The opening ceremony for the Flagshtock Ice Rink, the world’s largest ice rink, took place today on the shore of the Gulf of Finland in St. Petersburg. The facility was built with support from Gazprom.
Taking part in the opening ceremony were Vadim Krasnov, Head of Department at Gazprom, Boris Piotrovsky, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg, and Tamara Moskvina, Honored Figure Skating Coach of the USSR and Russia.
During the ceremony, a new world record was entered in the Russian Book of Records: 28,000 square meters of the ice rink surface. The ice area can comfortably accommodate more than 2,500 people.
The Flagshtock Ice Rink was opened to the public two years ago and in a short time became very popular among the residents and guests of St. Petersburg; that is why it was decided to increase its area.
Such figure skating stars as Alexey Yagudin, Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov, as well as the junior skaters coached by Tamara Moskvina, performed on the opening day at the Flagshtock Ice Rink.
“The Flagshtock Ice Rink is a gift from Gazprom to our beloved city, the residents of St. Petersburg and everyone who likes to spend time outdoors with their family, practice sports and enjoy incredible views of the Lakhta Center and the Gulf of Finland. We expect that the ice rink will welcome one million visitors this season.
The ice rink has a unique location. It forms part of the Big Lakhta area, which is the new marine facade of St. Petersburg; in this place, Gazprom is creating new public spaces that become modern points of attraction and is working to develop social infrastructure jointly with the city,” said Vadim Krasnov.
”Ever since the era of Peter I, our city has been receiving only the very best things: museums, theaters, and new football and hockey stadiums. In keeping with this tradition, we open the largest and most beautiful ice rink in the world,” said Boris Piotrovsky.
“Today is the birthday of a vast ice rink on the shore of the vast Gulf of Finland. This is the place for all of us to give ourselves a huge health boost. Children will skate, and their mothers will watch them and sometimes join them. Young people will skate in pairs, holding their hands. And we, the representatives of the elder generation, will skate here, too. Hurrah for our new health-giving ice rink!” said Tamara Moskvina.
For the convenience of the visitors of the ice rink, the territory of the Flagshtock (Flag Pole) public space has a total of 48 comfortable pavilions that host skate rental services, cloakrooms, cafes, heated domes, and other essential infrastructure. A separate protected skating area is allocated for young children. There is also a separate hockey rink for the training sessions and friendly matches of children’s teams.
On holidays and weekends, disco skating sessions and dance shows are held on the rink. Free entrance to the ice rink is available in the morning on weekdays and weekends.
Background
The Flagshtock Ice Rink, which was opened to the general public in November 2022, is located in the Flagshtock public space on Krestovsky Island, near the Zenit metro station and the Gazprom Arena stadium.
As of its opening date, the ice rink had an area of 2,900 square meters, which was enlarged to 11,400 square meters in the 2023–2024 winter season. This year, the area of the ice rink saw another increase and thus grew almost 2.5 times bigger, reaching the record size of 28,000 square meters.
The official website of the public space: https://flagshtock.ru
