Tens of thousands of amateur skaters and many more sightseers are expected at Cardiff's Winter Wonderland event which opened to the public on Saturday.

It is the second year that the lawn outside the City Hall has been transformed into an open-air ice rink.

Skating star William Tapper helped open the rink

The rink is 50% larger than last year to cater for the large number of visitors over the five weeks that the attraction is open.

In 2001, it brought in 30,000 skaters and more than 100,000 visitors - to the delight of the city council, which is bidding to become the European capital of culture in 2008.

"Last year's event was enjoyed by thousands," said Councillor Marion Drake.

"We are very keen to make the run-up to Christmas a family event which will run for a few weeks rather than a few days."

The skating arena was officially opened by four young international skaters.

They included 13-year-old William Tapper from Pontllanfraith in south east Wales.

William first ventured onto the ice when he was five years old, and his ambition is to represent Wales and Great Britain as a senior international skater.

The rink proved very popular last year

He has already competed at international level, and is training for the British novice championships in April 2003.

Every weekend, William makes a four-hour round trip to Coventry in the west Midlands, where he is coached by two of the UK's top skating instructors, Uri Bureiko and Serguei Ostrii.

William was accompanied on the rink in Cardiff by the top-ranked senior British female skater, 16-year-old Jenna McCorkell; 15-year-old Toni-Lee Sykes and 17-year-old Melissa McGlynn.

The quartet was followed by a more wobbly display as the first public session took place - with safety stewards on hand to deal with bruised knees and egos.