Weird News Sand sculpture festival brings super-heroes to Belgian beach

A beach in Belgium has been transformed into a giant sandy gallery, featuring larger-than-life super heroes, cartoon characters and Cinderella's castle, for one of the world's biggest sand-sculpture festivals.

Locals overjoyed as beach washed away 30 years ago returns after storm

Villagers say they are delighted a beach washed away over 30 years ago has returned to Achill Island in recent weeks. For the first time since 1984, an extensively sandy beach has returned to Dooagh Bay, Co Mayo. The beach near the west coast village of Dooagh on Achill Island disappeared in Spring storms in 1984 after waves washed all the sand away. The beach was left with nothing more than rock pools. However, for the first time since the storms of 1984, the island’s villagers and tourists can enjoy a walk along the strand again, as the sea has deposited thousands of tons of sand onto the formerly rocky beach.

A beach in Belgium has been transformed into a giant sandy gallery, featuring larger-than-life super heroes , cartoon characters and Cinderella’s castle, for one of the world’s biggest sand - sculpture festivals . Working with 7,000 tonnes of sand , a team of 32 artists spent five weeks creating the 150

Sand sculpture festival brings super - heroes to Belgian beach . Sand sculptures are seen during the Sand Sculpture Festival ‘Disney Sand Magic’ in Ostend. A team of 32 sand sculptors from around the world spent five weeks building 150 sculptures based on Disney, Pixar, Star Wars and

Working with 7,000 tonnes of sand, a team of 32 artists spent five weeks creating the 150 works for the Ostend Sand Sculpture Festival, which opens on Saturday and runs until September, providing rain does not wash away the exhibits.

Many of the artists work in other mediums, such as wood or marble carving, and said they found sand sculpting presented some challenges.

"What I like in the sand is that you must be very tactile while carving, I am also an ice carver and to compare with ice, the sand is very fragile," Russian artist Sergey Zaplatn told Reuters.

(Reporting by Yves Herman, writing by Mark Hanrahan in London; Editing by Toby Davis)