Leicester’s Annual Ice Rink Returns with 20,000 Embedded Lights

Leicester’s yearly temporary ice rink in Jubilee Square, constructed with 40,000 litres of water and featuring 20,000 embedded lights, is scheduled to open to the public on Thursday. This year, the attraction has been enhanced with the addition of a food court and an arcade gaming area, which includes an air hockey table and basketball games. John Davies, project manager for Ice Skate Leicester, reported that it took approximately six days to build the 720 sq m rink to the required specifications. He stated: “We have managed to bury 20,000 LED lights in the ice.” He further explained: “They can colour change, flash and do all sorts of different things to give a very different skating experience.” Davies detailed that the 40,000 litres of water were progressively sprayed and applied to the underlying ice mats. Additionally, 8,000 litres of heat transfer fluid were employed to create the ice, which maintains a surface temperature of -3C. “It’s quite a feat to build an ice rink. It is a lot of time and a waiting game. We have to develop the ice slowly, build it up in layers,” he remarked. Mr. Davies also noted that managing the weather can be challenging. He observed: “Recently in Leicester, it’s been very humid and summer-like so it brings its own challenges when the marquee becomes warm and doesn’t help the freezing process.” He concluded: “There’s a great team here and we have successfully delivered this in Leicester for many years, and hopefully that will continue.” The rink is slated to operate daily from 10:00 to 22:00 until January 5, with the exception of Christmas Day when it will be closed.