Thu, 04/22/2010 - 10:54amFreeze Festival returns to Battersea Power Station for 2010

The UK’s biggest ever winter sports and music event, FREEZE FESTIVAL, is returning to London for its third annual instalment.

Once again, Battersea Power Station will be transformed into a ski resort hosting world class skiers and snowboarders from around the world.

2009 drew huge crowds to the South London site to witness the new and improved event site and enjoy what was the UK’s winter highlight. 2010 promises more of the same except with bigger names across the world’s of sport and music.

The 32m high ski-jump will sit next to the iconic towers of Battersea Power Station once again. 500 tonnes of real snow will be produced and packed onto the slope: the icing on the winter sports village cake. The big air jump will form the central hub of the competition returning as the biggest of its kind ever created in the UK.

The overall length from the top of the jump to the landing strip will be 110m, with a 17m table top drop from which competitors from around the globe will be showcasing their talents.

The festival will kicks off on the Friday with a Battle of Britain ski and snowboard contest. The best of British talent will battle it out for the title of top dog in the UK. Last year’s winner’s Paddy Graham and Jamie Nicholls will return to defend their titles.

On Saturday the LG London Big Air event, part of the FIS LG Snowboard World Cup, takes centre stage: the main competition for snowboarders. All riders taking part can score crucial ratings points in their quest to become World Champions. Last year’s event winner and World Cup Champion, Stefan Gimpl (AUT) will be returning to defend his title.

The International Freestyle Ski event on Sunday features some of the world’s most accomplished skiers, with 2009 winner Russ Henshaw confirmed for 2010. Other names competing for the $10,000 include Bobby Brown, Jacob Wester and Simon Dumont.

Alongside the stellar line-up of winter sports action, there will be a world-class music bill across the weekend to entertain the après-ski revelers. The main music tent has been extended this year to hold a massive 15,000 capacity crowd.

Andrew Topham, Events Director at Big Freeze Limited commented: “We are delighted to be returning toBattersea Power Station in 2010. Last year’s events saw us build on the success of our debut year in 2008, attracting some of the world’s best competitors before they took part in the Winter Olympics, and 2010 promises to be our biggest event to date. We are thrilled that London will once again host an important leg of the LG World Cup. Freeze Festival will be working very closely with its partners to create the ultimate inner city snow and music festival.”

Marcel Looze, Snowboard Race Director at the sport’s official global body FIS commented: “The very special location at Battersea, the enthusiastic crowd and great performance of the riders made the first LG Snowboard FIS World Cup Big Air in London a success. FIS is proud to have London in the Calendar 2010/11 again and give the audience another opportunity to watch World Class athletes without having to travel thousands of miles. We trust Sports Vision supported by the British Ski and Snowboard Association are able to create a great show again.”

General release tickets are priced at £36 per day with a special after work offer for Friday 29th Oct of £20 from 6.30pm.

Fans wishing to attend the event are advised to visit www.thefreezefestival.com for further information.

For your chance to buy your early bird tickets at last year’s prices, go to www.thefreezefestival.com and sign up to the newsletter by 29th April to receive your exclusive ticket link by e-mail! The offer will end on 7th May and cut price tickets will be limited, so don’t delay. General release will go on sale on 7th May. 

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Read a review of last year's Freeze from Document Snowboard Magazine