Bridgend is celebrating after smashing New York’s record for staging the world’s largest gathering of Elves.
The ‘Elf-steddfod’ event saw 720 people gather in Bridgend town centre on Saturday 11 December where they dressed as Elves, beating the previous record by a huge 184 Elves.
To qualify as an Elf, participants had to turn up wearing their own red or green costumes. Special Elf hats were provided to everyone who took part and entertainment was on hand from stilt-walking Elves, acrobatic Elves, music from Bridge FM and Bridgend town centre’s annual Christmas market.
The event was supported by town centre businesses and the Elf hats were supplied by The Travel House and Logo Toys.
Councillor Mel Nott, Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council, said: “Congratulations to everyone who helped to make this event such a success.
“It’s a major achievement when you consider the difference in size and population between New York and Bridgend, and events such as this help to promote the town and attract more visitors into the area.”
Town centre manager Rhiannon Kingsley added: “Thousands of people visited Bridgend town centre during the Elf-steddfod, and in this respect the event certainly achieved its aim of attracting more visitors and boosting trade. It was also an opportunity for people to enjoy a bit of light-hearted festive fun.
“The success of the Elf-steddfod follows Feastival, the alternative food festival which drew around 35,000 visitors over two days, and we’ll be looking to organise further events in future. But thanks are due in the meantime to everyone who contributed or supported the Elf-steddfod and helped to make it such a record-breaking success.”
For details about other events in Bridgend this Christmas, visit www.bridgendchristmas.com
