Organised by Icebox Entertainment, part of The Ice Box, the three-day free event will run until Sunday 12 January bringing together two-man teams of competitive sculptors from Africa, Belgium, France, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
Fabulous fashion and river life are the two themes in which the teams must adhere to as they use chainsaws and chisels to carve ice into works of art for the single block, freestyle and big block competitions.
Carol Cordrey, festival co-founder and artistic director, said: "The wonderfully high attendance at January’s London Ice Sculpting Festival proved the success of this exciting art event which is unique to the UK. For this year’s festival, we have ensured that the two themes of fabulous fashion and river life will provide the sculptors with challenges to their creativity and the visitors of all ages with a wide range of subjects to enjoy."
Members of the public will also be able to have a chance to take part in a series of ice sculpting workshops with experts from The Ice Box, as well as enjoy a winter food market and skate on the Canary Wharf ice rink.
Other event highlights will include an ice grafitti wall, ice-themed face painting, a snowflake cookie decorating class and DJs.
Camille Waxer, chief administrative officer at Canary Wharf Group, said: "We are pleased to have all the dramatic action of the competition return to Wood Wharf in 2014 and are excited to see how the works of art will unfold, as teams from around the world sculpt their unique and memorable creations.
"The festival theme fabulous fashion is synonymous with Canary Wharf and also coincides perfectly with the recent opening of the Jubilee Place mall extension."
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