We caught up with Derek Lever during the Blackpool Magic Convention to talk briefly about this years convention, and some of the things you can expect at the 2011 convention.

The 2011 Blackpool Magic Convention starts at 9am on Friday 18th February 2011, and will include the first European FISM Championships, featuring 30 close up performers and 60 stage performers!

Tickets and information can be obtained through the Blackpool Magicians Site, and you can follow all our updates on Blackpool 2011 here on our site.

We also caught up with The Magic Circle, and Equity, who both had stands at Blackpool, to talk about why the organisations are important to magicians, and what they can offer members.

Click below to listen.

The 2011 Blackpool Magic Convention takes place 18th, 19th and 20th February 2011, and you can check out all the photo’s we took this year below

All of our reporting from the weekend can be found on The Blackpool Magic Convention 2010 reports

Blackpool Magicians Club have confirmed that their bid to obtain the European Championships from FISM has been accepted and the FISM European Championships will be held as part of the Blackpool Convention in 2011.

The length of the 2011 Convention will be slightly extended in that it will commence on Friday morning at 9.00 a.m. and much of the Convention will be dedicated to world class Close-Up and Stage competitions.

A meeting will be held with the Presidium (Committee of FISM) during Blackpool Convention week to draft the plans for the conference. Entry details for competitors will be released as soon as possible. This will be the very first official FISM European Championships ever staged. Another major coup for Blackpool Magicians’ Club.

As previously advertised Blackpool will be hosting the FISM World Championships in 2012 in July (as well as the normal Blackpool Convention in February, 2012). The official FISM 2012 website will be launched in the coming weeks.

Registrations for the Blackpool Convention in February 2010 are at an all time high and is predicted that the event will sell out soon.

Registrations for the FISM World Championships in 2012 have already exceeded expectations and we believe that this event will also sell out before 2012.

You still have time to get some of the final tickets for Blackpool 2010, with an all star line up including Franz Harary, Russ Stevens, David & Dania, Clive Webb & Danny, Henry Evans, Banachek, Yigal Mesika, David Williamson, David Penn, Mark Mason, Jay Sankey, Juan Mayoral, Joe Mogar, Steve Axtell, Tony Stevens, Dave Allen, Han Seol Hui, David Kaplan, Huang Zheng, Levent, and Yo Kato, its the worlds biggest magic convention.

The Blackpool Magic Convention takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday 19th, 20th & 21st February 2010 at the Opera House and Winter Gardens, Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Full details can be found at www.blackpoolmagic.com, and follow all out updates, interviews and extra information here

You can also check out our Blackpool Guide and our Hotel Guide for Blackpool.

The President of the International Federation of Magical Societies, Eric Eswin has now visited Blackpool to discuss plans for FISM 2012, he commented on the fact that he felt FISM 2012 in Blackpool would be an extremely successful event.

FISM 2012 will be based around three main venues, The Opera House with a seating capacity  of 3,000, The Grand Theatre - seating capacity 1,100 and The Tower Ball Room with a seating Capacity of 4,000.

We will be covering more in the run up to the event on how the organising committee for FISM 2012 will be using these venues and making sure that attendees get the best possible experience and enjoyment of the competition.

The FISM World Magic Championships of Magic will be held in Blackpool between 9 - 14 July 2012. A registration form for this epic event can be downloaded from the Blackpool Magicians’ Club website. You can follow all of our coverage and news on FISM 2012 here

FISM President and Vice President Eric Eswin and Domenico Dante visited Blackpool this week to inspect the facilities for FISM 2012, which will be held in Blackpool 9th - 14th July 2012. BBC TV also were present and interviewed both Eric and Domenico about the upcoming event.

The FISM World Magic Championships of Magic will be held in Blackpool between 9 - 14 July 2012. A registration form for this epic event can be downloaded from the Blackpool Magicians’ Club website. You can follow all of our coverage and news on FISM 2012 here

click above to view video

FISM 2012 has already caught the eye of the mainstream press. The BBC interviewed Andrew Green about FISM 2012. The world’s best magicians will be heading to the seaside resort of Blackpool in three years’ time to take part in the 2012 World Magic Championships.

The Federation Internationale des Societes Magiques (FISM) holds the convention every three years, The Winter Gardens, tower and Grand Theatre will all host magic events in 2012

Andrew Green, who is helping to organise the magic championships, said the event would create a “great buzz” around the town, especially as 2012 is the year the Olympics are being held in the UK.

There are many different categories they will be judged on including grand illusion, stage illusion, mentallists, comedy magic. This year in the championships in Beijing we had some great ones from Germany and Switzerland. The Taiwanese, Koreans and the Japanese focus on the more visual, manipulation, kind of magic. We’ve got some great magicians in the UK like mind reader Derren Brown who’s doing some great stuff on the TV.

The World Magic Championships will be held in Blackpool between 9 - 14 July 2012. A registration form for this epic event can be downloaded from the Blackpool Magicians’ Club website. You can follow all of our coverage and news on FISM 2012 here

Eric Eswin and Domenico Dante today visited Blackpool to inspect the facilities for FISM 2012, which will be held in Blackpool 9th - 14th July 2012. BBC Radio Lancashire were there to cover the visit and spoke with Eric Eswin, President of FISM. Click on the below to listen to the radio coverage (it will open in a new window and you should listen from 48 minutes 18 seconds in)

Eric Eswin commented on the venues that will be used for FISM 2012, as they discussed the layout for the shows during the tour of the facilities

It really looks superb especially for closeup magic.. ..this theater is a good.. ..it will be perfect for the closeup

Derek Lever, convention organiser also added on their success on being selected to host FISM 2012

We’re over the moon, the first time ever in Britain, it is quite an achievement. we’ve worked very hard to get this event

The conference will be held at the Blackpool Winter Gardens, the Grand Theatre, the Blackpool Tower Ballroom and the world famous Blackpool Tower Circus.

A registration form for this epic event can be downloaded from the Blackpool Magicians’ Club website. You can follow all of our coverage and news on FISM 2012 here