Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean 'excited and humbled' after invitation to return to Sarajevo and perform gold-winning routine
The Olympic Hall Juan Antonio Samaranch has been rebuilt having been destroyed in the Bosnian War and Torvill and Dean will return to the scene of their greatest success
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Your support makes all the difference.Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are “excited and humbled” to be returning to Sarajevo next month to mark the 30th anniversary of their historic 'Bolero' ice dancing routine.
The pair have accepted an invitation from the mayors of Sarajevo and East Sarajevo to return to skate the routine on February 13 at the Olympic Hall Juan Antonio Samaranch, which has been rebuilt after being destroyed in the Bosnian war of the mid-1990s.
It will be only the second time the pair have returned to the city since their triumph, and the money raised from their visit will be used to build a permanent ice rink in the city ahead of the 2017 European Youth Winter Olympic Festival.
Dean told Press Association Sport: "We are very excited and humbled to have been invited by the mayors of Sarajevo to return to a place we have always held so close in our hearts.
"We went back there 10 years ago to reminisce and the place was still rather war-torn and we very much hope that our visit will help the city continue to regenerate and encourage optimism there again.
"What we saw was shocking, and people were telling us of living in fear of sniper fire and simply trying to find water.
"Everything else pales into insignificance, but the war has passed and the people are regenerating and if in some ways we can help with that process in a celebratory kind of way it would be a great thing to be a part of."
The pair, who won British, European and world titles as well as their Olympic gold, retired from the sport in 1998 but were brought back together as mentors on the reality television show Dancing On Ice.
As well as recreating their most famous moment next month, Torvill and Dean will also present a team of eight young British skaters at the event.
The group have been selected from the National Ice Skating Association's performance and development squads and include British junior men's champion Graham Newberry in their number.
PA
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