Sculptors from around the world return to Jesolo, a seaside resort near Venice in north-east Italy, for an annual sand festival dedicated to religious art. The 18th edition of the popular event, which skipped a year due to the covid pandemic, opened on 9 December and can be visited until 6 January 2022.

On display are 12 monumental sculptures, made entirely of sand, depicting Nativity scenes as well as biblical stories of healing and miracles. The sculptors used thousands of tons of sand to create their masterpieces which appear to be carved from stone.