The new sand sculpture theme park opens in Lagoa.
SandCity opened its’ door in early June featuring the most extensive and most varied exhibition of sand sculptures ever made in Portugal. Replacing the previously named FIESA (International Festival of Sand Sculptures) in Algoz, SandCity is the new project of the company Prosandart, which over the past 17 years has produced what was considered to be the biggest exhibition of its kind around the world.
There are 50,000 tonnes of golden sand sculpted under the theme “Around the World”, with sculptures representing the architecture, culture, fauna and flora of the five continents and imaginary scenes linked to travel and travellers. It’s a mixture of Phileas Fogg’s famous travels in Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne, with modern celebrities and historical figures all coming together.
This new “sand city” was carved by 57 artists from all over the world — from Europe, Turkey, Brazil and Canada to Australia — many of which are award-winning sand and ice sculptors and have already done remarkable work in these new forms of artistic expression. For three weeks, they shaped animals, monuments and people, creating around 80 different scenes. These include Cristiano Ronaldo next to Fernando Pessoa and the Tower of Belém, Pope Francis riding a Vespa, Nelson Mandela in South Africa, the Dalai Lama in Tibet and Queen Elizabeth II having tea next to Big Ben in a sculpture dedicated to England. And, of course, they could not possibly leave out Game of Thrones. There’s an area dedicated to the ocean, where visitors can see varied marine environments and an interpretation of the severe and worsening pollution problem in the oceans. Children also have a space for sculptures dedicated to them, with travel stories and various children’s imagination figures of many generations like the Little Prince, Dumbo, Paddington, Mowgli, Snow White and Spider-Man.
The new sand sculpture themed park is situated between the main roundabout of Lagoa and the roundabout of Porches, directly opposite Nobel International School Algarve. Occupying an area of about six hectares, visitors can enjoy a snack or refreshment from the onsite restaurant with plenty of shade. Sand sculpture workshops and various artistic, cultural and environmental activities will be developed during the summer months and evolve over time.
SandCity will be open to the public until November 30, from 10am to 10pm, and can be visited by day and night when the sculptures are illuminated by light sets. There’s nothing else like it and visitors can enjoy story cards at each scene to explain the history or idea behind it.
