Status Quo among stars for Llangollen Eisteddfod

Rock legends Status Quo, opera superstar Bryn Terfel and singing sensation Caro Emerald will be headlining the week-long event at the Royal International Pavilion.

But the stars of the event for many visitors are the competitors who will travel from every continent to compete at this year's eisteddfod.

They will be heading to Llangollen for a bill that sees Status Quo, the band that opened Live Aid in 1985 with Rockin' All Over the World, headline the closing concert.

History

Lead singer and guitarist Francis Rossi said he couldn't wait to perform on the pavilion stage after being told by Jools Holland – one the stars at last year's event – about the magic of the eisteddfod.

He said: "Jools told me he did the eisteddfod and what a brilliant place and atmosphere it was. He also explained about the event's history and that excites me."

Bass baritone Terfel will be playing the lead in a production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street featuring an all-Welsh cast.

The lavish production on July 7, will be a curtain raiser for the 2014 festival which gets under way the following day.

Organisers have also revealed there will be a world premiere of a new work by composer Karl Jenkins and an appearance by the chart-topping singing brothers, Richard and Adam Johnson, from Holywell, in Flintshire.

On the Tuesday night at the eisteddfod there will be a galaxy of international talent at the Carnival of Nations concert.

It will showcase spectacular circus acts from across the globe including Cirque du Soleil's Bruce Bilodeau, acrobats from the Chinese State Circus and Spelbound, winners of Britain's Got Talent.

The concert will include the opening ceremony and the Procession of Nations into the Pavilion.

The following night will see the return of Karl Jenkins, who is the highest selling classical composer of today, with the world premiere of his latest masterpiece, Adiemus Colores.

The multi-award-winning Dutch singer Caro Emerald will be making her Llangollen eisteddfod debut on the Thursday evening.

Then on Friday the spirit of unity concert will feature the Cape Town Opera, Wales's representative in Cardiff Singer of the World, Gary Griffiths, the Wales Millennium Centre Only Kidz Aloud Chorus under the baton of celebrity conductor Tim Rhys Evans and British Sinfonietta, one of the United Kingdom's leading independent professional orchestras.

Changes to the competitions include a new open category for choirs that will welcome barbershop choruses, jazz choir, rock choir, gospel choir or even folk choirs.

Eisteddfod musical director Eilir Owen Griffith, said that he was thrilled that he had been able to sign up Status Quo to bring the 2014 event to a "fantastic climax".

He said: "Status Quo are true rock legends and they are the final piece in the jigsaw for what promises to be one of the best eisteddfod's ever."