When summer comes to Blackpool only one thing is as sure as the famous Tower: the spectacular Hot Ice skating show.
Returning on July 7, sometimes twice daily until September 10, Hot Ice is far more than another seaside entertainment.
There has been an ice show in Blackpool since the mid-1930s - staged in the country's first purpose-built icedrome. Amanda Thompson, a former Disney employee with a deep interest in live entertainment, took over both production and direction of Hot Ice in 2000. A member of the Pleasure Beach-owning Thompson family and also CEO of the park, in taking over the shows she also took them up several gears.
The result was the ice-bound equivalent of Cirque du Soleil: spectacular combinations of champion skaters from around the world, with similarly top-line choreography (most recently by former Olympic skater and Hot Ice cast member Oula Jaaskelainen), matched to equally-spectacular costumes, lighting and music, each show on a new theme each year.
Since taking over, Thompson has missed only two years, 2009, when the arena was undergoing repairs, and 2020 due to the pandemic.
The show returned last year, perhaps fittingly entitled Euphoria, and this year extends the idea with Rapture, a fast-moving live performance that goes well being the traditional idea of ice shows, with a variety of styles and themes that can be thrilling to watch.
More info and tickets here