* 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.