Let's go fly a kite: More than half a million people flock to France for colourful festival
It's perhaps one of the few festivals in the world where pigs might actually fly.
The sky above northern France is peppered with giant cartoon characters and all manor of animals as more than half a million people flock to the beach for the annual International Kite Festival.
And these stunning pictures show the best of the kites on show so far.
Scroll down for video
From 10ft high pandas to 20ft long whales, spectators have been wowed by kites of all colours, shapes and sizes.
More than 600,000 people attend the festival, which has been running for more than a quarter of a century each April.
As well as traditional kites, the festival sees kites with a pilot on display, as well as static kites, fighting machines such as the Japenese Rokkaku and vast 40m high inflatables.
Stunt kites compete against each other and teams put on choreographed displays during the festival.
This is a festival where everyone expects the unexpected – a mauve bear holding its arms out to an octopus, for instance, and a skate with a long black tail jostling with a group of aerial jellyfish.
It attracts flyers from all over the world and, for once, those representing England are actually pretty good at this particular sport.
But they face strong competition from their French, Japanese and American counterparts.
The festival runs until April 21.
The sky above northern France is peppered with giant cartoon characters and all manor of animals as more than half a million people flock to the beach for the annual International Kite Festival.
And these stunning pictures show the best of the kites on show so far.
Scroll down for video
Let's go fly a kite: More than 600,000 people flock to the International Kite Festival in northern France each year
Colourful: The festival takes place on the
golden sands of Berck-Sur-Mer in Pas de Calais and attracts all manor of
weird and wonderful kites
On display: Spectators watch as all manor of
kites including a giant lizard, teddy bears, a penguin and an octopus
fill the sky with colour
Kite fight: A giant lizard kite appears to be swallowing a smaller penguin
VIDEO See the amazing spectacle of the International Kite Festival
The festival takes place on the golden sands of Berck-Sur-Mer in Pas de Calais and attracts all manor of weird and wonderful kites.
From 10ft high pandas to 20ft long whales, spectators have been wowed by kites of all colours, shapes and sizes.
More than 600,000 people attend the festival, which has been running for more than a quarter of a century each April.
As well as traditional kites, the festival sees kites with a pilot on display, as well as static kites, fighting machines such as the Japenese Rokkaku and vast 40m high inflatables.
Impressive: These kite enthusiasts show off their flying skills as they manouvre a giant crab
International: The festival attracts flyers from all over the world including England, Japan and the US
Flying high: A giant panda kite is about to soar into the sky above northern France
This is a festival where everyone expects the unexpected – a mauve bear holding its arms out to an octopus, for instance, and a skate with a long black tail jostling with a group of aerial jellyfish.
It attracts flyers from all over the world and, for once, those representing England are actually pretty good at this particular sport.
But they face strong competition from their French, Japanese and American counterparts.
The festival runs until April 21.
Giant: Stunt kites compete against each other and teams put on choreographed displays during the festival
