(Image: Edinburgh's Christmas/Andy Catlin)
It has been at the heart of Edinburgh’s world-famous festive celebrations for almost 30 years.
But visitors planning to head to the Scottish capital’s outdoor ice rink this winter are set to be left disappointed after it emerged that it had been quietly ditched from the city’s Christmas festival.
Its absence is expected to be a major blow for businesses on George Street who were badly affected in August after its temporary closure for the Fringe was scrapped in the aftermath of the fire in the former Debenhams department store in July.
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The Herald understands the "significant costs" of installing and operating the ice rink, which has not been subsidised by the city council in recent years, are behind its cancellation.
Organisers have also blamed "real uncertainty" in the summer about the "knock-on effects" of the Princes Street fire, which forced the relocation of pop-up Fringe venues from George Street to St Andrew Square to accommodate rerouted public transport services.
The Christmas festival, which is promoting Edinburgh city centre as "the ultimate destination for festive family fun", will still be using George Street for two pop-up bars during the seven-week event, which is said to have generated £166 million for the city’s economy last year.
Edinburgh's Christmas festival ice rink has been axed after almost 30 years. (Image: Edinburgh's Christmas/Chris Scott)
A “polar ice bar”, which features tables, chairs, glasses and sculptures will be returning, while a “coorie in” bar will host a live music programme.
The scrapping of the city centre ice rink has emerged weeks after The Herald revealed that Edinburgh Castle's festive season sound and light show was being dropped after six years after the heritage body responsible for the attraction said the event was "no longer sustainable".
Edinburgh's Christmas festival was said to be worth £166m to the city's economy last year. (Image: Stephen Bridger/Getty images)
The forthcoming Christmas festival will be the first to be staged since the introduction of the capital's new visitor levy, which is aimed at "sustaining Edinburgh's status as one of the world's greatest cultural and heritage cities".
The George Street ice rink, which attracted more than 46,000 skaters last year, has been dropped by Unique Events and Assembly, the two companies which have the current contract to produce Edinburgh’s Christmas and Hogmanay festivals on behalf of the council.
Edinburgh has staged a Christmas festival in the city centre since 1998. (Image: Supplied)
They have previously called for a rethink of how the events are funded. The Christmas festival does not get any direct subsidy from the council and is used to help pay for the Hogmanay programme.
Figures published earlier this year revealed that the Christmas and Hogmanay festivals generated more than £776,000 for the council last year from the rental of key sites, including parking spaces, as well as fees for licensing, planning permissions, building warrants and traffic orders.
The decision to drop the ice rink, which has not previously been made public, has emerged as work started to install infrastructure for the forthcoming festival, which is due to open on November 14.
Organisers have previously announced the launch of a new pop-up venue in Bristo Square, which will host a programme of Fringe shows, including La Clique and Stamptown.
The ice rink has been one of the main features of Edinburgh’s festive season programme since it was first created for East Princes Street Gardens in 1998.
It was subsequently relocated to St Andrew Square Garden and then George Street, but has raised concerns from heritage groups including the Cockburn Association and Edinburgh World Heritage in recent years due to its impact on the New Town areas.
The George Street ice rink is still being heavily promoted on the city’s official “Forever Edinburgh” website.
It states: “During the festive season Edinburgh becomes a sparkling winter wonderland. Whether you want to embrace all things traditional, or seek new ways of celebrating the holidays, there’s no shortage of things to do to keep all the family merry and bright.
“The popular ice rink has an undercover rink, so you can enjoy the fun no matter the weather.
“Toddler skating sessions and relaxed sessions, with smaller capacity, softer lighting and sound, are available on designated dates, while an adults-only skate session offers an evening on the ice complete with festive and party tunes.”
However, organisers admitted the ice rink had been dropped in a post on social media.
They said: “The ice rink won’t be returning to Edinburgh’s Christmas this year. We update the programme each year based on feedback from our visitors and are always at ways to introduce new experiences alongside returning favourites.”
However an insider said the increasing costs involved in staging the ice rink, including the rising cost of fuel, had meant it was no longer "viable" without new financial support from the city council.
A spokesperson for the Christmas festival told The Herald: "An ice rink requires a great deal of advance planning, with the ice rink supplier, design of structures and site arrangements committed months ahead.
"Those decisions had to be made over the summer, at a time when key parts of the city centre were closed and there was real uncertainty about when Princes Street would reopen and what the knock-on effects would be.
"This, alongside the significant costs of staging a rink in the city centre, with no opportunity for funding support, resulted in us taking the difficult but necessary decision not to present the ice rink on George Street this year.
"We know how much people have enjoyed skating as part of Edinburgh’s Christmas celebrations, and we hope the rink will return as we start the planning process for future years."
The Herald revealed earlier this month that the plug had been pulled on Edinburgh's annual Castle of Light event, which combined projections and installations with storytelling and soundscapes, and was the first of its kind to be staged at the attraction.
Historic Environment Scotland cited the “very substantial planning, operational and financial commitment” required to put on the event, which ran for up to eight weeks and used more than 10 locations around the castle.
However, it also blamed uncertainty over weather conditions at the castle for the decision to scrap the event, which had to be called off on four separate days during the 2024-25 run due to stormy conditions.