El Belén de Arena de Las Canteras arranca con fuerza: más de 20.000 visitantes en el primer fin de semana

The Sand Bethlehem of Las Canteras Beach has been confirmed as one of the great tourist attractions of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since December. The singular Nacimiento, a complete sculptural arena unique in Europe, has exceeded 20,000 visitors in its first weekend opening to the public, since it opened last Friday, December 1. The birth will be open to the public until January 7, 2018.

The Bethlehem, which this year shows the work of up to nine sculptors of international prestige, reaffirms itself as an attraction of great impact, which already in the festivities of 2017 reached 214,000 spectators and raised more than 18,000 euros for the social dining rooms of the city. The 'Belén de Arena effect' also moves to social networks, in these its first days of exposure: the video 'Las Canteras already has its Belén', shared by the official tourist profile of the Gran Canaria capital on Facebook (LPA Visit) , shared the same Friday, has surpassed the 211,000 users reached, with more than 75,000 reproductions.

The Bethlehem of Sand for the festivities 2017/2018, which will remain open until January 8, proposes an aesthetic based on ancient Egypt and the journey of the Magi from the East. The canary coordinates a record team in terms of the number of participating sculptors. A list of artists that includes Vadim Gryadov, Alexey Shchitov and Aleksei Rybak (Russia), Benoît Dutherage (France), Leonardo Ugolini (Italy), Marieke van der Meer (Holland), Enguerrand David (Belgium), Dan Glover (USA) and the canary Jonay Ruiz. Art students act as assistants to these artists.

Impact on Facebook

The impact of Bethlehem among the public is also transferred to social networks. The video 'Las Canteras already has its Belén', uploaded by the profile LPA Visit on Facebook, has accounted for more than 211,000 users reached and 75,000 reproductions from the same day 1 December. In addition, this publication (which also attached the program was Christmas events in the city of LPA Culture, another profile of the Promotion Society of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) has generated more than 15,000 comments, ratings and retransmissions between Canary users and communities from Madrid, Valencia, Galicia, Catalonia or Castilla y León, among the regions from where this video has been shared most intensely.