A team of 40 ice sculptors gathered in the Belgium city of Bruges for the
eighth Ice Festival.

BRUGES, BELGIUM (NOVEMBER 18, 2008) REUTERS -
The team sculptors includes citizens from Canada, the United States,
Russia and Finland.

The festival opens its doors on Friday (November 21) and before the
public opening, sculptors were busy putting the final touches to their icy
art.

The Norse god Odin, also known as the Lord of Runes, welcomes the
visitors at the entrance of the Walhalla full of mystery, magic and fantasy.
The visit starts with a gloomy labyrinth filled with smoke. At the end appears
a Stonehenge-like monument. In the heart of this mysterious and famous
mega-structure, a princess screams for help. She is the Princess of Snow, but
she has been locked in a crystal prison by dark forces. Visitors have to hurry
and seek a way to free her. It can be a magical spell, an enchanted drink, or
a secret formula. Go and find the clues that are hidden in the ice sculptures.
Amulets, pentagrams, astrological symbols, tarot cards all carry messages only
for them who understand them. White sorcerers and magicians, maybe even Harry
Potter himself will guide you in this odyssey.

The organizers of the festival produced three hundred tons of
crystal-clear ice. Contrary to previous festivals where ice blocks were
transported from as far as Canada, the blocks are now produced locally in
Flanders. Warm water is pumped from bottom to top at a temperature of minus 30
degrees. Thus no air bubbles are locked into the ice, resulting in the best
quality if ice. It takes 4 weeks for a block of 2 tonnes to form. Ice blocks
are also crushed and pulverized to produce four hundred tons of snow to allow
sculptors to create figures as tall as the 4.5 meters-high Snow Princess.

Carvers say the weight of the blocks and the nature of the material
ensure that the blocks stick perfectly together, allowing him to create tall
work. The most important for ice carving are very, very sharp tools. What is
wonderful with ice, you can very easily stick things together, so you can
build.

The artworks are preserved in a specially designed thermal tent where
temperatures are kept at a constant -6° C.

Open until January 11, the festival's organisers expect 200,000
visitors who will be able to enjoy an icy drink at the icy bar just before
facing Belgium's icy weather.