These spectacular castles have been built as part of
the world's biggest sand sculpture festival.
Around 40 'sand artists' from around the world attended the Sand
Sculpture Festival on the beach of Blankenberge in Belgium. Over 10,000
tonnes of sand was used to create the amazing 'sand village' as part of
the festival's 20th anniversary.
The festival, which runs until the end of the month, has a fairytale
theme and includes magestic castles and enchanting palaces as well as a
host of comic book favourites.
A spokesman said: 'This year the Sand Sculpture Festival in Blankenberge
will bring to life fairytales by the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney, as
well as the magical stories of Charles Dickens and J.K. Rowling and so
many other famous tales from the world of myths and legends.
'Not only will all the best-known and best-loved fairy tales be on show,
but also great legends and fables from the four corners of the earth,
which will allow you to relive that magical days of yesteryear."
Visitors can take walk-through tours of the sand village where other
comic book favourites such as Tintin and the Smurfs are also on display.
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Fairytale palaces: Two of the incredible castles created for the annual
'Zandsculpturen' festival. 40 sand artists from across the globe have
gathered on the Belgian coast to create a spectacular sand village
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Sand smurf: Belgian cartoon favourites the smurfs are recreated in
amazing detail for one of the exhibits. An incredible 10,000 tons of
sand were needed for this project, which is the biggest festival of that
kind in the world
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Detail: Comic book hero Tintin and his faithful companions Captain
Haddock and Snowy the dog draw the crowds at the festival in
Blankenberge, Belgium
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The sand of make believe: This year's Zandsculpturen festival has a
fairytales and cartoons theme
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Goofy: The Disney favourite is one of the exhibitions on show at the
festival. The event is part of the 20th anniversary celebrations for
Eurodisney Paris
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Record breaker: The event, which will run until the end of the month is
officially the biggest sand sculpture festival in the world
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Sleeping beauty: 40 of the world's top sand artists from across the
globe to create the amazing spectacle
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Photocall: Visitors pose for a picture in front of one of the amazing
sand castles
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Breathtaking: Another amazingly intricate sculpture on
show at the Belgium festival |