This year’s edition of Zwolle’s annual ice sculpture festival is in doubt after the roof of the giant marquee where the sculptors work collapsed under the weight of snow.

The show should be held from December 23 to March 4 but organizer Marc van Aalst told local broadcaster RTV Oost it will now be very difficult to stage.

The ice sculptors, many of whom have come from abroad, are now unable to complete their projects in the 50 ice chambers which were housed in the tent.

‘We hope to know whether the event will go ahead in a couple of days,’ Van Aalst said. ‘It’s a drama, but we’ve not yet given up.’

A spokesman for marquee hire firm Kontent Structures said the tent had caved in because of the combination of rain and heavy snow.

The ice festival bills itself as the biggest in Europe, and says 275,000 kilos of ice and 275,000 kilos of snow are involved in creating the sculptures.