A mythical world inspired by ancient Greece has risen from a stretch of Great Yarmouth's famous golden sands - and will welcome visitors until Sunday, 10 September. From Mount Olympus to the Golden Mile, the Greek gods and figures have been cast into the Norfolk sand by around 40 artists for a summer exhibition next to the Marina Centre.
 | | One of the impressive sand carvings |
The Olympic gods and legends of the Trojan Horse, Odysseus and the Cyclops are just some of the 60 figures which stand as tall as houses. The sand sculpture festival is being billed by organisers as the biggest event of its kind in England. "It's a real big one for the resort," said Dawn James from Great Yarmouth Borough Council. "Generally these events tend to take place in Europe and the States. "It's only really ever been done once in the UK, last year in Brighton," she added. World-class talent The creators of the imposing carvings have jetted in from America, Russia, Hawaii, Holland, Germany and France. The fantasy land took shape over 10 days, sprawled across 10,000 square metres of the Central beach. The sculptures have been transformed from 4,000 tonnes of young river sand, imported from Holland. A specific kind of rough sand which binds together and can be compacted enough to withstand storms had to be used rather than local grains which are too polished to sculpt with. The event has been put together by Dutch firm Proserv, which is also running a tandem festival in Brighton to celebrate the delights of ancient Rome. - The festival, next to the Marina Centre, will be open seven days a week from 11am to 6pm between Saturday, 17 June and Sunday, 10 September, 2006. Tickets are £6 for adults, £5 for concessions and £4 for children between 4 and 12, with group discounts available.
| 
