Porthcawl Elvis Festival organisers confident of go-ahead

The Porthcawl Elvis Festival has been running since 2004

Organisers of the popular Porthcawl Elvis Festival are "pretty confident" the event will take place this year.

The annual event in Porthcawl was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But founder Peter Phillips said the festival, which attracts 40,000 visitors and is estimated to be worth £5m to the local economy, was "critical" for local businesses.

It is due to be held between 24 and 26 September.

"I'm pretty confident the Elvis festival, in a pretty healthy shape or form, will go ahead," said Mr Phillips.

"It's always been very important to the local economy of Porthcawl and I think even more so this year."

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The main events of the festival usually take place at The Grand Pavilion and The Hi-Tide venues, with other businesses hosting their own events in tribute to The King.

Mr Phillips said the lack of a "clear roadmap" out of Covid restrictions from Welsh government meant planning for the event months in advance had been "a nightmare for hospitality businesses".

The Welsh government has previously said it was taking a "cautious approach" to ending rules.

The event attracts 40,000 visitors to the seaside town every year

With coronavirus restrictions still in place, Mr Phillips said it was difficult for organisers to say exactly what the festival would look like.

He added: "Some events are easily controlled within Covid restrictions because they're ticketed events in very controlled venues.

"The festival is made up of licensed premises, all of which I'm sure will comply with whatever Covid regulations are in place at the time."