Belfast’s Botanic Gardens is to provide a special ‘Christmas Ice Experience’ this winter and into the new year.
A Belfast City Council (BCC) committee document reveals councillors – behind closed doors – approved the 11-week event for the popular south Belfast park.
At the September meeting of BCC’s people and communities committee, elected representatives approved a request from Scottish based event hire and catering company Jordan Events Ltd.
They will host a “Christmas Spectacular Winter Ice experience” in Botanic Gardens from November 15, 2024, to January 2, 2025.
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The proposed event will include Christmas market stalls, an “ice museum”, an ice rink and slide, and a big wheel. It will also have a public bar, a “food offering” and “décor features”.
A council officer said that there would be no entry fee for the event, but some of the fixtures detailed would be charged individually.
They also confirmed that the park would not close for the event, and added it would have longer opening hours than it normally would have at that time of year, which would “help to animate the space”.
The officer said the organisers had indicated that approximately 10 days either side of the event operating dates would be required for event build and “de-rig”, but there would be no requirement to close the park.
The minutes of the meeting, as published this week for the full council, state: “During discussion the director also advised that the promoters had indicated that they would be keen to engage with residents at an early stage regarding the event to help mitigate any issues that might arise.”
Councillors granted authority to the applicant for the proposed event on the dates noted, subject to “due diligence of the applicant, the completion of the appropriate event management plans and satisfactory terms being agreed”.
News Catch Up – Tuesday 1st October