For several winters, Broadgate Circle became one of London’s most distinctive places to skate. Surrounded by offices, restaurants and curved terraces, the seasonal rink brought a different rhythm to the City after dark. This Roberts London film, published on 21 November 2016, records Broadskate during its final season at the original Broadgate Circle rink.

Broadgate Circle after dark

The film approaches Broadgate from Liverpool Street and looks down into the circular public space. The rink occupies the centre while the surrounding levels remain open for watching, eating and moving between the City’s offices. It is a setting unlike the grand courtyards used by several other London ice rinks: compact, modern and closely integrated with the working district around it.

Broadskate opened for the 2016–17 season on 14 November and was scheduled to continue until 2 February. The rink operated daily, giving City workers an after-office destination as well as attracting families and visitors at weekends. The video arrived one week into the season, when the winter programme was still new.

Music around the rink

Broadgate’s winter attraction was more than an ice surface. The film captures singers from Urban Voices Collective performing beside the rink, their white costumes standing out against the dark office buildings. Spectators gather on the surrounding levels while restaurants and bars remain active around the circle.

That combination of live entertainment and ordinary City life gives the recording much of its atmosphere. People pause on their way through Broadgate, others settle into the terraces, and the circular plan makes the whole event visible from almost every level.

Fountains, skating and the Winter Terrace

Illuminated fountains animate the centre of Broadgate Circle before the film reaches the ice itself. Purple and blue light reflects from wet stone and glass, linking the rink to the surrounding architecture. On the ice, beginners move carefully around the edge while more confident skaters use the open centre.

Food was an important part of the Broadskate offer. The Winter Terrace brought seasonal drinks and street-food traders close to the rink, allowing the evening to continue without leaving the circle. A basket of steamed dumplings in the film provides a welcome close-up after the broad architectural views.

A vanished City winter scene

Broadgate’s original seasonal ice rink is no longer part of the London winter calendar, making this film more than a guide to a temporary attraction. It preserves the space in use: skaters beneath the office lights, performers beside the barrier and visitors watching from the curved terraces.

The location demonstrates how a commercial district could briefly become a public winter gathering place. Broadskate softened the hard surfaces of the City with movement, light, food and music, while still retaining the unmistakable geometry of Broadgate Circle. Seen again as an archive record, the evening captures a small but memorable chapter in London’s changing festive landscape.