Man's 'uplifting' sculpture wins at US festival

A man from East Yorkshire has brought home first place for his "uplifting" ice sculpture at a winter festival in America.

Justin Scott from Driffield created the Your Welcome sculpture for the Ely Winter Festival 2026 in Minnesota, US, which he said conveyed the message of a "helping hand when someone's been knocked down".

It was given first place in the People's Choice awards out of 14 teams representing Canada, America, Germany, Mexico, Argentina and Italy.

Justin said: "When we're out there we're making public art for everyone to see. I do feel pleased I represented Great Britain."

The sculpture took three and a half days to make and included an 8ft tall (2.4m) wall with a 2D cut out and a 3D person reaching up for help next to it.

"Sometimes support comes quietly - from the side, over a fence, or exactly when you need it most," Justin said when describing the sculpture.

Justin said: "It's an uplifting sculpture.

"When it was complete some people were even sobbing when they were coming past it.

"We won by a long shot. It's absolutely amazing. It's that sense of validation of always knowing you could do it."

Justin studied sculpture at the Carmarthenshire College of Art.

He said he first got into the world of snow sculpting when he was staying at a snowboarding resort in Austria in 2000.

He has now created artwork in places such as Sweden and Japan, and will be returning to the Ely Winter Festival in Minnesota next year.

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