Pleasure Beach Resort celebrates 90 years of ice shows with all-new production

Pleasure Beach Resort’s world-famous Hot Ice Show is returning for its 90^th year with a brand new production: Hot Ice XC.

2026 will mark nine decades of Olympic and world champion skaters travelling to Blackpool, to perform in what is said to be the most physically demanding ice show in the world.

Recognisable performers from previous years include Dancing On Ice stars Dan Whiston, Sylvain Longchambon, Simon Proulx-Sénécal, Stuart Widdall, Natalia Pestova and Katie Stainsby. The cast has also featured multiple Olympians such as Xiaoyu Yu and Shawn Sawyer, who both starred in this year’s show.

Olympic gold medallist for Great Britain, Robin Cousins MBE, starred in Hot Ice in the 1980s and went on to be head judge on Dancing on Ice, while the show is choreographed by Oula Jaaskelainen, another former Olympic athlete.

Like its predecessors, Hot Ice XC promises to be a powerful combination of sport and theatre featuring passion, performance and perseverance – qualities that have defined the show since it first graced the ice in 1936.

“Reaching 90 years of Hot Ice is something truly special,” says Amanda Thompson OBE, CEO of Pleasure Beach Resort and director and producer of Hot Ice. “This show is part of Blackpool’s cultural DNA and is a place where exceptional technical skill and theatre come together in a way that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.

“Hot Ice XC will celebrate our incredible 90 year history while continuing to push the boundaries of what’s possible on the ice. We’ll also be announcing something a little different this year, but you’ll have to wait a little longer until all is revealed.”

As the UK’s only fixed seasonal ice show, Hot Ice has become a global benchmark for excellence in performance. It attracts elite skaters from around the world, each selected for their artistry, athleticism, and ability to perform under the show’s famously high standards.

“In the ice-skating world, Hot Ice is probably the most famous show on earth,” adds Amanda. “Our skaters train and perform with the discipline of a ballet company and it’s technically demanding and physically relentless, but those are some of the things that make it so beautiful to watch.”

Performers undergo intense preparation to master the show’s routines, often making more than a dozen costume changes mid-performance. The on-site wardrobe department – which creates costumes for shows across the world and even supplied a costume for Kate Moss to wear on the cover Vogue – hand-makes every rhinestone-studded outfit and headdress.

Each production also features original music, intricate lighting design, and cutting-edge special effects.

Hot Ice XC will take place in the summer of 2026, from Thursday July 9 to Saturday September 12. Tickets range from £5 to £25 and can be booked online here.

 

90 years of Hot Ice – a timeline

 

1936: Pleasure Beach Arena, the world’s first purpose-built ice skating arena, is constructed, designed by the famous architect Joseph Emberton. Its first show, Marina, opens to the public.

1938: Roy and Betty Callaway star in the show. Betty went on to achieve public recognition when she coached Torvill and Dean to Olympic and World Championships.

1939: The show continues throughout the Second World War with a cast of up to 50 skaters as the government decided there was a need for entertainment.

1940s: Ice shows boom across the UK (London venues were converted to year-round ice), but Pleasure Beach Arena remains one of the few long-running, purpose-built homes for such productions.

1959: Frank Wright, who also designed the Wild Mouse rollercoaster, builds an illuminated staircase suspended from the roof, which is still used in the show to this day.

1980: Robin Cousins MBE performs following his gold medal win for Great Britain at the Olympics earlier that year. He went on to perform again the following two years.

 

1982: Stageworks Worldwide Productions, the entertainment division of Pleasure Beach Resort, is created with Amanda Thompson OBE as its president.

1984: The annual ice show officially adopts the name “Hot Ice”, marking the modern identity of the show.

1994: Amanda Thompson OBE produces and directs the show for the first time, after producing shows across the world. Under her leadership the company gains a reputation for staging technically demanding, theatrical ice productions that attract world-class skaters.

2000s: The Arena and show continue to modernise with new lighting, original music, complex effects and bespoke costume work. Costumes are created in-house by Stageworks Worldwide Productions which by now is supplying costumes to shows across the world, including Las Vegas.

2002: Amanda Thompson OBE is awarded the prestigious Michael Elliot Trust Award for Director of the Year.

2010s: The show continues to attract Olympic, World and European champions; cast members and critics frequently describe Hot Ice as one of the most prestigious theatrical ice shows in the world. Costume, rapid in-show changes and high technical standards are recurring features of reviews.

2014: Kate Moss wears a showgirl costume created by Stageworks Worldwide Productions on the cover of Vogue magazine, photographed by iconic fashion photographer Mario Testino. Vogue stylist Liz Avey visited the wardrobe department in Blackpool and hand-picked the costume for Kate.

 

2020: The Hot Ice Show, which ran continuously even throughout the second world war, is cancelled due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

2021-2025: Hot Ice returns with a new production each year, including Euphoria, Rapture, Amore, Amor, Amour, Eternity, and Hot Ice XS.

2026: Hot Ice will celebrate its 90^th year with a brand new show launching in July: Hot Ice XC. Tickets range from £5 to £25 and can be booked online here.