Since its humble beginnings in 1950, when local students built six snow statues in Odori Park, the Snow Festival has grown into an international event and is the biggest and most spectacular festival in Japan, and a major tourist attraction. Every winter local and international teams compete in the Snow Statue Contest in which sculptors create fantastic art out of snow and ice. Hundreds of beautiful and elaborate snow statues and ice sculptures dot the area, some the size of multi-story buildings, and it is these massive sculptures in particular that have made the festival famous.