Dutch entry Eternal Rome wins sand sculpting competition

Dutch sand sculptor and illustrator Jeroen Advocaat has won this year’s European Sand Sculpture Championship in Garderen (Gelderland), pipping four international contenders to the post.

The theme of the competition was “The Roman Empire” exemplified by Advocaat as a Roman soldier threatening a citizen against the background of a crumbling wall.

His work, entitled Roma Eternae (eternal Rome) had the “WOW factor” for its “ originality, technical perfection and strong storytelling”, the jury said.

It took Advocaat 6 and a half days to turn his allotted 30 tonnes of sand into the finished product, he told local media. “Catching the emotions on the faces was the most challenging. Every little change to the mouth or eyebrows changes the expression,” he said.

The rain of the last few days also made the job more difficult for the sculptors.

The sculptures can be seen at the Beeldentuin in Garderen until the end of the summer.