a 'house of cards', a Casablanca palace, an Art Deco design, a blooming cherry tree, a bed surrounded by 'whirling passionate thoughts' are first designs to be announced

A British furniture maker, landscape designer and taxidermist are amongst the first artists to be announced for this year's ICEHOTEL which is set to open its doors to the first guests in Swedish Lapland in less than three months' time as Arctic travel specialist, Discover the World, also confirms its full travel programme including the 10th year of its exclusive direct flight between Heathrow and Kiruna.

ICEHOTEL 365

The big news for this year is for the first time ever a whole new ice experience will be opening in Jukkasjärvi - ICEHOTEL 365, the world's first ever year round ice hotel which will be open 365 days of the year and will coexist during the Winter months alongside the seasonal ICEHOTEL. ICEHOTEL 365 is expected to open first in mid- November, a month ahead of the seasonal hotel which will open as usual in mid-December and melt back into the river in the Spring. During the summer months solar panels warmed from the Midnight Sun will generate power to cool ICEHOTEL 365. It will feature 20 ice suites in total, nine of which will be 'deluxe' offering a warm en-suite bathroom, sauna and changing area adjacent to the frozen bedroom area. In addition, there will be a champagne bar as well as an ice art gallery.

Brits amongst the first artists announced

**The two British artists' designs to be chosen from the 100s of designs submitted to the ICEHOTEL panel include the Liverpool based brother design duo, Hugh and Howard Miller. Hugh is a furniture designer and Howard an architect, landscape designer and RHS Chelsea gold medal winner in 2015. Their concept is called the 'Ikebana Room' based on the ancient Japanese tradition of flower arranging and will showcase a blooming cherry tree.

The second comes from Dorset based sculptor and taxidermist Katarina Rose whose design, Sleeping inside a Passionate Thought involves flames of ice and snow that spread out from the ice bed, up the walls and across the ceiling to create the feeling of sleeping inside an actual feeling. Rose's mother was Swedish, born in Kiruna and she already has several gold medals for England won at international snow sculpting competitions so she is no newcomer to working with snow and ice.

A few of the other ingenious designs which will be enjoyed by guests this year include a House of Cards made from ice and snow, an exotic palace inspired by Casablanca, and an Art Deco suite. There will be a total of 35 unique ice suites made entirely from ice and snow showcasing different designs across both hotels. A total of 40 artists' designs have been chosen which will also be used for the ice chapel, ICEBAR, the main halls and a new ice gallery in ICEHTOEL 365. Like the seasonal hotel, suite designs will change in the permanent hotel on an annual basis.

Two particularly enticing designs include 'Lapland Waves' where the waves have frozen to ice with the bed floating as if buoyed by the ocean, as well as the 'White Cathedral' created as a homage to sculptor Ferdinand Cheval who built what is known as the 'ideal' palace in south east France in the late 1800s from pebbles he collected on his rounds as a postman.

The amount of snow taken to create its 55 rooms, as well as its church and bar, is enough to make a staggering 700 million snowballs. The chandeliers alone will feature over 1000 hand cut ice crystals. 5000 tons of ice are harvested each Spring from the Torne River and stored until October when the building process starts in earnest and the artists gather to be personally involved in the build.

10th anniversary of ICEFLIGHT from Heathrow to Kiruna December 16 to March 17

Discover the World is offering its largest choice of ICEHOTEL breaks ever, as well as operating the UK's only direct flight from London Heathrow to Kiruna, now known as the 'ICEFLIGHT', which is in its 10th year. The flight takes just 3.5 hours eliminating the hassle of long transfers and internal flights with a short 15-minute transfer from the airport taking you directly to the hotel and will operate between mid-December and late March.

The collection offers the opportunity to combine a stay at the iconic ICEHOTEL with various aurora adventures and thrilling Arctic activities including dog sledding, snowshoeing, ice sculpture and snowmobiling with both single and twin centres and fly-drive itineraries for adventures across Swedish Lapland, Norway and even further afield to Iceland.

Breaks start from £1043pp* for a three-night break – visit www.discover-the-world.co.uk/icehotel for the full collection.

The hotel is located in the picturesque village of Jukkasjärvi in Swedish Lapland, just 200km north of the Arctic Circle and is surrounded by snow- covered fells and pristine pine forests. It was first founded in 1989 as an art exhibition and since then has developed into a fully functioning hotel now in its 27th year. The artists and artwork vary from year to year, with the designs presenting a unique ephemeral collection melting back into the river in the late Spring. After the seasonal hotel has melted, ICEHOTEL 365 will remain open offering visitors an ice experience all year round.

For more information, or to book, visit www.discover-the-world.co.uk/icehotel or call 01737 214 291.

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For further information please contact Fiona Reece or Sophie Clements at Fiona Reece PR,

01242 806804 / 07702 684 682

fiona@fionareece.com / sophie@fionareece.com

*The lead in price of £1043pp includes three nights' accommodation (one night on ice and the other two in warm accommodation) based on two sharing including daily breakfast and morning sauna, return direct flights between London Heathrow and Kiruna, airport transfers and loan of thermal outdoor wear.

**British Designers

Katarina Rose on Sleeping Inside a Passionate Thought

"I want to create an installation that uses the whole room to describe the abstract idea of sleeping inside a thought. For this I will create flames of ice and snow that spread out from the ice bed, up the walls and across the ceiling." Read more about Katarina: http://katarinarose.com/

Hugh and Howard Miller on Ikebana Room

“Our suite is called the Ikebana room, and is based on the ancient Japanese tradition of flower arranging. I travelled to Japan last year to spend two months researching Japan's unique woodworking culture. In the design, we wanted to communicate what makes Japanese craftsmanship and philosophy so special. The simplicity, purity and elegance of Ikebana seemed the perfect way to communicate these ideas.

We are interested in how these natural plant forms can be described in natural ice. Both plants and ice are ephemeral - they are fleeting and do not last forever. We want our Ikebana room to be a beautiful, ephemeral, quiet space, which can return to the rivers of Sweden in the spring.”

http://www.hughmillerfurniture.co.uk

http://howardmillerdesign.co.uk/

About ICEHOTEL

ICEHOTEL is the world's first hotel built entirely of ice and snow. It is also the world's largest at 5,500 square metres. Each year, artists are carefully selected to design each suite with a unique and interesting concept. No two designs are ever the same, ensuring visitors get a totally unique experience.

The construction of ICEHOTEL is done in several phases. As one section is completed, it opens to visitors and overnight guests, while the other sections are still under construction. All the chosen artists gather each year in November to be a part of the build. The first part of the hotel opens in the beginning of December, and from then, new rooms open each week with the hotel completed by the beginning of January.

Adjacent to ICEHOTEL are chalet style buildings where there are warm rooms and chalets, dressing rooms, saunas, luggage storage, relaxation areas, restaurants and much more. This part of the hotel is open year round and trips are available for guests to watch the construction of ICEHOTEL rooms.

For the first time 2016 will see the construction of ICEHOTEL 365 adjacent to the seasonal hotel which will offer visitors the chance to sleep on ice throughout the year with the power from the Midnight Sun harvested through solar panels used to chill the permanent building to -5C during the warmer months.

About Discover the World

Discover the World is the recognised world leading tour operator to the ICEHOTEL and has offered holidays to this iconic hotel and Swedish Lapland since the very first hotel was built 27 years ago. Such was the demand and the interest from the UK that Discover the World has been running a direct flight between Heathrow and Kiruna throughout the main winter season for the past nine years.