Japanese Pays Olympic Tribute

Japanese Pays Olympic Tribute

These stunning sand sculptures have been created by a Japanese attraction that's gone against the grain to celebrate the best of British for the Olympics. Using some of our most famous figures and landmarks, a team 15 artists from around the world created everything from the Tower of London to the inside of a Great British pub at the world's first museum dedicated to sand in Tottori.

The sculptures go on show on April 14 until January next year and are inspired by the 2012 Games in London. Other creations include a rainy London street scene with a black cab, Queen Elizabeth I, the present Queen, William Shakespeare, the Palace of Westminster and Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton.

Italian artist Leonardo Ugolini worked on sculptures of Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster using around 3,000 tons of sand. The sand museum, based near Tottori's spectacular dunes, has previously produced sand replicas of Italian Renaissance icons as well as Asian UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Great Wall of China.