Yuzuru Hanyu shocked everyone with his new ice show “GIFT”

Yuzuru Hanyu is still the most popular figure skater in the world. His solo show drew an entire stadium, and was broadcast live in cinemas and on major online platforms.

What a extravaganza from the great Japanese!

“The Tokyo Dome is a legendary venue in Japan. It is the country’s premier baseball stadium and is also home to the Hall of Fame. The arena, often called the “Big Egg,” has also hosted NBA games and Mike Tyson’s title fight. Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Sting and other artists have all performed there.

No wonder that the figure skating superstar also chose this iconic stage for the show on February 26. Generally, capacity of the stadium is 57 thousand, but because of the complex decorations number of seats was reduced to 35 thousand. The figure is still impressive.

The Japanese found a way to show the show to everyone – another 30 thousand tickets were sold to local movie theaters, which showed Hanyu live. The broadcast was also hosted by the major streaming service Disney+.

Yuzuru is the first skater to put together such a show. And most importantly, his program Gift is a solo show. For almost three hours Hanyu was on the ice alone.

“There were many difficult moments. At first I wasn’t sure I could make it through two and a half hours, but some things were only possible because everything was happening at the Tokyo Dome.” – Hanyu said.

Long before the show started, a crowd had gathered outside the arena – the tickets had been sold out long ago, and even the solid average price of $200 did not scare off Hanyu’s fans.

The show was so large-scale, it was more like a rock star performance than a sports one. Complicated sets, lighting effects, and a huge screen. The most impressive moment was Hanyu in the form of a phoenix with wings not only on the costume, but in the whole arena.

In the middle of the stadium they poured a full-fledged ice arena – 30 by 60 meters. The music was performed live by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Hanyu showed some new numbers, but most awaited, of course, were his hits – a short to Let Me Entertain You by Robbie Williams and the legendary Seimei.

Yuzuru himself singled out the performance that left him without a medal in Beijing 2022. At the time, he failed a quadruple salchow in the short program to the music of Camille Saint-Saëns. According to Hanyu, the Rondo Capriccioso had become a demon he needed to exorcise. Prepared in earnest, like a competition – Winnie the Pooh on the spot.

“This is the program I didn’t roll at the Beijing Olympics. Today it’s like I recreated the feelings from there when I couldn’t fully realize the dream I was riding with. I wanted to convey the message that you can make your dreams come true, even if not always in the way you originally imagined.”

In March, Hanyu will present another show, already with his own ice troupe. In the meantime, she is enjoying the adoration of the Japanese, which was not affected in any way by the end of her career, nor by the results of the last Olympics.