Officials at Space World, a Japanese theme park, issued a plea for forgiveness over the weekend, after public backlash forced them to close a skating rink that featured all sorts of sea creatures frozen into the ice. Some 5,000 fish, crabs, and other sea creatures were frozen into the skating rink as part of an attraction dubbed “Freezing Port,” but the public was quick to respond with disgust. Park officials said in their public apology that they were “shocked” by the public’s reaction, and the rink was closed by Sunday evening after a two-week run.
Space World manager Toshimi Takeda talked to CNN about the so-called “world first” skating rink attraction. “We were shocked to hear the reaction as the ice skate rink was very popular since it opened two weeks ago, we had an unprecedented number of visitors,” Takeda said. “(But) we had endless opinions about the project, we were shocked … We are sorry for the project and decided to close the rink on that night.”
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The fish and other marine creatures frozen into the skating rink were reportedly already dead before being installed in the rink, according to Takeda, who told CNN they were purchased from a local fish market. Now, theme park workers are tasked with removing the fish from the ice, holding an “appropriate religious service” and then reusing the carcasses as fertilizer.
Although “Freezing Port” had been open for two weeks, it took news of the macabre attraction hitting social media on Saturday to ignite the public backlash that eventually closed the morbid skating rink. Users of Facebook and Twitter bashed the theme park for the move, and Space World officials were quick to reach a decision to close the attraction on Sunday. Swiftly following that announcement, theme park officials deleted all mentions and photos of the gruesome ice show from its Facebook page.
Via CNN
Images via Space World
