[2] The hotel, including the chairs and beds, is constructed from snow and ice blocks taken from the nearby Torne River.

In Spring 1990, French artist Jannot Derid held an exhibition in a cylinder-shaped igloo in the same area.

[citation needed] The Icehotel in Jukkasjärvi is known to be the biggest hotel of ice and snow in the world, spanning over some 6,000 square metres (64,600 sq ft).

[10] The hotel appeared in a sketch about Sweden in one of the shows of the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, courtesy of Lynda Woodruff.

[14][15] Icehotel AB searched for business partners during the early and mid-1990s, and the founder, Yngve Bergqvist, chose Absolut Vodka as the first sponsor.

The first Absolut Icebar opened in the Icehotel in 1994,[16] and today, the concept is used in three cities: London, Stockholm and Jukkasjärvi.

The concept was launched in spring 2009, with the opening of the Ice Bar CPH by Icehotel in Copenhagen, Denmark.

When the temperature drops to levels required for snow gun operations, usually in mid-November, the building process begins.

[17] The snow is sprayed on huge inverted catenary shaped steel forms and allowed to freeze.

Ice blocks are then transported into the hotel, where selected artists start creating the art and design of the perishable material.