For one week each July Llangollen is transformed into a kaleidoscope of colour as it stages its own Carnival of Nations. 
The International Musical Eisteddfod brings a fiesta of music, language, dance and colour to the little town on the banks of the River Dee.
The spectacular opening day on Tuesday, July 8, with its Parade through the streets of the town and back to the Royal International Pavilion, is one of Wales’s great cultural occasions.
It climaxes with the wonderful Carnival of Nations concert in the evening and this year there is a truly international flavour to the event as entertainers from around the world join forces for a memorable evening show with a real touch of the circus.
They include the amazing gymnastic troupe Spelbound, winners of Britain’s Got Talent, Cirque du Soleil’s Bruce Bilodeau, the Gandini Jugglers, acrobats from the Chinese State Circus and some of this year’s star international competitors.
The colour and excitement of this great event still brings its message of peace and friendship to the place where Wales meets the World after 67 years.
Hundreds of competitors and thousands of visitors flock to the field and you can soak up the sights and sounds of the world as singers, musicians and dancers from New Zealand and Russia, ChIna, India and South America mingle.
Impromptu performances break out, Zulu choirs sing, Indian musicians pluck sitars and accents from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas mingle.
The traditional opening parade sets the template for the six days of the Eisteddfod, from Tuesday July 8, with a fabulous spectacle of colour and sound as locals and visitors from the UK and across the world join together.
Competitors dance, sing and play musical instruments as the procession moves from the Eisteddfod field through the streets of Llangollen, and back again, led by the event Patron, Terry Waite MBE.
That sets the scene for the week with the Eisteddfod field alive and buzzing with international performances on the new and improved undercover Outside Stages.
This year’s curtain-raiser to the main event is a special production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on Monday, July 7, starring opera superstar Bryn Terfel, Go Compare tenor Wynne Evans and Shân Cothi. The evening is being sponsored by the Pendine Park care organisation.
The Eisteddfod will also feature Dutch jazz sensation Caro Emerald and veteran British rockers Status Quo as well as a world premiere of a new work, Adiemus Colores, by top composer Karl Jenkins.
He will conduct his Latin American themed work with American tenor Noah Stewart, and Latvian accordion player Ksenija Sidorova to the accompaniment of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod Orchestra.
The Friday night concert, Spirit of Unity, will feature the Cape Town Opera, Africa’s premiere opera company, famed for their “vibrant vocalism and high-octane stage performances”.
Appearing with them will be Wales’ representative in Cardiff Singer of the World, Gary Griffiths, the Wales Millennium Centre Only Kidz Aloud Chorus and British Sinfonietta, one of the UK’s leading independent professional orchestras.
The Choir of the World competition for the Pavarotti Trophy on the Saturday night is the blue riband event of the week-long festival which will close with a Sunday night concert by Status Quo, sponsored by the Village Bakery.
The Eisteddfod is a complete international experience and that goes for the food too. Home-cooked Welsh produce is on the menu but so are the cuisines of Europe, China, India and the rest of the world and there’s excellent local Llangollen ale.
There are gifts and clothes from South America, jewellery, wooden toys and Welsh-made products at more than 40 stalls, including exhibitions of festival supporters, Extreme Animals and Owl Rescue Display, charity groups and more including jugglers, escape artists and magic tricks.
To book tickets and for more information go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk
