Funworld
90 Years of Blackpool Pleasure Beach's Hot Ice Show
Blackpool Plesure Beach's Amanda Thompson opens up about her vision for this famed seaside institution
Historical photo of Hot Ice in 1957. CREDIT: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
FOR 90 YEARS, BLACKPOOL’S ICE SHOWS HAVE BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER in a shared spectacle everyone can enjoy. The latest edition of Hot Ice reflects a resort intent on celebrating its heritage while looking to the future. In the United Kingdom’s summer heatwave, Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach Arena offers a cool escape. However, with the 90th anniversary of Blackpool’s famous Hot Ice show just weeks away, Pleasure Beach CEO—and the creator, producer, and director of Hot Ice—Amanda Thompson OBE and her team are turning up the heat on their ice skaters. The blades are sharp, the scrutiny is fierce, the sequins are sparkling, and the stakes are high. “It’s known for being the most technically and physically demanding show in the world,” Thompson says. “This show has been going for 90 years, and it has an extraordinary reputation globally. If you’ve skated in Hot Ice, you will skate in any show in the world.” Hot Ice Show XC premiered July 6 and ends Sept. 10. For the first time, the matinee also has its own unique theme: Alice Frozen in a Wonderland of Dreams. The two shows capture Thompson’s ethos of balancing tradition and innovation at Pleasure Beach. The evening show celebrates Hot Ice’s 90-year heritage, while the new Alice-themed show adds a fresh dimension. “I’m hoping it will reach younger people who perhaps wouldn’t choose an ice show as an afternoon’s entertainment,” Thompson says. By blending the “instantly recognizable” world of Alice in Wonderland with a frozen fantasy, she hopes to delight both loyal Hot Ice fans and first-time audiences. The sheer speed of the skaters astonishes newcomers, Thompson says. “You can feel that rush of wind as they go past, and that’s exciting. Skating is an extraordinary sport. The skaters are flying with their adrenaline, and audiences can really feel the thrill of live performance.” It’s an experience that never grows old.
History in the Making
Ice shows have been part of Pleasure Beach’s DNA since 1936, when Thompson’s grandfather, Leonard, introduced the world’s first purpose-built ice-skating arena. “I’m holding onto his love for the theater and keeping what he began going for yet another generation,” she says.
The inaugural production, Marina, marked the start of a record-breaking run for the U.K.’s only fixed seasonal ice show. Its run has exceeded that of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” the world’s longest-running play. “Although our show changes every year,” Thompson points out.
“As soon as I finish one show, I’m already working on the next,” she says. With Hot Ice Show XC, her ambition is to create “a beautiful show that celebrates sport, grace, and excellence.”
The Pleasure Beach Arena, designed by the modernist architect Joseph Emberton, gives up to 2,200 spectators uninterrupted views of the ice-skating action. “Every seat is a good seat in this theater,” Thompson says. An illuminated staircase suspended from the roof, a 1959 addition by Frank Wright (designer of the park’s fondly remembered Wild Mouse roller coaster), remains part of the show today.
Blackpool’s ice shows—rebranded as Hot Ice in 1984—have run continuously, raising spirits throughout World War II and only stopping once in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hot Ice is a passion project for Thompson. In 1982, she formed Stageworks Worldwide Productions, which would become a leading producer and presenter of world-class live shows on stage and ice.
Hot Ice’s hallmark is that everything is bespoke, from the venue to the choreography, original music, effects, lighting, and custom costumes, which are all handmade in-house. When British Vogue needed a bejewelled showgirl outfit for supermodel Kate Moss to wear on the cover, they called on Thompson’s team. “That was a total and utter thrill for me,” she says.
Teamwork at Every Turn
Thompson knows exactly what she wants—a trait that former Olympic competitor and Hot Ice choreographer Oula Jääskeläinen discovered early on. After he narrowly missed out on making the Finnish Olympic team again, she called with an offer to join the show, giving him a day to decide. “Exactly 24 hours later, my phone rang,” he laughs. Jääskeläinen took the leap, skated in the show, and the pair have been creative collaborators ever since.
Hot Ice attracts Olympic, world, and European champions. This year’s 31-member cast includes international stars and four homegrown performers (including Jasmine Robinson, the third generation of her family to skate in Hot Ice).
Jääskeläinen tailors Hot Ice to the skaters’ strengths. He combines trending, high-energy material for younger audiences with familiar moments that allow older spectators to relax and enjoy the show. Audiences can expect a thrilling triple twist lift and triple jumps this year, alongside legacy elements.
“Ours is an extreme sport,” he says. “Sometimes when I know a trick is coming, I’ll look at Amanda, and she’ll say, ‘It still scares me.’ It is not an easy show. If the skaters are not on the ice, they’re running backstage, changing costumes, and figuring out where to come in.”
Managing a cast of elite skaters is no mean feat. “Many have never skated with anyone else on the ice before,” Thompson explains. “I’m trying to change that. It’s very important that people learn in a group, as they can also learn from each other.” Skaters who might normally learn one or two numbers a year are now expected to master 10 to 14 quickly.
“They’re not very good at standing still,” she adds wryly. “I like driving a team forward and, hah, they get cross with me. But the first week of rehearsals is the hardest because they get terribly sore feet.”
The language barrier is a constant challenge. “Every day is a school day for everyone in here!”
Still, a strong community spirit runs through the show. The arena also offers skating lessons that give children and adults the chance to step onto the ice themselves.
With cast members coaching local children, it has become a pathway to possibility. Thompson believes sport and live performance can inspire young people, instilling discipline and encouraging them to aim higher.
Having built a career that spans stage and screen, company manager and show “dad” Ian Oswald understands better than most what Hot Ice can offer. He remembers seeing the show 25 years ago between rehearsals for Mystique. “Even as a dancer, I’d never seen anything like it before. I instantly fell in love with it.” For him, Hot Ice embodies aspiration, giving working-class kids with big dreams something tangible to aim for.
Oswald is part of a tight-knit choreography team with Jääskeläinen and Lynsey Brown. Collaboration is essential, according to Alexa Scott Robinson, casting director and assistant to Thompson. Her work across casting and logistics helps deliver the talent and coordination required for a large-scale live show. The aim is to unite cast and crew to deliver a spectacular show with “impeccable precision,” she says.
Entertaining New Opportunities
To remain relevant and create products that resonate with her audiences, Thompson is always looking ahead. Outside, Pleasure Beach’s newest ride, Aviktas, a mighty Intamin Gyro Swing, is sending 40 riders soaring 42 meters into the skies above the park.
“If I had a bottomless pit of money, I’d build another hotel. I would do all the apartments on the Ocean Boulevard. The plans are done. I know where I want to go. I’ve got three big rides that I want to put in. I’d like to get the River Caves open,” she says.
She sees herself as Pleasure Beach’s custodian. For her, stewardship means evolution as much as preservation. “Change in our industry is essential. People don’t want to see the same old things. Pleasure Beach is old-fashioned in many ways, but it shouldn’t ever be perceived as that. We’ve kept alive what was exciting, and there’s always room for change.”
Thompson regards leading creators such as Europa-Park and Cirque du Soleil as a source of inspiration. Her experience of seeing ABBA Voyage, which blends lifelike “Abbatars” with live music, highlighted how quickly the entertainment landscape is shifting. “That show is totally going to take theater to a new dimension. What’s also exciting is that someone who loves live theater created it. What that technology will do to the future of theater is unbelievable. With AI, I could have Oula back skating—if I could afford it!”
Hot Ice’s skaters come to a perfectly timed stop in front of her as the soundtrack delivers the word “unforgettable.” She repeats it, reminding everyone that creating a “memory that stays with you forever” is what matters. “It’s about being brave and doing things differently. When you’re a private business, and you don’t have the power of money behind you, you have to be more creative.”
That philosophy shapes Hot Ice, where athleticism meets artistry, continuing a tradition of live entertainment that aims to captivate audiences for generations to come.
CREDIT: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
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