The kings of the castles: Thousands gather for traditional Spanish Castells competition to form the tallest human tower
Teams of 500 men, women and children compete to build tallest tower - which can be as many as ten levels tall
Tradition in Spain's Catalonia region originates back to dance groups' performances from end of 18th century
Each team carefully builds the tower, with strong and heavy members at its base and lightest going to the top
Human Tower Competition - known in Spain as the 'Concurs de Castells' - takes place in the city of Tarragona
By Mark Duell
Published: 13:36 EDT, 28 July 2014 | Updated: 14:48 EDT, 28 July 2014
Thousands of people are seen clambering over each other to form gigantic human towers in these remarkable photographs from Spain.
Teams of up to 500 men, women and children compete to build the tallest tower - which can be as many as ten levels tall.
The tradition in the Catalonia region dates back to the end of the 18th century, and the formations are known as 'castells'.
Astonishing: A human tower is assembled in front of an audience of more than 20,000 people in Tarragona, Spain
Colour-coded: Teams of up to 500 men, women and children compete to build the tallest tower - which can be as many as ten levels tall
Teamwork: The tradition in the Catalonia region dates back to the end of the 18th century - and the formations are known as 'castells'
Climbing: Each team carefully builds the tower, with their strong and heavy members forming its base while the lightest making a dangerous ascent to the top
Tricky: The Human Tower Competition - known in Spain as the 'Concurs de Castells' - takes place in the city of Tarragona, 60 miles south-west of Barcelona
Attendance: More than 20,000 people come to watch the participants, with points awarded to teams depending on the difficultly and height of each Castell
Each team carefully builds the tower, with their strong and heavy members forming its base while the lightest making a dangerous ascent to the top.
The Human Tower Competition - known in Spain as the 'Concurs de Castells' - takes place in the city of Tarragona, 60 miles south-west of Barcelona.
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More than 20,000 people come to watch the participants, with points awarded to teams depending on the difficultly and height of each castell.
The teams have five rounds to build their best towers - and their final score comes from the total points gained for their best three attempts.
Talented: The teams have five rounds to build their best towers - and their final score comes from the total points gained for their best three attempts
Climbing: The attempts are assessed by a panel of seven judges, who are said by competition organisers to be 'experts on the human towers'
Caught on camera: Photographer David Oliete, 28, who lives in Tarragona, said he found the competition was an 'inspiring experience to photograph'
'Crowded but stunning': The atmosphere at the Concurs de Castells was 'amazing', according to photographer Mr Oliete
Cultural: The competition is an important tradition - and its motto has become 'Strength, balance, courage and common sense', the photographer said
Looking up: The tradition of building the human towers is believed to have originated from the performances by 18th century dance groups in the area
These are assessed by a panel of seven judges, who are said by competition organisers to be 'experts on the human towers'.
Photographer David Oliete, 28, who lives in Tarragona, said: 'I started taking pictures nine years ago.
'However I realised quite soon that one of the most inspiring experiences to photograph was just next to me - the castells.
'The atmosphere at the Concurs was amazing. As usual it gets really crowded but that fact makes it stunning at the same time.'
Going up: The event - popular with both locals and tourists - has been declared part of the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage established by Unesco
Clambering: The next part of the biennial festival, officially called the XXIV Concurs de Castells de Tarragona, will take place in the Spanish city this October
Support: Thousands of people are seen clambering over each other to form gigantic human towers in these remarkable photographs from Spain
'Primer Classificat': These youngsters were delighted with their prize from the XXIV Tarragona Human Tower Competition
Expert technique: Groups travel to local festivals where they compete and perform, practising for this national competition
Crowded: The tradition in Spain dates back to the end of the 18th century and is believed to have links to dance groups from that time
He added that the competition is an important cultural tradition - and its motto has become 'Strength, balance, courage and common sense'.
The tradition of building the human towers is believed to have originated from performances by 18th century dance groups in the area.
The event - popular with both locals and tourists - has been declared part of the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage established by Unesco.
The next part of the biennial festival, officially called the XXIV Concurs de Castells de Tarragona, will take place in the Spanish city this October.
Thousands gather for Spanish Castells competition to form the tallest human tower
That's pretty cool :)
by rene 20