Though all the medals have been handed out, figure skaters aren’t quite done with their Olympic performances — and some of the most unique skates could still be to come.
That’s because one of figure skating’s “most cherished traditions,” the Exhibition Gala, takes place on Saturday, bringing back some of the biggest performers to Olympic ice.
“For one unforgettable evening, many of the world’s finest skaters will return to perform for a packed house and before a worldwide broadcast audience,” the International Skating Union announced Friday.
The lineup includes stars like Alysa Liu, Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Madison Chock and Evan Bates and more.
Here’s what to know:
What is the Exhibition Gala?
According to ISU, the gala is an event with no scores and no medals at stake, just “pure artistic freedom.”
It’s a night that features “original costumes, breathtaking choreography, and incredible performances.”
“The exhibition gala is an opportunity for skaters to go out and perform a program that is not judged. All of the rules and regulations that apply in competition do not apply in the exhibition gala, so you can go skate for as long or as little as you want, to whatever music you want, to whatever costume you want, and it’s even more free than it is in competition because a lot of skaters will do something super random and funny and fun,” Olympian Mariah Bell said.
In previous galas, Adam Rippon sang, Nathan Chen backflipped around the ice, skaters dressed up as Disney characters or superheroes.
“They can really put on a show. Sometimes the guys will go out in a skating dress the girls will go out in the pants – they’ll try to reverse their roles and their program. You’ll see a lot of people using a lot of fun props, there’s some chair choreography I’ve seen a lot of people do, programs with chairs, they’re incorporating the chairs into like different slides and they’re doing all this crazy stuff with it,” Bell said. “Amber has done Harley Quinn in the past. It’s a really fun opportunity to see another side of the skaters that we don’t see in competition.”
Liu has already foreshadowed her performance, saying she will “have a new program to ‘Stateside’ by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson, the remix.”
“And I’ll have a new dress and I’m going to perform once again on the big stage,” she said.
Alysa Liu shared what she plans to skate to at the Olympic Gala performance.
When is the Exhibition Gala?
The event takes place from 1-3:30 p.m. CT Saturday at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Where to watch it?
The event can be streamed live below:
Who is performing?
According to Bell, the organizing committee decides who skates in the gala, though any medalist from earlier in the Games is automatically invited.
“There are additional skaters, maybe up to like the top five or six that can be invited,” Bell said. “Also, any standout performers that maybe didn’t have the best competition but are really loved by people and have a really great performance quality can be invited to perform. Additionally, anyone who represents the host country that that event is being held in.”
Here’s the full list of skaters:
MEN
Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ)
Yuma Kagiyama (JPN)
Shun Sato (JPN)
Junhwan Cha (KOR)
Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA)
Ilia Malinin (USA)
Daniel Grassl (ITA)
PAIRS
Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara (JPN)
Anastasiia Metelkina / Luka Berulava (GEO)
Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nikita Volodin (GER)
Maria Pavlova / Alexei Sviatchenko (HUN)
Sara Conti / Niccolò Macii (ITA)
ICE DANCE
Guillaume Cizeron / Laurence Fournier Beaudry (FRA)
Madison Chock / Evan Bates (USA)
Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier (CAN)
Charlène Guignard / Marco Fabbri (ITA)
Allison Reed / Saulius Ambrulevičius (LTU)
Olivia Smart / Tim Dieck (ESP)
WOMEN
Alysa Liu (USA)
Kaori Sakamoto (JPN)
Ami Nakai (JPN)
Amber Glenn (USA)
Adeliia Petrosian (AIN)
Niina Petrokina (EST)
Haein Lee (KOR)
