UP, UP AND AWAY...LLANGOLLEN FESTIVAL CELEBRATES REFURBISHED PAVILION WITH A SPECTACULAR BALLOON RELEASE

Free Festival Tickets Up For Grabs Find more photos like this on Americymru To celebrate the refurbishment of the Llangollen International Pavilion, Llangollen Eisteddfod were proud to invite everyone to a spectacular and colourful balloon release on Thursday 10th of June at 2pm in the presence of celebrated, multi-million selling and original electric string quartet (and stars of one of the festival’s evening concerts this year) Bond! Five thousand balloons took to the skies, with 100 special gold balloons. Those lucky enough to find one of the special gold Llangollen Eisteddfod balloons will have the chance of winning tickets to the Festival or the evening concerts - including the Concert featuring Bond on Thursday, July 8th. All you have to do is go online to www.llangollen2010.co.uk to see if your gold balloon number is one of the winners! It is anticipated that several winning balloons will travel overseas to countries in Europe and beyond and will serve to further enhance Llangollen’s International message. Dozens of people turned up to watch the balloon release, those included were dozens of Dinas Bran School pupils. “This is a brilliant idea” says Cardiff-born BOND violinist, Eos Chater, “and we are really excited to be involved with it. Imagine the thrill of finding one of these winning balloons and receiving free tickets to the Festival or one of the spectacular concerts. If you’re really lucky, it might even be ours!” “The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has always been associated with colour”, says the Festival’s Chief Executive Mervyn Cousins, “and now, here we are, turning the skies over Llangollen into a wonderful mosaic! It will be a great day out for the whole family and, of course, there is also the chance of winning a rare ticket to one of our justly famous evening concerts. But we’re also eager to draw attention to the improved facilities at Llangollen this year. The Festival is bigger and better than ever and now, thanks to the renovations made possible by our friends at Denbighshire County Council and the Welsh Assembly Government, so is the Pavilion itself”. “The Llangollen Eisteddfod is something we can all be proud of in Wales”, says Hugh Evans, Leader of Denbighshire County Council, “and we at Denbighshire County Council are happy to have contributed to the overall £1.6million redevelopment, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government, to create a world class pavilion which is no less than this great event deserves. This will hopefully be seen as a significant investment in what is an important cultural phenomenon. Llangollen is a national and international treasure”. The £1.6 million investment by Denbighshire County Council and the Welsh Assembly Government will secure the provision of an Over-Pavilion New Canvas together with the renovation and renewal of the steel structures underneath. In addition to improvements in lighting, access and seating within the building there has also been a major overhaul of the entrance with new designs from local artists and wonderful images of the beautiful local scenery. “The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a hugely significant event” says Alun Ffred Jones, Heritage Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government, “not only for us in Wales but to the thousands upon thousands of people who flock here each year to compete and to sample it’s unique and multi-cultural atmosphere. The Welsh Assembly Government recognizes the huge importance of this event as a symbol of peace and harmony in a troubled world and as a crucial ambassador for our nation and is therefore delighted to invest to safeguard its growth in the twenty first century”. “I am convinced that the public and the performers will both appreciate these massive improvements to the Llangollen Pavilion”, says Mervyn Cousins, “particularly in terms of the acoustics in the Main Hall and in the areas of catering. These will have long-term benefits for the pavilion too of course because it is an all-year-round venue and the hope is that these new improvements will make the pavilion a much more attractive proposition for business conferences and meetings”. “We have been working closely with the Eisteddfod to create a new business plan allied to the refurbished pavilion” says Iwan Prys-Jones, Corporate Director of Denbighshire County Council, “the improvements to the pavilion are fantastic and we hope it will bring new investment to the area and attract a wider business base.” Members of the public were invited to celebrate the new pavilion on Thursday, June 10th at the spectacular balloon release and, with a little bit of luck, they might also have the chance of winning free tickets to the Festival or some of this year’s evening concerts - including the one featuring Bond on Thursday, July 8th. “We are so looking forward to playing in Wales, particularly at Llangollen”, says BOND cellist, Gay-Yee Westerhoff, “and it will be great fun to help out at the balloon event. Enjoy the colour and the spectacle - and, of course, we’ll keep our fingers crossed for everyone!” Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod’s Opening Gala Concert featuring Katherine Jenkins on Monday 5th July opens the full facility. For more information on all this year’s evening concerts- and the daytime events - log on to www.llangollen2010.co.uk