An Ice Rink at Kensington Palace Won't Open This Year
Update, 10/27/23: The ice rink will not open this year, due to its proximity to the Israel embassy in London and concerns around public safety. "In developing the plans for ICE at Kensington Palace, our primary concern has always been the safety and enjoyment of our visitors. Given the heightened tension and uncertainty in the area, we've decided to postpone this year's event. Public safety remains our foremost priority," Phillips and co-founder Robert Derry said in a statement. They hope to open the rink next year.
Original, 9/9/23: King Charles's nephew, Peter Phillips, announced he will open an ice rink at Kensington Palace this winter.
"I've obviously done a number of events in central London and on this site," he told Hello! Magazine. "On this site, so we looked at it and we started to come up with some plans. And then started to approach the household in the manner that you have to approach them, to be able to plant the seed and see if we could make something happen. And fortunately, we're now in a position where we hopefully will be able to."
He added, "Your options are slightly limited when you're looking for event sites [in central London], having done an event here previously, I knew the various challenges that there are when putting an event on here but at the same time, what a success an event on here could be."The rink, billed as the UK's largest rink, will have the capacity to welcome 750 skaters a day, and will be built on the helipad formerly used by Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Phillips said he was inspired by King Charles's commitment to sustainability. "Given the location we're at, when we came up with the concept, we wanted to drive towards the sustainability piece, but the simple fact of the matter is where we are, and whose backyard we're in," he said. "We very much have to align with their core values, and so we were aligned with the King's Earth Charter, the Terra Carta, and obviously with the Sustainable Markets Initiative."
He continued, "That is really driving all that we are doing. So, all the way through from our suppliers to our games providers, to food providers, and so and so forth, and all of our partners as well, everyone needs to be able to sign up to the process of sustainability and how we can make a winter event more sustainable."
The ice rink will be open from November 30 through January 7. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to Ice at Kensington Palace.
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