Tickets are now available for the live tapings of CBC’s returning hit BATTLE OF THE BLADES (Season 5, 1×120, 6×60) in and around the Greater Toronto Area on Thursdays from September 19 through October 31.* Fans are invited to book tickets at cbc.ca/battletickets to watch athletes from two of Canada’s favourite sports — figure skating and hockey — as they pair up in a live, high-stakes figure skating competition for the charity of their choice. The live tapings will offer entertainment for all ages.
Produced by Insight Productions, BATTLE OF THE BLADES will launch with a special two-hour premiere on Thursday, September 19 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service, and will continue to air Thursdays at 8 p.m. (9 AT, 9:30 NT).
The live taping dates, times and locations are as follows:
All times listed are ET.
Thursday, September 19 (special two-hour premiere) – Hamilton
FirstOntario Centre
101 York Blvd, Hamilton, Ontario, L8R 3L4
Doors open at 5:30 p.m., live taping begins at 7 p.m.
Reserved seating
Thursday, September 26 – Hamilton
FirstOntario Centre
101 York Blvd, Hamilton, Ontario, L8R 3L4
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
Reserved seating
Thursday, October 3 – Hamilton
FirstOntario Centre
101 York Blvd, Hamilton, Ontario, L8R 3L4
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
Reserved seating
Thursday, October 10 – Mississauga *tickets on sale as of 10 a.m. on August 23
Paramount Fine Foods Centre
5500 Rose Cherry Pl, Mississauga, Ontario, L4Z 4B6
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
Reserved seating
Thursday, October 17 – Oshawa
Tribute Communities Centre
99 Athol St E, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 1J8
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
General admission
Thursday, October 24 – Oshawa
Tribute Communities Centre
99 Athol St E, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 1J8
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
General admission
Thursday, October 31 – Toronto
Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre (former Maple Leaf Gardens)
50 Carlton St, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1J2
Doors open at 6:30 p.m., live taping begins at 8 p.m.
General admission
Attendees may be photographed and/or recorded for the BATTLE OF THE BLADES broadcast. For more information and to book tickets, visit cbc.ca/battletickets.
Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean will reprise his role as host, with four-time Canadian and four-time World champion figure skater Kurt Browning returning as head judge. Beloved Canadian Olympic Games ice dance champions, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, will be rink-side with him as guest judges for select episodes. The complete lineup of figure skaters includes: Violetta Afanasieva, Amanda Evora, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Vanessa James, Andrew Poje, Eric Radford, and Kaitlyn Weaver. Previously announced hockey players for the new iteration of the hugely popular format include Sheldon Kennedy and Natalie Spooner. The complete lineup of hockey players, as well as the pairings for the competition, will be announced in the coming weeks. First launched in 2009, BATTLE OF THE BLADES was broadcast on CBC from 2009—2013 (4 seasons, 57 episodes) and remains the highest-rated original English-language Canadian format of all time.*