Sand artists showed their creative talents at the weekend as part of the Bermuda Sandcastle Competition.

International events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Australian wildfires and environmental concerns served as inspiration for this year’s competition, held at Horseshoe Bay on Saturday.

Hannah Emmerson, organiser of the annual event, said 20 teams took part this year, and created a wide variety of sculptures in a six-hour time frame.

Ms Emmerson said: “All contestants were given 10x10 plots with a pile of sand and a theme to work with this year — 2020 and what that means to you.

“The diversity of sculptures really showed what an impact this year has had on us all, ranging from Covid monsters, Australian wildfires, Black Lives Matter and Kobe Bryant tributes to global warming issues.”

She added that some teams tackled subjects closer to home, such as graduation classes, nasal swabs, Twizy electric minicars and the use of devices to talk to loved ones.

Team Amazon, made up of staff from the Fairmont Southampton, took the grand prize with a sculpture that featured the Black Lives Matter campaign, a thank-you message to essential workers and the Australian wildfires, ringed around a globe of the world.

The team was made up of Ernie Ogalesco, Anthony Delan Fernando, Pauline Bianca Arcega, Juanito Narcise, Nicole Clarke and Felix Okoh.

Monsters Inc claimed the first prize in the adult category with a coronavirus monster emerging from a mouth.

And Team Hiraya took second place with a sculpture of hands with a device with a map of Bermuda to symbolise keeping in touch with friends and family overseas over the pandemic lockdown.

Team Sandy Eyes took third place in the adult category, with a sculpture that showed fingers holding a pangolin — an endangered armadillo-like animal.

Bermuda Boys won first place in the Family category with a sand sculpture about lockdown that featured a Bermuda cottage and the Hastings family took second place with a sculpture of a under-threat polar bear and its cub.

The Chin-Gurrett family won third place with a flower-covered sculpture designed to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the Garden Club of Bermuda.

• Pictures of all this year’s entries can be seen at the Bermuda Sandcastle Competitions Facebook page