Sand sculpture festival brings super-heroes to Belgian beach

Sand carver Sergey Zaplatin from Russia. REUTERS/Yves Herman

OSTEND, Belgium (Reuters) - 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 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.

An artist works on a sculpture during the Sand Sculpture Festival "Disney Sand Magic" in Ostend, Belgium June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman

"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)

Sand carver Franco Daga from Italy works on a sculpture during the Sand Sculpture Festival "Disney Sand Magic" in Ostend, Belgium June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman

An artist works on a sculpture during the Sand Sculpture Festival "Disney Sand Magic" in Ostend, Belgium June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Sand carver Teimur Ilya Shanin from Russia works on a sculpture during the Sand Sculpture Festival "Disney Sand Magic" in Ostend, Belgium June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Sand carver Sergey Aseer from Russia works on a sculpture during the Sand Sculpture Festival "Disney Sand Magic" in Ostend, Belgium June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Sand carver Teimur Ilya Shanin from Russia works on a sculpture during the Sand Sculpture Festival "Disney Sand Magic" in Ostend, Belgium June 22, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman