FAMOUS FESTIVAL LAST HELD IN 2008 BUT ‘WELL-KNOWN PROMOTER’ AIMS TO BRING MUSIC EVENT TO ESTATE
ANORTH Wales estate which regularly housed a major music festival could be in line to host similar events in future if ongoing talks are successful, Gwynedd council said.
Held between 2000 and 2008, Bryn Terfel’s Gwyl y Faenol (The Faenol Festival) took place at the estate on the outskirts of Bangor.
Featuring headline acts such as Shirley Bassey and Westlife, as well as operatic and Welsh music stars, the festival attracted record crowds of 35,000 in 2006.
But despite no festival having been held there for over a decade, hopes have been rekindled it could once again house such major events if discussions bear fruit.
A report, to be presented to the council’s cabinet yesterday, Tuesday, confirmed talks were under way with an unnamed “well-known promoter” to “establish a musical event in the Faenol” for 2020/21.
In addition, Gwynedd Council has noted it is also working on a “major light-based event with Welsh Government and Portmeirion.”
Attracting major events to Gwynedd stimulated the county’s economy by almost £5.5m during 2019, with every £1 invested by Gwynedd Council seeing the local economy benefit to the tune of £140.26 – up from £111.53 in 2018/19.
In a bid to build on the success, yesterday was due to see a request for the cabinet to provide another £50,000 towards the ‘Increasing the Benefits of Major Events’ project during 2020/21.
If approved, the money will go towards continuous employment of an events manager to provide a single point of contact for those hoping to organise such activities within the county.
It will also be used to gain Welsh Government match funding which, in 2019, saw just £8,000 attract another £300,000 from Cardiff Bay.
Having attracted a total of 110,781 people to the county, major events in 2019/20 supported 215 jobs.
Among those were the Slateman
Triathlon in Llanberis, which saw 24,897 in attendance and bringing in almost £2m to the local economy, and the Caernarfon Food Festival, bringing in 32,000 people and £200,000 to the town centre.
Another success highlighted was the Red Bull Hardline in Meirionnydd, known as one of the world’s toughest downhill mountain bike races, which was broadcast live on television.
A direct consequence of the successful partnership between the council and its organisers was a decision by Red Bull to use Portmeirion as the venue for their International Marketing Conference and Maentwrog’s Plas Tan Bwlch for accommodation.
Other events highlighted are the new 10k event in Barmouth as part of the Three Peaks Race
yand the Snowdon Race hosting a round of the World Cup Mountain Running Championship.
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “We are in discussions with a number of organisers and other partner bodies about a wide range of events to be held all over Gwynedd.”