Labour take Clwyd East as part of election landslide

 

* Labour's Becky Gittins will be the MP for Clwyd East, which includes Llangollen.

General election news from the BBC ...

Labour wins the UK general election - Keir Starmer will be the new prime minister

·        "Change begins now," Starmer says, as Labour is forecast to win a landslide with 410 seats, and the Conservatives on 144

·        Rishi Sunak says Britain has delivered a "sobering verdict"

·        High-profile Conservatives have lost their seats, including Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Penny Mordaunt

·        Reform UK leader Nigel Farage becomes an MP for the first time, and the party's Richard Tice and Lee Anderson also win

·        Ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wins Islington North as an independent, and Labour's Jon Ashworth loses to an independent

·        Green Party's Carla Denyer wins Bristol Central from Labour, while Scottish First Minister John Swinney says it's been a "very, very difficult and damaging" night for the SNP

·         

Results for local seat of Clwyd East (from BBC)

Counting complete

Change compared with 2019

1. Labour,Becky Gittins

   • Votes 18,484
   • Share 38.7%
   • Share change +0.8

2. Conservative,James Davies

   • Votes 13,862
   • Share 29.0%
   • Share change -18.9

3. Reform UK,Kirsty Walmsley

   • Votes 7,626
   • Share 15.9%
   • Share change +11.8

4. Plaid Cymru,Paul Penlington

   • Votes 3,733
   • Share 7.8%
   • Share change +3.1

5. Liberal Democrat,Alec Dauncey

   • Votes 1,859
   • Share 3.9%
   • Share change -1.4

6. Green,Lee Lavery

   • Votes 1,659
   • Share 3.5%
   • Share change +3.5

7. Independent,Rob Roberts

   • Votes 599
   • Share 1.3%
   • Share change +1.3

Eisteddfod audience enjoys Wales Welcomes the World concert

* Celebration of Nations flag bearers on stage.

* Royal harpist Alis Huws.

Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod brought a feast of the finest music and dance to the Pavilion stage on Wednesday evening.

The array of fabulous entertainers featured in the Wales Welcomes the World concert included former Royal harpist Alis Huws, Britain’s Got Talent finalists Johns’ Boys Male Chorus, multi-award winning folk band Calan and world-renowned conductor Anthony Gabriele.

The whole glittering affair began with the traditional Celebration of Nations in which the flags of the 30 countries competing in this year’s festival were proudly paraded through the audience and up onto the stage to be greeted by rapturous applause.

There was also a presentation to the winners of the prestigious Young Choir of the World title who had won through to the final during competition rounds earlier in the day.

The Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir from Oakland, California, were presented with a trophy presented to the Eisteddfod by one of its former chairmen, Dr Rhys Davies, and his wife in memory of his son Owen who died aged 33 in 2016.

During the first rapturous appearance of Alis Huws, who performed to a global audience of millions during the coronation of King Charles III, a special message recorded by much-loved former Eisteddfod president Terry Waites was read out in which he shared his belief that harmony, as in music, is the key to world peace.

The consequences of conflict which results from disharmony was poignantly illustrated in a beautiful sequence from festival competitors Prolisok dancers from the Ukraine who recreated a pastoral scene from their homeland which is brutally disrupted by war. Even more moving

was when the faces of some the dancers’ close friends killed in the fighting were projected onto the screen at the back of the stage, prompting a standing ovation.

Folk band Calan, which comprises four of Wales’s most talented virtuoso musicians, provided a lively and rousing display of their traditional Welsh music which enthralled the large audience. Later they thrilled even further during a scintillating collaboration with Llangollen International Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Gabriele.

John Boys’ Male Chorus, who were named Choir of the World at the 2019 Eisteddfod, delighted with a diverse selection of numbers ranging from the Welsh favourite Calon Lân to There Ain’t Nothing Like a Dame from the musical South Pacific.

They came back to join in the grand finale when all the evening’s artistes gathered on stage to present a hauntingly melodic piece of music specially arranged by the Eisteddfod’s Artistic Director Dave Danford which led smoothly into the Welsh national anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

* Folk band Calan.

* Prolisok Ukrainian dancers.

* Johns’ Boys Male Chorus.

* Young Choir of the World winners Piedmont East Bay choir from California.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury delivers Eisteddfod Peace Message

* Dr Rowan  Williams meets members of the dance group from Mother Touch Group of Schools in Zimbabwe outside the Pavilion where they had been performing.

* Dr Williams, right, and Eisteddfod chairman Professor Chris Adams are shown some of the images of past festivals from the Eisteddfod’s extensive archives by volunteer Issy Richards.

*Dr Williams meets members of the Canon’s Choir from North London Collegiate School after their performance on the Globe outside stage at the Eisteddfod.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams delivered the  Peace Lecture on the second day of Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. 

Dr Williams, who is also a former Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Monmouth, is chair of Academi Heddwch Cymru, Wales’s national peace institute. 

With the themes of peace and reconciliation at its core, Llangollen Eisteddfod works with Academi Heddwch Cymru in delivering its Peace Lecture and the Young Peacemakers Awards ceremony, during which young people from across Wales are celebrated for their contributions to peace.

In his lecture, delivered from the world-famous Pavilion main stage which the previous evening had hosted a smash-hit concert by Sir Tom Jones, Dr Williams, who is a strong ambassador for peace and reconciliation, drew parallels with today’s troubled world and the international situation at the time of the 1923 Welsh Women’s Peace Petition.

In 1923, the horrors of WW1 having galvanised a generation against conflict, the women of Wales organised an unprecedented campaign for world peace.

A total of 390,296 women signed a memorial petition through the Welsh League of Nations Union calling for America to join and lead the new League of Nations and 2023 marked the centenary of the campaign for which Academi Heddwch has coordinated a major project of celebratration.

In his lecture Dr Williams praised the petition as a shared vision in the face of a shared problem, something which the modern world would benefit from, he stressed.   

Chairman of Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Professor Chris Adams, said: “It was my proud duty to introduce Dr Williams as he delivered to us the Peace Lecture from Academi Heddiwch Cymru, of which he is chair.

“The Eisteddfod is signally honoured in the Academi’s choice of our festival as the venue for both its Peace Lecture and also its Young Peacemakers Awards.

“Dr Williams is no stranger to the task of tackling some of the great challenges of our time and I for one was looking forward immensely to hearing what he had to say to the Eisteddfod community on the subject of peace, which is so close to the heart of our festival.”

Before delivering the Peace Lecture, Dr Williams, who was Archbishop of Canterbury for a decade, was taken on guided tour of the Eisteddfod field by Professor Adams where he met a number of international performers and festival volunteers.