The annual Sŵn Festival uses venues at the smaller end of that scale . Founded by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and independent promoter John Rostron in 2007 , it was taken over by the team at grassroots venue Clwb Ifor Bach ( 380 ) in 2018 and is now run by its CEO Guto Brychan .
In a usual year , the festival involves 12 venues throughout the city that collectively stage shows by around 200 established and emerging artists . This year ’ s festival , which ran from 15-17 October , was scaled-back version .
Brychan says the lack of a reopening roadmap from the Welsh Government made planning a full event very risky . As a result this year ’ s Sŵn was limited to four venues on Womanby Street , including Clwb Ifor Bach .
Aside from the many issues resulting from the pandemic , including the roll out of the Covid Pass , Brychan is upbeat about the health of the Welsh live music sector .
“ We have the Cardiff Music Board , which has regular meetings with the local council , and as a result there is much improved dialogue with our sector . The relationship with local authorities and the Welsh Government has changed a lot in the last few years and that ’ s been accelerated by Covid . I hope that momentum continues to build ,” he says .
Matt Blackhouse took over as deputy general manager of the Live Nation operated , 7,500-capacity , Motorpoint Arena in August . Since the venue opened in 1993 , it has played an important role in attracting shows to the Welsh capital as well as having a major economic impact . According to research by Cardiff Metropolitan University carried out in 2015 , the venue contributes around £ 30m to the local economy each year .
The first post-lockdown show for the venue was The Specials on 10 September . Blackhouse says events are seeing a far higher percentage of ticketholder “ no
“ We are the only arena on the circuit that covers all of the southwest of England .”
Motorpoint Arena deputy GM Matt Blackhouse
shows ” than pre-pandemic times , as much as 30 % at The Specials , but the situation is rapidly improving .
He says next year ’ s events diary is shaping up extremely well : “ We are set to have 18 months of activity squeezed into 12 . We are still seeing US acts reschedule dates that are part of European tours but we have never seen anything like it in terms of diary activity and fights for dates . We are staying hopeful we can stay open through the winter , that will build a lot of customer confidence .”
While being in strong demand , the Motorpoint Arena ’ s days are numbered . A new 15,000-capacity arena in Cardiff Bay is expected to bring £ 100m a year to the south Wales economy when it opens in late 2024 . Replacing the Motorpoint , the £ 150m new arena is part of a huge redevelopment of the area that will see 1,100 apartments built along with a new hotel , retail outlets , restaurants , and bars across a 30-acre site . Like the Motorpoint , the venue will be council owned and Live Nation run . Blackhouse says the plan is to keep the Motorpoint open until the new venue is ready .
With the Motorpoint Arena being located in the city centre , event attendees often make a day or weekend of it when coming for a show there . According to the University ’ s study , approximately 27 % of visitors come from outside the Cardiff region and around half of them stay overnight , resulting in a further annual economic injection of around £ 30m in offsite activity .
“ We are the only arena on the circuit that covers all of the southwest of England , we get people from Cornwall to west wales and all the way up to Swindon . Another attraction is that we get huge headline acts but it is a relatively intimate venue compared to the other arenas on the circuit ,” says Blackhouse .
Another Cardiff venue that makes a huge financial impact on the city ,
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