North Pole on South Bank

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The world's largest ice structure outside the Arctic Circle is coming to London.

A team of craftsmen is putting the finishing touches to the massive ice palace, which is large enough to contain galleries, a bar, a skating rink and an auditorium.

IceSpace is hewn out of 200,000 litres of frozen water and promises to be one of London's most unusual attractions.

It will open on the South Bank near Tower Bridge from Bank Holiday Monday for two months.

It will be so chilly inside that visitors will be given thermal coats and only be allowed to stay inside for about an hour at a time.

Peter Pallai, one of its creators, said: "No two visits to the IceSpace will be the same. It will provide visitors with a feast of experiences in a unique atmosphere."

The water to create IceSpace originates in Canada where, unlike London, it is in plentiful supply.

It was frozen and put through a special process to remove some of the oxygen, making the ice more dense and clear. It was then put in refrigeration lorries and shipped to England.

The structure will be kept cool under a specially designed composite canvas material that will help to keep the sun and the rain out but the ice in.

Hi-tech cooling devices will be used to help keep the environment at a constant -5C.

Once inside, IceSpace visitors will enter a huge dome housing everything from ice chairs and tables to chandeliers, sculptures and decorations.

An Ice Art Gallery will be devoted to ice sculptures and live performances, while on stage there will be live sculpting demonstrations and themed performancesby acts such as mime artists and contortionists. As well as the skating rink, in the evening there will be a bar with live DJs.

Because of the low temperature inside, visitors will be given wristbands when they enter.

The bands will change colour after about an hour to indicate it is no longer safe for them to be in such extreme temperatures.

The whole structure is 300 feet long and stands up to 70 feet high. It weighs more than 200 tonnes and has taken a month to construct.

When IceSpace closes in June half of the defrosted water will be shipped back to Canada and the other half will be given to Thames Water.

IceSpace will support the charity WaterAid through ticket sales, making a donation of 50p for every ticket sold.

It will also support Help A London Child in association with Capital Radio.

Tickets are available on 0870 4000 830 or from www.icespace.net.

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