A retrospective reappraisal of how The Royal Music Pavilion in Llangollen designed by 4D Studio Architects’ John Muir has served its purpose has proved rewarding.
Jonathan Glancey’s 1992 article in the Guardian newspaper was prophetic when he wrote “This tent is worth making a song and dance about: Llangollen’s new pavilion for the annual eisteddfod is a model of cheap, innovative theatre design”.
“The annual Llangollen International Eisteddfod in north Wales must be one of the most assertively ‘traditional’ events of the music year. This is the place to hear massed Welsh choirs and this is where, last week, singers and dancers from 47 countries came to perform traditional songs and dances and 150,000 people came to see and hear them. This is where the young Geraint Evans, Tito Gobbi and Luciano Pavarotti cut their operatic teeth”.
“Yet this year’s eisteddfod took place under the vast tented roof of an unapologetically modern structure. The Royal International Pavilion in Llangollen designed by John Muir and opened by the Queen last week, is exactly the building the festival had been waiting for: cheap, flexible, durable and festive.
The idea is that during the 12 hectic days of the eisteddfod, it can be extended to a maximum capacity of 6,000 while during the rest of the year it can be shrunk back and used as a 1,800- seat opera house or theatre or, in its most condensed form during the wettest winter months, as a sports hall and community and conference centre”.
And this year the Pavilion continues to function as intended. British pop giants Madness are the latest act to be heading to North Wales next summer joining the line-up for Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
The Nutty Boys, who recently scored their first studio UK Official Charts No.1 album, Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie, will bring their legendary live show to Llangollen Pavilion on Saturday, July 13.
The headlining show is the latest to be announced as part of a new partnership between Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor.
Madness join indie heroes Kaiser Chiefs, Manic Street Preachers and Suede, BRIT award-winning artist Paloma Faith, chart-topper Jess Glynne and disco legends Nile Rodgers & CHIC among the artists to be announced so far for the iconic peace festival in 2024
Credits must go my talented architectural team, particularly Vernon Almeida and to the exceptional engineers Neil Thomas (Atelier 1) and Patrick Bellew (Atelier 10)
