Eisteddfod says it with flowers at their Daffodil Festival

* Members of the Floral Committee after their bulb planting event in October.

The celebrated floral committee of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod are branching out in 2024 with their very own Daffodil Flower Festival. 

The events will be hosted at St Collen’s Church in Llangollen from April 5-7 and will feature an Evening Choral Concert with Lleisiau’r Afon Ladies Choir, conducted by Leigh Mason, renowned local soloist Clare Harrison, accompanied by Owen Roberts and a musical theatre performance from Shea Ferron. 

There will also be a special Songs of Praise concert led by popular Llangollen vicar Father Lee Taylor. 

The festival will raise money for the Llangollen Eisteddfod’s charity, which helps to attract hundreds of people from across the world to its annual peace festival. 

The event will also feature daffodil wave and floral displays, with daffodils of all shapes, sizes and material crafted by the community including local schools. 

These will displayed in the church and in St Collen’s Community Hall, which will be hosting stalls, workshops, refreshments, and a raffle on Saturday, April 6. 

Michelle Davies, Chair of the Floral Committee of the Llangollen Eisteddfod, said: “Our daffodil is a recognisable symbol of Wales and a beloved fixture of our gardens and countryside so why not hold a festival in honour of our favourite flower? 

"We have been busy preparing for this for months and our team have already planted hundreds of bulbs in the grounds of our beautiful 6th Century church. 

"We have two wonderful concerts planned, all in celebration of the national flower of Wales. All of the money raised will go towards the Llangollen Eisteddfod charity to help us continue welcoming the World to Wales.” 

The tradition of decorating the main stage at the International Eisteddfod with flowers began at the first festival in 1947 when a few blooms were placed in jam jars to hide the tent poles that held up the stage’s awning. Over the past 76 years, the tradition – and the quantities of flowers – has grown, with the displays as iconic as the festival itself.

Father Lee Taylor, the vicar in charge of St Collen's Church, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the Llangollen Eisteddfod’s floral committee’s celebration of the daffodil. The Eisteddfod is synonymous with flowers. 

"Each year, our town welcomes competitors from around the world to perform on a stage splendidly decked out in flowers. As well as a symbol of Wales, the daffodil symbolises new beginnings, so we’re delighted to host Llangollen’s first ever festival dedicated to the daffodil.”

* Tickets at £10 are available from Dee Valley Produce, Oak Street (cash only) and online at www.llangollen.net where a small booking fee applies.

Saturday April 6 at 10-4pm

Stalls, Refreshments and Prize Raffle at the adjacent St Collen’s Community Hall, Llangollen. Free Entry. 

Sunday April 7 at 4pm

Songs of Praise Concert at St Collen’s Church, Llangollen. Free entry.

Tickets on sale here - https://international-eisteddfod.co.uk/events/daffodil-festival/  *Use discount code LIVE24 to remove online booking fee.  Discount will be applied at check out. 

Police warn that Horseshoe Pass is closed

Message at around 6am this morning (Friday) on the North Wales Police Facebook page:

North Wales Police 

tonSedropsh01ht5ch9f615l46135mi612t0g94gltm000cal08128265057  · 

*****Road closed*****

- A542 Llangollen horseshoe pass due to a road traffic collision, please find alternative routes for the time being.

Schedule revealed for major Llangollen gas pipe works

The schedule for the rest of essential gas pipe works taking place in Llangollen has been announced.

Wales & West Utilities is currently working on a £400,000 investment project to upgrade gas pipes in the Bache Mill Road area of the town.

The work is said to be essential to keep the gas flowing safely to heat and power local homes and businesses, keeping people safe and warm for generations to come.

* Hill Street (5 February – 15 March)

* Butlers Hill (25 March – 12 April)

* Grange Road (15 April – 7 May)

* Oak Road (29 April – 14 May)

Eisteddfod’s 2024 Parade of Nations will be 'biggest for years'

* Town crier Chem will lead the Parade of Nations on July 3. Picture: xJM Photography.

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has announced that its celebrated Parade of Nations will be held in the town on Wednesday, July 3 at 4.30pm.  

Visitors can expect a colourful spectacle as groups from as far away as Burundi, Canada, China, Ghana, India, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, USA and Zimbabwe will be participating - alongside dozens of groups from the UK. 

The parade, one of the central parts of the core Llangollen Eisteddfod, comes less than 24 hours after Sir Tom Jones makes his long-awaited debut at the festival. 

It will be followed by a huge party on the Eisteddfod field, where visitors can get on the "ground for a pound"! 

Welsh folk heroes Calan then headline the Wales Welcomes the World concert in the Pavilion, also starring Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalists Johns’ Boys Chorus and Royal Harpist Alis Huws, alongside the Llangollen International Orchestra. 

John Gambles, Vice-Chair of the festival said: “This year, our parade will be the biggest for years.  

"We’ve got some amazing international competitors from around the world coming to our town in July.  

* The colourful 2023 parade. Picture: xJM Photography.

"Our Parade of Nations is one of our most popular events and this will be followed by a huge celebration on a our field as we truly welcome the World to Wales.” 

The parade will be led by the Llangollen Silver Band and Llangollen Town Crier, Austin “Chem” Cheminais. 

In 2023, thousands of residents took to the streets, and this year there will be even more participants and colours. 

In 2024 the core Eisteddfod week is taking place between July 2-7, with concerts before and after featuring acts as diverse as Jess Glynne, Manic Street Preachers, Madness, and Paloma Faith. 

Dave Danford, Artistic Director of the festival, will be overseeing the event. He said: “This year, the profile of our festival has gone through the roof. Our partnership with Cuffe and Taylor means that this summer we are bringing some truly international artists to Llangollen, such as Bryan Adams, and Nile Rodgers & Chic. 

"Our core Eisteddfod week remains the central part of everything we are doing, which is why we’re bringing our parade forward, to be held on the day that we welcome the World to Wales.” 

* Crowds pack the town to see last year's parade. Picture: Megan McNutt.

Core Eisteddfod:

Tuesday 2 July 8pm

TOM JONES

Wednesday 5 July 8pm                           

WALES WELCOMES THE WORLD

Celebrating the rich tapestry of Welsh culture, featuring the soul-stirring melodies of folk band Calan, the elegance of Royal harpist Alis Huws, the powerful harmonious voices of John’s Boys Male Chorus, and the Llangollen International Orchestra.                   

Thursday 4 July 2024 8pm                        

DIRECT FROM THE WEST END

Featuring Kerry Ellis & John Owen-Jones.  Two of musical theatre’s leading lights take to the stage for an unmissable evening of Broadway and West End classics PLUS the final of our Voice of Musical Theatre.     

Friday 5 July                                   

GREGORY PORTER                  

Grammy award winning jazz sensation makes a welcome return to Llangollen.                           

Saturday 6 July                                      

CHOIR OF THE WORLD                 

An Eisteddfod highlight; the very best choirs, dance ensembles and operatic stars battle it out to become champions of champions.

Sunday 7 July                                          

KATHERINE JENKINS                              

Gala Concert to close the Core Eisteddfod with special guest, the mezzo-soprano performs operatic arias, popular songs, and musical theatre.

Australian pop-rockers join Kaiser Chiefs at Eisteddfod show

* Royel Otis play the Pavilion stage on June 29. Picture: Georges Antoni.

Australian pop-rock duo Royel Otis will join indie heroes Kaiser Chiefs when they head to North Wales this summer. 

The indie pair, known for exceptional pop melodies with a gritty edge and killer choruses, will join Kaiser Chiefs as they make a triumphant return to the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Saturday June 29.

With inspiration ranging from Daft Punk to The Strokes, Royel Otis’s debut studio album Pratts & Pain will be released on February 16. 

The Kaiser Chiefs’ headline performance at Llangollen will follow the release of their latest studio album, the aptly-titled Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album, on March 1.

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A new partnership between the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor will see 11 huge headlining shows taking place at iconic peace festival supporting the traditional Core Eisteddfod week. 

* The Kaiser Chiefs. Picture: Cal McIntyre.

Alongside headliners Kaiser Chiefs global rock icons Simple Minds, British pop giants Madness, Manic Street Preachers and Suede, BRIT award-winning artist Paloma Faith, chart-topper Jess Glynne, disco legends Nile Rodgers & CHICandglobal rock star Bryan Adams will all headline dates either side of the iconic peace festival in 2024. 

The core week of the festival will see a series of events celebrating the Eisteddfod along with headlining shows from Welsh legends Tom Jones and Katherine Jenkins and international jazz sensation Gregory Porter. 

Artistic Director of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Dave Danford said: “We’re excited to be adding Royel Otis to our line-up for this summer. They’re the perfect group to appear alongside Kaiser Chiefs, and it’s going to be a night to remember!” 

* For more information and to purchase tickets go to llangollen.netand www.ticketmaster.co.uk

Temporary partial closure of Mill Street car park

* The site compound plan for Mill Street car park.

Mill Street car park in Llangollen will be partially closed for a five month period to provide a site compound for OBR Construction Ltd. to undertake construction work for Denbighshire County Council’s Four Great Highways project.

The Levelling Up funded project aims to enhance the landscape and improve accessibility, interpretation and signage in Llangollen.

The project is part of investment by the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund that was secured through a joint application between Denbighshire and Wrexham councils for the Clwyd South Constituency.

The application was supported by Simon Baynes MP with £3.8 million being allocated to Denbighshire to invest in the communities of Llangollen, Llantysilio, Corwen and surrounding areas.

A section of the Mill Street car park will be closed to facilitate the contractor’s site compound once the work starts on Monday February 5 and will remain until the end of June 2024.

The public will still be able to access a section of the car park during this period as some parking spaces will still be available for use throughout the works. Disabled parking will also be available at the car park during this time.

OBR Construction says it will try to scale down the compound as the scheme progresses towards completion to relieve more spaces where possible.

Residents and visitors wishing to use the car park during this period are advised that heavy plant vehicles will be entering and exiting the car park throughout the day between the hours of 8am and 5.30pm. 

Pedestrian routes within or accessing the car park will also be kept clear at all times and, in instances where this may not be possible, alternative pedestrian routes will be provided.

While car parking at Mill Street will still be possible during the construction period, in the event that the car park is full, alternative car parking facilities are available nearby at:

1. East Street, Llangollen, LL20 8PW
2. Market Street, Llangollen, LL20 8RB
3. Llangollen Pavilion, Llangollen, LL20 8SW

Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment & Transport, said: “I am delighted that the construction work for Llangollen’s Four Great Highways project will be underway soon and look forward to the completion of this vital project which will enhance the landscape and improve accessibility, interpretation and signage in Llangollen.

“We understand that residents may be concerned about the potential impacts of the work on their ability to be able to park in the area, but we would like to reassure people that despite the reduced capacity at the Mill Street car park during this period alternative places to park in Llangollen will continue to be available during this time.” 

* To learn more about Denbighshire County Council’s Four Great Highways project on our website: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/four-great-highways

Llangollen features in list of Wales' most 'underrated' towns

 

* Plas Newydd is quoted as one of the highlights of "underrated" Llangollen.

Llangollen appears in an geography website’s list of the Nine Most Underrated Towns in Wales.

World Atlas, based in Quebec, Canada, says it is one of the largest publishing resources in geography and also covers sociology, demography, environment, economics, politics and travel.

According to its own description, in 2019 alone, it served over 165 million readers from around the globe.

In its “underrated towns” feature it says Wales is often overlooked as a place to visit, with many people “not knowing of the treasures it holds in vibrant folklore and endowed with a rich culture”,

Llangollen shares the list of “underrated” towns with Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire, Llangefni on Angelsey, Abderdaron in Gwynedd, Llangorse in the Brecon Beacons, Welshpool and Llanwertyd Wells in Powys, Tregaron in Ceredigion and Hawarden in Flintshire.

Of Llangollen it says: “A riverside delight that is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, with an eponymous railway, a breathtaking hike to a 13th-century castle, and a Gothic-tinged mansion, Llangollen is optimal for embracing relaxation.

“Llangollen Railway is a scenic heritage railway from Llangollen to Corwen, with views of storybook villages, castles, and lush rolling hills. A variety of unique excursions are available throughout the year.

“If the aquatic route is more appealing, the Llangollen Canal meanders through town, an ideal spot to picnic by or take a cruise down, especially if one of the unique horse-drawn boats is available for a ride. Horseshoe Falls, a dramatically beautiful piece of Thomas Telford engineering, is not to be missed.

“For history buffs, Castell Dinas Bran and Plas Newydd House will capture imaginations. Castell Dinas Bran, or the Crow's Fortress, is a rare 13th-century Welsh-built stone castle perched on a hilltop with panoramic views of the surrounding valleys.

“Plas Newydd (New Hall) is an unbelievable mansion with enchanting gardens, best known for being home to the unconventional "Ladies of Llangollen," a pair who lived together for fifty years, becoming 18th-century celebrities and expanding the house from a small cottage to the modern iteration.” 

* See the full article at: 9 Most Underrated Towns in Wales - WorldAtlas