Walking through the lights.

However the event soon finished and it wasn't until 1951, as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations, that Walsall Illuminations began as an annual event. Over the years the event has grown in size and sophistication and now claims to be Britain's biggest inland illuminations.

Among the attractions of the first official Illuminations in 1951 was a raft fountain in the middle of the lake, which threw eight jets of water 25 feet into the air! Other spectacles included an illuminated waterfall, garden lights on flowerbeds, and the sight of the small lake and trees around the boathouse bathed in light. The show used 3,000 lamps and about 3 miles of cable.

The event only lasted for a week, but 200,000 people visited during that time.

Despite its success, the decision to make the show an annual event was not taken until July the following year. This left electricians with only a few weeks to design and install the lights before they opened at the beginning of September. The length of the show was extended to 15 days, although wet weather meant that attendances were down on the previous year.

The original course of the Illuminations was around the lake and centre green, which is about half the length of the route today.

Through the years the Illuminations have remained a firm favourite with visitors, and the show has gone on every year despite adverse conditions. Not even major national problems such as the 1975 energy crisis and the 2000 fuel crisis have stopped Walsall from 'lighting up' each autumn. Extreme weather conditions have caused just two nights to be lost - one in 1998 when Hatherton Lake flooded and burst its banks and one in 2002 when storm force winds damaged trees in the park rendering pathways impassable.

In 1989 the show featured lasers for the first time, when a laser in the middle of the lake fired beams into the sky. Such shows have since become a regular feature of the display.

The content of the show has been updated regularly to keep up with children's favourites and some characters have always remained popular, for example Postman Pat.

Other children's favourites from recent years include Teletubbies, Thomas the Tank Engine, Sooty, Rupert the Bear, Action Man, Pingu, Spot the Dog, Bob the Builder, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Wombles, Fireman Sam and Scooby Doo.