According to the Guinness Book of Records, the International Sand Sculpture Festival in Belgium is the largest event of this format in the world. To organize a real holiday, 600 trucks with sand were delivered to the Belgian city of Blankenberge. The International Sand Sculpture Festival in Belgium was held at the highest level.
The resort town of Blankenberge receives thousands of tourists every year. It is located on the North Sea coast and is rich in wide beaches with sand dunes. However, for an international sand sculpture festival in Belgium, sea sand is not suitable. The main material for sculptors from different countries was brought from sand pits located near Brussels.
In 2012, the magic of sculptors was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Disneyland Paris. The organizers chose the appropriate name for the festival: “Once in a fairyland”. For six weeks, forty craftsmen from around the world transformed mountains of sand into unique works of art. On the coast of Blankenberge, the heroes of the fairy tales of Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, Astrid Lindgren, Walt Disney, Charles Dickens and J. K. Rowling appeared out of nowhere. Both children and adults come to feel the real spirit of a fairy tale and plunge into the world of real magic.
In total, about 200 compositions were created within the framework of the international festival of sand sculptures in Belgium. Elves, gnomes, dragons, fairies, princesses, Mickey Mouse with his friends, the Lion King and many other heroes are reproduced in great detail from the wet sand. One of the main objects of the festival was the Sleeping Beauty Castle, known to children and adults all over the world for its signature Walt Disney cartoon screensaver. On the Belgian coast, it was erected by two Ukrainian craftsmen from Kharkov - Oleg Masalitin and Artem Samoilov.
The President of the Sand Sculpture Festival in Blankenberg, Alexander Deman, does not get tired of repeating to curious visitors that sand masses do not contain any additions such as concrete. That is why all created beauty is short-lived. Magic heroes will stay on the coast until September 2, when the official closing of the international sand sculpture festival in Belgium is planned.
