£ 6bn was spent on tourism trips last year . The economic impact of events on the Welsh economy is also huge . Major events including the Green Man Festival , Hay Festival , and stadium and arena concerts play a significant role in encouraging inbound tourism . Cardiff ’ s Principality Stadium contributed £ 1.95bn to the local economy between 1999 and 2019 , while the Hay Festival contributed £ 25.8m to the local area in 2018 alone .
The Welsh Government offers a raft of funding opportunities to the creative and event sectors and that investment was increased significantly during the pandemic . The Cultural Recovery Fund , administered by Arts Council of Wales , provided £ 93m of funding , and a Freelancer Fund was set up in partnership with local authorities .
Among Wales ’ s most experienced events professionals is Sarah Hemsley- Cole . The director of Cardiff-based SC Productions , primarily a production and site management company , she has worked on countless major events in Wales , including all Stereophonics outdoor shows in the past decade , Ed Sheeran stadium shows and annual arts and music festival Urdd Eisteddfod .
During the pandemic , Hemsley-Cole led the We Make Events Cymru campaign and was pleased with the resulting engagement from the Government .
“ We had a really good dialogue with Government ,” she says . “ While their focus was very much on the health crises , they understood the benefits of our industry to the economy and the fact it is a massive draw for tourists .
“ The funding wasn ’ t solely delivered through Arts Council Wales , Creative Wales looked after the supply chain and other elements of the sector . There was a real understanding the supply chain needed a different methodology to the creative sector . There was only so much money to go round but they did try really hard to get it to the right people .”
While many operators have struggled
Hay festival
“ We have a much smaller infrastructure , and we all know each other so there is a sense of looking out for one another .”
SC Productions director Sarah Hemsley-Cole
with supply chain issues , Hemsley-Cole says the events industry in Wales has been comparatively untroubled : “ The supply chain is alright in Wales , we ’ ve come through the worst of it . We have a much smaller infrastructure , and we all know each other so there is a sense of looking out for one another .”
She says SC Productions worked on a 20,000-capacity show by Catfish And The Bottlemen at Swansea ’ s Singleton Park in September without any major supply chain problems : “ Most of that infrastructure didn ’ t travel very far and we didn ’ t have any issues with suppliers . We had toilets from several different companies , and we had boarding rather than SteelShield , but we made it work and solved the issue locally .”
Independent spirit Without doubt one of Wales ’ best known music festivals , the staunchly independent Green Man Festival is set to celebrate its 20th edition next year . The event is already sold out , with all tickets having been snapped up in a record three days after going on sale – some 11 months in advance .
Mixing music , science and arts in a stunning valley location framed by the Brecon Beacons mountain range , Green Man thrives on being a unique event in the UK ’ s festival landscape .
Aside from an eclectic and interesting selection of live performance talent , among the sites to behold each year at Green Man is a huge wooden statue of its pagan namesake that is burned to the ground at the end of each festival .
Owned and operated by Fiona Stewart , who has been at the helm since 2005 , Green Man has over the years forged a unique identity and a loyal following . With a 25,000 capacity , it is one of the
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