Ex-RAF man promises surprise names to follow high-flying Noel

THE 2017 Festival No6 line-up will be revealed later this month.

Luke Huxham, who is masterminding the four-day spectacular at Portmeirion between September 7 and 10, said: “I think it’s safe to say you can expect the unexpected this year!”

The 30-year-old events organiser added: “I can assure you it will be as big as it has ever been with lots of surprises.

“If I had to use three words to describe the line-up, I would say it is magical, eclectic and atmospheric. We can’t wait to share with everyone what we have planned.”

Mr Huxham, from Devon, has directed a range of festivals around the world for eight years, including Austria’s Snowbombing festival, and has worked with the Gwynedd event since it began.

But the former serviceman said organising a festival holds far greater pressures than being in the RAF. He added: “You have a lot of respon- sibility in the RAF, but the pressures of running a music festival are far greater.

“There are a lot of factors to consider and you have pressure all year round wondering whether things will go in your favour – will the sun shine, will it rain?

“But when you’ve spent a whole year working towards this one weekend and you read the reviews and people say amazing, it makes it all worth it.”

Despite unexpected setbacks in previous years, Mr Huxham said its backers are making a long-term commitment to North Wales and Portmeirion.

“It truly is a unique place and I think that’s what makes people come back every year,” he said.

“It is becoming a very saturated market and I think it’s important to be different. But we have something that can’t be replicated, and that’s Portmeirion – there is no other place like it and we will always celebrate that.”

He added: “Putting on a festival is a huge cost, a clean-up is a big one of them - it costs £30,000 plus. When we initially launched Festival No.6, there was a lot on unforeseen costs so we’re still not quite there with it yet in all honesty, but we’re confident we will get there.

“It has to stack up financially, but for me it’s seeing people enjoying new experiences.

“We all see Festival No 6 as a longterm project – we have invested a lot of money and time into it. It’s still in its infancy and we still want to see it stay within the festival circuit.”

Around 600 jobs will be created for this year’s Festival No 6, the boss revealed. Mr Huxham said they will be recruiting some 350 bar staff and 250 paid volunteers.

He added that they were always looking for people to help out. Roles range from bar staff to volunteers, interns and office workers.

“We’re always posting some kind of opportunity on the website,” he said.

“We will be opening up applications for volunteers later this year.”