The carpet, which sits in the shadow of the world-famous Blackpool Tower, celebrates the jokes, songs and comedy catchphrases of Britain’s best-loved comedians and writers.

Around 1,000 of them are celebrated with letters ranging in size from a few centimetres to almost a metre tall so that the laughs can be enjoyed close up and at height from the top of the Tower. In total, the artwork contains over 160,000 granite letters and is a remarkable homage to those who have made the nation laugh through the generations.

Created by artist Gordon Young in association with leading design agency, Why Not Associates, the carpet has been given a deep clean by local commercial cleaning service, HLS Cleaning, in readiness for an influx of visitors over the forthcoming Easter holidays.

The work has been undertaken thanks to the government’s Welcome Back Fund which is helping to facilitate Blackpool’s post-pandemic tourism recovery.

A VisitBlackpool spokesperson said:

The Comedy Carpet spring clean is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Photograph courtesy of LB Photography