillor Tim Oliver admitted he was disappointed with the turnout.

He said: "People have made comments to me saying it does need a revamp. Like many events there needs to be new ways of improving it rather than staying in the past.

"The event needs to move with the times."

Tim Challans, Walsall Council assistant director for leisure, culture and lifelong learning, said the authority would look into the reasons why numbers had fallen so dramatically.

He said: "Figures do fluctuate over the years due a whole range of factors. There has been a national downward trend in recent years for lights displays.

"Modern counting meth-ods were introduced in the 1990s and certainly in the past 10 years this is the lowest.

"To attract thousands of people to Walsall is no mean feat and a lot of hard work has gone into making it happen.

"The figures show us that the event started slowly and then gathered pace with the final three weeks mirroring those of last year.

"We are putting a great deal of energy into revamping the event to develop new and exciting elements while retaining the spirit of this great Walsall tradition."

Walsall Iluminations has been running for more than 140 years. The history of the event can be traced back to 1875 when a display of candles in coloured glass jars lit up the arboretum's centre green.

The official annual Walsall Illuminations event began in 1951 to mark the Festival of Britain celebrations and has been held every year since.

By Andy Richardson