MAMMA MIA! To Play Summer Season In Blackpool 2014

For the first time in more than 10 years Blackpool is hosting a Summer Season of a major West End musical production. The International Tour of the worldwide hit MAMMA MIA! will be staged exclusively in the resort with Blackpool Opera House being the only UK date outside of London to host the production next year.

The exciting announcement follows negotiations with the show's producers Littlestar services LTD, Blackpool Council, Marketing Blackpool, the Winter Gardens and Apollo Leisure working in partnership to bring this global phenomenon to Blackpool.

MAMMA MIA! is Judy Craymer's ingenious vision of staging the story-telling magic of ABBA's timeless songs with an enchanting tale of family and friendship unfolding on a Greek island paradise. To date, it has been seen by more than 54 million people in 38 productions in 14 different languages grossing more than $2 billion at the box office. MAMMA MIA! The Movie is the highest grossing musical film and one in four households in the UK has the DVD.

From West End to global phenomenon, the London production of MAMMA MIA! has now been seen by more than 1 in 10 of the entire UK population. It is one of only five musicals to have run for more than 10 years both on Broadway and in the West End, and in 2011, it became the first Western musical ever to be staged in Chinese in the People's Republic of China.

Natalie Wyatt, Managing Director of Marketing Blackpool, said: "This is a fantastic coup for Blackpool and one which we believe will help boost our ability in terms of attracting visitors, in particular those who wish to come and stay in the resort. We also hope it will help our night-time economy and of course support the wider businesses. It also represents a great opportunity to showcase a regenerated Blackpool to the rest of the UK."

Michael Williams, Operations Director at Crown Entertainment Centres Ltd on behalf of the Winter Gardens, said: "MAMMA MIA! continues to be a huge success around the world and now it's coming to Blackpool. We are really looking forward to working with a great team to bring such a fantastic show to The Opera House."

With music & lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, MAMMA MIA! is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. The production is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce & Bobby Aitken and musical supervision, additional material & arrangements by Martin Koch.

The International Tour of Mamma Mia! is produced by Judy Craymer, Richard East & Björn Ulvaeus for Littlestar in association with Universal, Stage Entertainment and NGM.

MAMMA MIA! Creator/Producer Judy Craymer added: "Following 14 years of producing Mamma Mia! all over the world, we are extremely excited to be playing a summer season in Blackpool. We are sure audiences will find it the perfect place to have the time of their lives!"

Nick Grace, Associate Producer of the International Tour, said: "MAMMA MIA! is the perfect feel-good summer show for a summer season in one of Europe's premier seaside resorts."

The hugely successful International Tour premiered in Dublin in September 2004 and has to date visited 74 cities in 35 countries and been seen by more than 4.3 million people.