Olivia PowellCardiff’s Winter Wonderland launched with a custom-built Alpine Ice Trail unique to the UK events market.
The winter attraction, organised by Sayer Events, will run from 8 November-5 January. The event expects to welcome around 250,000 visitors across the Christmas season, with 65,000 taking to the ice. The winter wonderland features a number of attractions including the Sur La Piste lodge, the Big Wheel, and rides, in addition to food and beverage offerings.
In addition to the main ice rink, supplied by production company 11th Hour, the Winter Wonderland features an ice-skating trail which winds through the trees in Cardiff’s Gorsedd Gardens. The one-of-a-kind trail is unique to the UK, with the only attraction of a similar nature in Europe located in Vienna, Austria.
The 250m-long trail uses a rubber mat piping system filled with a freezing agent to ensure the ice remains frozen, with chillers able to react and adapt to the ambient air temperature. Additionally, 11th Hour provided core infrastructure to the event including floodlights, hand-crafted signage, and site-wide power.
11th Hour’s Business Development Manager, Jason Venables, said: “We can’t wait to welcome visitors to this year’s Cardiff Winter Wonderland. Each year this event grows in ambition and scale and for 2019 we’ve added something really special with the Alpine Ice Trail.”