Gran Canaria, January 2013.
The opening ceremony was attended by Pablo Barbero and Carolina León, councilors for Tourism and the Isleta-Puerto-Guanarteme District of the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council, as well as Melchor Camón, Tourism Councilor of the Gran Canaria Island Council; and María Méndez, managing director of Tourism of the Canary Islands.
This eighth edition presents six Christmas scenes created by six international sculptors, who worked with approximately 2,000 tons of sand across a 1,500-square-meter area. The exhibition will remain open until January 6, inviting residents and visitors to enjoy this unique display of ephemeral outdoor art.
The event, which has become a major tourist attraction, showcases Gran Canaria and the Canary Islands as a destination where Christmas is celebrated under the sun and in warm weather, while much of Europe is in winter. Furthermore, the traditional scenes are imbued with Canarian pride, paying homage to its fishermen, native flora, and iconic landscapes such as Roque Nublo and the Tejeda Caldera. The Sand Nativity Scene transcends mere tourism, becoming a living narrative of the islands' history and identity.
The participating artists are: the Danish Peter Busch-Jensen, author of the Nativity scene; the Russians Aleksei Dyakov, Vadim Gryadov and Mikhail Fedotov, responsible for the scenes of the Three Wise Men, the Annunciation and the water carrier; the Italian Michela Ciappini, creator of the fishing village; and the Canarian sculptor Jonay Ruiz, author of the town of Bethlehem and the announcing star.
More attendees are expected than the 120,000 who visited last year, as the number of visitors has already surpassed 30,000 in just four days. The donations collected will once again go to the four soup kitchens in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, reaffirming the event's charitable nature.
