How We Built Britain

On Sunday 8 July “How We Built Britain”, BBC One’s study of the buildings which have shaped our country, will be featuring the North of England in general – and Blackpool Tower and its ballroom in particular. To support the series we have joined forces with Flickr, an online photo storage site – and we’re looking for your pictures of buildings you love.

Between 10am and 4pm, the BBC bus will be outside the Tourist Information kiosk on the Prom – directly opposite the Tower – and we want to help you upload your favourite images to the website. Obviously, we’re looking for pictures of the Tower and Blackpool – but we also want snaps of your favourite Lancashire landmarks. Right across the county, we’re blessed with some amazing buildings and architectural wonders – many of great historical importance – and we want to build a permanent record of these treasures.

Your pictures could even end up being shown on screen; after the programme on digital TV you’ll be able to press the red button and access a gallery of images randomly selected from the Flickr website.

After the main programme on BBC One, join Tom Ang on BBC Four as he challenges professional snappers to change the way they work. “Britain in Pictures” will see three photographers taken out of their comfort zone and given new cameras to capture images in different categories. Marjorlaine Ryley features in that night’s programme, and you can come and meet her between 11am and 3pm and find out what gets her creative juices flowing. It’s a great opportunity to pick up lots of hints and tips from a pro.

There will be lots to do on the day; you can talk to some of the HWBB team, there’ll be photographers to chat to and share ideas with and we’ll have workshops and practical sessions – all for free. Join in our “photo safari” – our attempt to capture as many pictures of the Tower on the day as possible – and learn all about the future of photo galleries on the net, including Photosynth – a important new development which will change the way we look at images in cyberspace.

All activities are free, and there’s no need to book – just come along on the day with your favourite snaps… oh, and bring your camera!