Arts festival management is ? and probably always will be ? a precarious operation. However, one UK festival has both its finances and future plans in a very healthy state, and moreover makes a significant contribution to its local area and region, writes Mervyn Cousins.
The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has, over almost sixty years, given a Welsh platform to 3,000 performers from across the world. Llangollen itself is a small town of 3,500 people, but swells each July to six times that figure on each Eisteddfod day as the week-long Festival entertains 100,000 visitors. The Eisteddfod also raises the profile of Wales worldwide. Both its audiences and performers are truly international, and this year there are already season-ticket holders from as far afield as South Africa and Canada.
The local community and the Festival interact on several levels. The Eisteddfod?s revenue value to the local economy is £6.1m. Villages and towns within a thirty-mile radius of Llangollen provide hospitality for competitors, with hotels, schools and private homes are all involved, many booked months in advance. There is a distinct feeling of identity and pride, not least with an energetic volunteer force that is passionately involved in all aspects of the Festival. The town itself accepts and buys into the Eisteddfod in many ways ? with sponsorship, window displays, and allowing performances to be enjoyed in the streets.
Llangollen?s ethos is one of Peace and Goodwill. Harold Tudor, a Regional Officer for the British Council, conceived the idea barely a year after the end of World War Two, and with local music publisher W S Gwyn Williams, he set the whole thing in motion. In 1949 a choir from Luebeck were welcomed as ?our friends from West Germany? ? this brand of world-wide peace, camaraderie and shared heritage shines out brilliantly still through North Wales and beyond. Over the years people from 125 countries have experienced Wales? beauty and special welcome, ?Croeso?, through participation in the Eisteddfod: this is truly global culture.
With prudent financial management, the Eisteddfod has moved from an uneasy financial state some years ago to a turnover of over £1m for the first time in its history ? and a healthy operating surplus for 2003. The inclusion of high-profile concert artists, including Shirley Bassey last year, has obviously played a part, but copying the likes of the Royal Opera House or the Proms cannot be the International Eisteddfod?s agenda. The programming of professional artists is carefully balanced to welcome all, reflecting the Festival?s core values and identifying new audiences. Evening concerts therefore feature professional world music and dance with the most colourful of the competitors; Children?s Day is expected to attract 4,500 people; and Saturday is Family Day, with barbershop and male voice choirs alongside choreographic dance workshops. The programme brings to the Eisteddfod Ground an extraordinary cultural wealth. Allied to a sound business plan, the appeal and the magic of Llangollen seem stronger than ever. Town, region and the whole of Wales should continue to benefit for years to come.
Mervyn Cousins is Music Director for the Llangollen International Eisteddfod.
e: mervync@international-eisteddfod.co.uk;
w: http://www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk