World beard and mustache competition begins in Antwerp, Belgium

May 17 (UPI) -- The biennial 2019 World Beard and Mustache Championship got underway Friday in Antwerp, Belgium.

Sponsored this year by Snorrenclub Antwerpen -- "Moustache Club of Antwerp" in Dutch -- the event draws beard and mustache enthusiasts from around the world for a three-day convention and contest. Friday's events include a Ladies' competition, with categories for Realistic and Creative expression of artificial beards and mustaches.

Participants will visit the Antwerp Zoo on Friday.

The World Beard and Mustache Association, organized in 1990, is the governing body and hosted the first event, in Holten, Germany. Since 2001, it has been an every-two-years competition, visiting Brighton, England; Anchorage, Alaska; Trondheim, Norway; Stuttgart, Germany; Leogang, Austria, and in 2017, Austin, Texas. There are three brackets of facial hair under consideration in competition: mustache, partial beard and full beard, and each has several categories for judges to score.