Outdoor Festival for Bala
A major new outdoor festival combining adventure sports and live music could attract up to 10,000 people.
The Snowdonia Outdoor Festival will be staged on the shores of Bala Lake on August 11 and 12.
Wales has gained a reputation as the adventure capital of Europe and had been named among the top places in the world to visit in 2017 in Lonely Planet's annual best in travel list.
The event will be held on a 10-acre site at Gwern Hefin Farm the brainchild events organiser, Brand Events, the company behind the Keswick Mountain Festival.
Bala Business Association vice-chairman, Heledd Roberts, said the event would boost the local economy and put Bala even more on the map.
“Because we’re surrounded by mountains and water this kind of festival is perfect," she said.
“We’ve got the biggest natural lake in the country on our doorstep, we’ve got mountains and scenic views, footpaths and trails for hikers and mountain bikers and all in the most natural environment you could dream of.
Event Director Nicola Meadley, said: “Keswick has been such a fantastic success and has shown that there is demand for this sort of family-friendly outdoor festival. We were looking for the right place to stage something and Bala just ticked all the boxes.
Organisers are expecting 5,000 people each day, the majority camping for the weekend with a programme of outdoor sport competitions and taster sessions and live music from the afternoon until 10.30pm.
Sporting events will include trail runs over distances from three to 25 kilometres, open water swims on the lake, mountain bike races, a sportive – a mass participation cycle race - and a swim-run event.
The music lineup will be announced later this month.
Outdoor activities being organised on and off-site include hiking, canoeing, stand-up paddle boarding, swimming, climbing, mountain biking and bushcraft talks.
The organisers are aiming for up to 3,500 campers staying on site with as many as 1500 people attending each day and staying or living locally.
Tickets will go on sale at the end of the month with special concessions for local residents.
More details from www.snowdonia-outdoorfestival.co.uk.
