Coventry Glides

transforming the iconic Cathedral ruins in to one of the most spectacular festive ice-skating rinks in the UK.

In the middle of the Covid pandemic heading towards what seemed like a cancelled Christmas, Coventry City of Culture pioneered and championed making an actual live event take place in November 2020 by transforming the iconic Cathedral ruins in to one of the most spectacular festive ice-skating rinks in the UK.

Vortex were asked to provide visual joy and sparkle to the event which we achieved by incorporating City of Culture’s brand colours with our trademark dressing techniques including our classic Vortex Christmas tree decorating skills. We used jam jars that had been commissioned as part of a City of Culture project from the year before, repurposing them as little gifts nestling amongst the trees and creating an installation on the cathedral altar which celebrated the location and provided people a moment to reflect after such a tumultuous year.

Reassembling our team after many bleak months apart and playing a part in creating a collective moment of much needed community joy in one of our favourite Coventry locations gave us a welcome spark of hope for a better year ahead in 2021.