Fantasy on Ice 2022 in Japan: Preview of Hanyu's figure skating return
With you know who as the headline act, Olympic figure skaters past and present will tour through four locations in Japan starting on Friday (27 May) through June.
Three months on from Beijing 2022, some of the top figure skaters to ever grace the Olympic rinks will pitstop through four Japanese cities in the 27 May-26 June Fantasy on Ice tour.
And it will feature an elite field, one loaded with stars of the now and yesteryears as the ice show season gets under way.
From gold medallists Hanyu Yuzuru and Arakawa Shizuka to the likes of Javier Fernandez and Johnny Weir from abroad, figure skating fans will be in for an early-summer treat while they wait for the new campaign to launch in the autumn.
Here are the who's, when's and where's for Fantasy on Ice, whose curtain for the first show goes up on Friday:
Stars to watch at Fantasy on Ice 2022 - Men
Hanyu Yuzuru
Oda Nobunari
Tanaka Keiji
Miura Kao
Stephane Lambiel
Javier Fernandez
Jeffrey Buttle
Johnny Weir
Jason Brown
Deniss Vasiljevs
Elladj Balde
Stars to watch at Fantasy on Ice 2022 - Women
Arakawa Shizuka
Sakamoto Kaori
Kawabe Mana
Mihara Mai
Miyahara Satoko
Matsuike Rino
Ice dance
Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron
Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte
Fantasy on Ice 2022 schedule
27-29 May
Makuhari Event Hall, Makuhari, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
- 27 May - 17:00
- 28 May - 14:00
- 29 May - 13:00
3-5 June
Nippongaishi Hall, Nagoya, Japan.
- 3 June - 17:00
- 4 June - 14:00
- 5 June - 13:00
17-19 June
World Hall, Kobe, Japan.
- 17 June - 17:00
- 18 June - 14:00
- 19 June - 13:00
24-26 June
Ecopa Arena, Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.
- 24 June - 17:00
- 25 June - 14:00
- 26 June - 13:00
*Show times in JST.
How to watch Fantasy on Ice 2022
For those in Japan who missed out on a ticket, two shows - on 29 May and 5 June - will be shown live at movie theatres nationwide. Details in Japanese can be found here.
The event on 29 May will also be broadcast on television in Japan, on satellite channel CS TV Asahi. It will be replayed on 11 June on BS TV Asahi.
Currently there are no confirmed details for the event to be broadcast live elsewhere, or livestreamed online for a worldwide audience, but fans are hopeful that streams and highlights will be made available to watch. More details on the official social media accounts of the event, here.