IRISH pop star Ronan Keating was joined by Kirsty Howard, the six-year-old terminally ill girl who took centre stage at the Commonwealth Games last month, as they switched on this year's Blackpool illuminations.

The former Boyzone singer was accompanied on stage by Kirsty, who was born with her heart back to front, to flick the switch on more than a million bulbs last night.

About 20,000 people who had gathered inside the Radio 2 Arena to see Keating and chart-toppers A1, Toploader, Darius and the Sugababes cheered as the girl known as David Beckham's "little sweetheart" was introduced.

Kirsty, who just a month ago handed the Jubilee baton to the Queen at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, then helped Keating pull the lever that would bathe six miles of Blackpool's seafront in light.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on the town as the autumn nights draw in to see this year's instalment of a tradition that dates back more than 120 years.

Just eight arc lamps shone on the town in the illuminations' first year, in 1879.

Now, more than 70 miles of cables are used in a high-tech display using lasers, water, LEDs and traditional lamps.

The display will light up Blackpool's promenade each night until November 3.