The Faenol festival in Bangor, which attracted big names such as Shirley Bassey and Westlife and crowds of 35,000 at its height, could be revived.
Organised by Welsh singer Bryn Terfel, the music festival was held annually on August Bank Holiday weekend at the Faenol Estate, on the outskirts of Bangor, between 2000 and 2008.
The festival was cancelled in 2009 and again in 2010 because of poor ticket sales. Scheduled headline act Westlife performed at Venue Cymru instead in 2010.
There was no festival in 2011, with organiser Bryn Terfel saying “I prefer people to see the loss of the festival rather than try again and possibly fail again …. Perhaps there is a need to restructure the festival.”
A Gwynedd Council report, which is due before its cabinet next week, says talks are now under way with a “well-known promoter to establish a musical event in the Faenol after years of no events being held on the site.”
In 2019, major events in Gwynedd stimulated the economy by £5.5m, attracting over 100,000 people to the county, supporting 215 jobs.
A request will be made for the cabinet to provide another £50,000 towards the ‘Increasing the Benefits of Major Events’ project during 2020/21.
Other events also being considered are a major light-based event with Welsh Government and Portmeirion and attracting various international events to Gwynedd and Snowdonia.
