York Ice Trail is back with special message for Ukraine
A specially commissioned sculpture will be on display
York Ice Trail returns this weekend with a specialist sculpture to stand in solidarity with Ukraine.
The event will see more than 40 sculptures on display across the city, with organisers Make It York and sculptors Icebox commissioning a special ice sculpture in support of the Ukrainian people.
To make space for this sculpture, the ‘Heavenly Delight’ ice sculpture will now be moved to a new location at St Sampson’s Square on Saturday and will return to its spot in St Helen’s Square on Sunday.
In other changes, the National Railway Museum have taken the decision to remove their sculpture from this year’s trail. This decision follows the museum’s recent announcement that they would not be proceeding with their upcoming ‘Trans-Siberian: The World’s Longest Railway’ Exhibition, due to the distressing events in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
A heart shaped sculpture of the Ukrainian flag will be positioned in St Helen’s Square on Saturday (5 March) from 10am.
York’s MPs have called upon York’s people to gather in St Helen’s Square at 2.30pm to demonstrate their solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Councillor Keith Aspden, Leader of the Council, said:
“Following Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of the independent nation of Ukraine, I am proud that the people of York will come together this weekend to show their solidarity with the people of Ukraine. To mark this occasion, the city’s ice trail will proudly showcase a sculpture in support of Ukraine, which I hope residents and visitors will use as an opportunity to reflect on these tragic events, and join the international condemnation of the Russian State’s actions.
“York has a proud history of a city of sanctuary and our communities have shown themselves to be caring and supportive for people in need. We stand ready and willing to support those fleeing the current conflict in any way we can.
“The Council has already been receiving many heart-warming offers of support – these are greatly appreciated. We will be communicating with residents and businesses in coming days to provide information on how best they can help our effort locally. We are working closely with Government and Migration Yorkshire to provide support as we have always done with previous refugees.”
Ashley Young, Senior Marketing and Communications Manager at Make It York, said:
“After the distressing events over the past week and with so many people in York wanting to show their support for Ukraine, it was important for us to make sure that the York Ice Trail accommodated and supported that message. We stand in solidarity with Ukraine and are hugely grateful to Icebox for turning around this ice sculpture so quickly.”
Greg Pittard, Managing Director at Icebox, said:
“When we heard about the rally taking place on Saturday for Ukraine, we couldn’t ignore it and wanted to show our support in any way that we could. We have designed a heart ice sculpture, with the colours of the Ukrainian flag to show our support for the rally and to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”
The hugely popular event, which saw 31,000 people participating in 2020’s ‘Fantastical Fiction and Fairy Tales’ trail, was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. This year’s event was initially set to take place in February. The precautionary decision was taken in January to postpone this year’s York Ice Trail to rising Covid-19 cases and based on guidance from the city’s Safety Advisory Group, Public Health and City of York Council.
Make It York’s ‘Around the World’ ice sculpture, featuring a hot air balloon and famous landmarks, landed in York’s historic The Shambles in February.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio York and North Yorkshire, Sarah Loftus, Managing Director at Make It York, said:
"We know that a lot of people haven't been able to go travelling so this year's theme will take visitors around the world and they can see it in York. Hopefully they'll enjoy the spin on this year's event.
"There's lots of different trails that take place across the UK but not ice trails. I think we're proud that this is unique and we want to encourage people to come and look at the ice sculptures and enjoy the city as well"