Brighton’s Royal Pavilion ice rink rests in 2026 and returns in 2027 at the Old Steine

Brighton & Hove’s much-loved Royal Pavilion ice rink will not open this Christmas 2026: the city council and operator Laine Ltd have confirmed that the attraction is taking a one-year break and will return in 2027 at a brand-new city-centre location, the Old Steine.

The rink has welcomed skaters in front of the Royal Pavilion since 2010 and became a Christmas fixture for southern England, drawing millions of pounds of annual visitor spend that flows on to Brighton’s shops, restaurants and attractions. For 2026, no venue with sufficient electrical capacity could be found: the operator has run without diesel generators for years and powers the rink with renewable electricity from the grid. Rather than go back to generators, the decision was to stand the rink down for one year.

Councillor David McGregor, the city’s Economy, Culture, Heritage and Tourism lead, said the Old Steine, revitalised through the Valley Gardens project, offers an accessible and sustainable setting in the heart of the city on which to build the rink’s long-term future. The council’s wider Christmas 2026 programme continues, with events at Valley Gardens and other public spaces.

A temporary urban ice rink is only sustainable if the refrigeration plant and the power supply are engineered to match from day one. Napapiri has designed, manufactured, rented and sold real-ice skating rinks — mobile and permanent — for municipalities, event organisers and sports and leisure facilities worldwide since 1993. Quotation within 24 hours.

Source: Brighton & Hove City Council — “Ice rink set for exciting new home in 2027” (17 October 2026); The Argus — “Brighton’s ice rink to return in 2027 on Old Steine” (October 2026).
Photo: the Royal Pavilion ice rink in Brighton lit up at night, 17 December 2024. Photo by Andy Li, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0. Archive photo: it does not show the Old Steine or the 2026-27 season, and it is not a Napapiri installation.