Brussels prepares for Tintin festival

BRUSSELS, July 19 (UPI) -- Brussels residents Tuesday prepared for a festival honoring the comic book hero Tintin.

The four-day festival will begin Wednesday when a Grand Place mural of Tintin, his dog Snowy and his partner, Captain Haddock, is unveiled, the BBC reported.

It will be followed by soap-box races, exhibitions and a costume party. Also on tap are a Tintin rally, guided walks through Brussels and a rare screening of the 1941 film "The Crab with the Golden Claws."

Tintin was created by the late Georges Remi under the name Herge. His 23 adventures have been translated into 60 languages and sold more than 200 million copies worldwide.

A commemorative 10 euro coin was released last year to mark Tintin's 75th anniversary.