Photo Credit: Gettty Images
Welsh superstar Sir Tom Jones kicked off a week of live performances at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Tuesday evening. The six-day festival, held every summer, runs until Sunday and is expected to draw in 50,000 fans to the Denbighshire town.
Treforest-born Sir Tom, who turned 84 last month, made his first-ever appearance at the event, which has been running for 77 years. The eisteddfod organizers described his performance in the pavilion as a "truly unforgettable" start to the week.
The days leading up to the eisteddfod saw performances from big names such as Bryan Adams, Paloma Faith, and the Manic Street Preachers. The festival, which began in 1947 as a means of healing the wounds of World War Two, originally saw choirs from seven different countries travel to Llangollen to compete. Since then, more than 400,000 competitors from over 140 nationalities and cultures have performed on the Llangollen stage.
A parade is also held every year, during which local people and visitors take to the streets to dance, sing, and play musical instruments. The Parade of Nations, which this year will be held on Wednesday 3 July, is free to attend. By night, artists perform on the festival's main stage inside a pavilion. Previous headline acts have included Status Quo, McFly, and UB40.
This year's eisteddfod week features a star-studded line-up, including Sir Tom Jones on the opening night, jazz artist Gregory Porter on Friday, and singer Katherine Jenkins on Sunday. A number of other artists will perform in the days that follow, including Nile Rodgers on 11 July and Jess Glynne on 12 July.
Dave Danford, the Llangollen Eisteddfod's artistic director, said this year's event would be "the most high-profile festival for decades". "We are keen to stress that the core elements of our festival that long-time supporters know and love will remain", he added.
"As well as bringing some of the world's biggest selling artists to Llangollen, our peace message will be at the heart of what we do, our competitions remain at an incredibly high standard, and this year our field will be bustling with activity on our outside stages".
The eisteddfod runs from Tuesday 2 July until Sunday 7 July. From Wednesday to Saturday, gates will open at 08:30. On Sunday, the site will be open between 10:00 and 16:00 for a family fun day, before opening again at 17:00 for the evening concert.
More than 3,000 participants from 34 different countries, including Australia, Burundi, Canada, China, Japan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe, will be competing at Llangollen this year. "We can't wait to welcome the world to Wales yet again in July", said Mr. Danford.
