Sculpting on ice at Canary Wharf [VIDEO]

Ice Sculpting pic: Adelle Kalakouti

Bankers and visitors at Canary Wharf were in for a treat on Friday as the London Ice Sculpting Festival was launched at the business district.

The event, which took place on Friday 13 and Saturday  14, consisted of eight teams from all over the world, who competed to be crowned the best ice sculptors of 2012.

Contestants from the UK, France, Hungary, Portugal, Africa, Bulgaria, Belgium and Sweden, used chainsaws to chisel away at massive two-metre blocks of ice to shape their sculptures.

Each team consists of two sculptors, competing in pairs to create a sculpture to the theme of ‘Winter sports’.

One of each team also competes in the Speed sculpting competition, in which they have an hour and a half to sculpt a one-metre block of ice to the theme of ‘Team spirit’.

The winner of the Singles competition is determined by both a judging panel and the Public choice award.

Zsolt Toth, representing the Hungarian team, said: “working with ice is very close to my heart, as it is alive; it is melting and changing by the minute”.

Visitors had the chance to have a go at sculpting their own Husky dog at the short 20-minute masterclasses provided at the festival. There is also a snowpit, where young children can play with real snow.

Video by Adelle Kalakouti and Agata Graf

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