The Sapporo Snow
Festival
The festival began in 1950 and is an
annual event. 2-3 million people visit the event during a
week in February. The 1997 event will take place 3-11 of
February. Hundreds of snow sculptures in all shapes and
sizes will be built by professionals as well as amateurs
in central Sapporo. All Japanese people follow the
Sapporo Snow Festival and the festival is also covered by
international media.
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The Swedish Participation
Goal
- To participate in the festival and to build a
3.5 m tall Viking in snow.
- To use this opportunity to show as much as
possible of Sweden.
- To get as much attention as possible by
spectacular happenings and promotion events
during the festival.
How?
- The "blue-eyed" team will during
3.5 days shovel snow to build an enormous
Viking from a hard
 and heavy block of
snow.
- The Swedish construction will continuously be
shown on Internet in word and picture. You
can also communicate directly with the team
by e-mail.
- During the week of building we will have
happenings around the Viking. It will be
song, music and handing out of gifts to the
cheering crowds.
- The large Swedish Viking Exhibition, a part
of the Sweden Campaign, will be in Sapporo at
the same time and we will work together to
promote Sweden.
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The Swedish statue
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Contest information
1. Period: February 3 to 9 1997
2. Contest site: International square at Odori Park
3. Team composition: A team should represent a country
or other self-governing entity and must be approved by
its countries embassy or a public organization of similar
standing. However, some teams permitted to participate by
the Sapporo Snow Festival Executive Committee need not to
comply with this qualification. Some exceptions have been
made in these cases. A team consists of 4 persons,
including 1 leader and 3 members, regardless of sex or
age. Japanese members are not permitted to work with
non-Japanese teams.
4. Statue Title, Inscription and Sketch: Each team
must submit the title, inscription and sketch of its
statue to the Executive Committee for approval before the
contest.
5. Rules:
1. A snow block of the dimension of
3.5(h)x3(w)x3(d) meters will be made available by the
Executive Committee. The pedestal of the statue, 50
cm in height, is included in in the above dimensions.
The carvings on the surface of the pedestal is
strictly prohibited. For reasons of design necessity
only, the dimensions of the snow statue may be
extended by an additional 20 cm of all sides.
2. Placing of supports inside the block of snow
provided by the Committee will not be allowed. To
make certain that snow statues are safe, materials
such as wood and steel, provided by the Committee,
can be used only for the purpose of reinforcement.
3. The final statue facing should be done with
snow. Use of paint and other coloring materials, and
lighting equipment will not be allowed.
4. Construction time:
| Tue 4 Feb. |
13:00-22:00 |
| Wed 5 Feb. |
09:00-22:00 |
| Thu 6 Feb. |
09:00-22:00 |
| Fri 7 Feb. |
09:00-13:00 |
5. Each team will be provided with the following
tools:
4 shovels
2 buckets
4 pairs of rubber gloves
8 pairs of work gloves
2 chisels, 1 long, 1 short
1 ax
2 hatchets
1 ladder
1 snow dump
1 scaffold
Timber, wire, nails and other basic material will
be provided by the Committee. Special tools,
including sophisticated machines, are the
responsibility of each team. No electric tools or
lighting equipment will be used.
6. No assistance by non-registered members. A
change in registered members is not possible except
under circumstances beyond their control. A change
would be possible if the leaders agree at the
leaders' meeting.
6. Leaders' meeting: This meeting will be attended by
the leaders of the participating teams and the Sapporo
Snow Festival Executive Committee members. The meeting is
responsible for handling complaints.
7. Group classification: Group A consists of teams
which have won a championship before. Others belong to
group B.
8. Judging: To make a fair and
strict judgement, judges consist of representatives of
the citizens who are appointed by the executive
committee. Judging system will be announced separately.
9. Awarding: The winners from the A and B groups will
be given championship flags at the awards ceremony.
10. Expenses: The executive committee will bear all
the expenses of accommodation and meals of 4 participants
for the period between the teams arrival in and departure
from Sapporo. If any participant does not stay at the
hotel designated by the Committee, the accommodation fee
will be borne by the participant.
11. Designated hotel:
Hokkaido Koseinenkin Kaikan
Nishi 12-chome,
Kita 1-jo,
Chuo-ku,
Sapporo,
Tel +81 (0)11 231-9551
The Teams (totally 24):
Group A (17 teams):
Australia
Peoples Republic of China
Finland
Guam
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Israel
Korea
Malaysia
New Zealand
Singapore
Sister City Novosibirsk
Sister City Portland
Thailand
United Kingdom
United States of America
Japan
Group B (7):
Denmark
Greenland
Hawaii
India
Norway
Sweden
Tasmania
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Sapporo
Snow Festival Executive Committee
City Hall, Nishi 2-chome, Kita 1-jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo
Tel: +81 (0)11 211-2377
Fax: +81 (0)11 219-0829
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VIKING
VENTURE