5 Winter Festivals of the World

By Rachel Will - December 20, 2013
  • Revelers at an ice castle at the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival.

    Revelers at an ice castle at the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival.

  • Competitor Sean Burch attempting to conquer the North Pole Marathon.

    Competitor Sean Burch attempting to conquer the North Pole Marathon.

  • A temple made of ice at the Sapporo Snow Festival.

    A temple made of ice at the Sapporo Snow Festival.

  • A visitor inspects a sculpture at the Kiruna Snow Festival. Photo by Martin Smedsen

    A visitor inspects a sculpture at the Kiruna Snow Festival. Photo by Martin Smedsen

  • An installation at the Amsterdam Light Festival by Janet Echelman. Photo by Janus van den Eijnden

    An installation at the Amsterdam Light Festival by Janet Echelman. Photo by Janus van den Eijnden

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Kiruna Snow Festival
January 22 to 26, 2014—Sweden

For the citizens of Kiruna, temperatures touching minus 10 degrees Celsius are the ideal conditions to sculpt ice. Kiruna Snow Festival is an ice sculpting competition involving more than 20 international sculptors. They compete to show off their best creations in order to steal the title of Snow Sculpting Champion. The Kiruna Snow Festival was inspired by the ice sculpting tradition that residents started in 1986 while celebrating the launch of the Viking satellite.

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