Photo/Illutration Visitors are drawn to the Odori Park in Sapporo’s Chuo Ward and elsewhere on Feb. 4, 2020, to view about 200 ice and snow sculptures created for the Sapporo Snow Festival. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

SAPPORO--The internationally popular Sapporo Snow Festival will be held in February but with fewer and smaller ice sculptures, no sales vendors and zero stage events, the executive committee said.

The committee also said the festival could be canceled depending on the COVID-19 situation in Japan’s northernmost main island.

Odori Park will serve as the main venue for the 2022 festival for the first time in two years.

This year’s edition took place online because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. It was excluded from the official count for the snow festivals.

Held annually since 1950, Hokkaido’s winter tradition has featured about 200 ice and snow sculptures and statues at Odori Park and two other venues. The festival has attracted more than 2 million visitors from home and abroad in recent years.

However, the 72nd edition, scheduled for Feb. 5-12, will show only seven or eight mid-sized sculptures up to 10 meters tall at the park to coincide with a light show and online events.

There will be no snow sculptures built by amateur sculptors, and the international contest for teams from outside Japan has been called off, the committee said.

Sales of food, drinks and goods will be unavailable at the venue to prevent the spread of the virus.

Some areas of the Sapporo White Illumination event, which will end on Dec. 25, will be lit up during the snow festival.

The executive committee comprises officials from the city government, the Sapporo Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other organizations.

Related News