Largest Elvis Presley festival in Europe hits Porthcawl

Darryl Crick said he has always been an Elvis fan and his mum played it when he was born

A swarm of Elvis Presleys descended on a small seaside town on Friday.

Porthcawl in Bridgend is set to welcome 40,000 people this weekend for the largest Elvis Presley tribute festival in Europe.

Elvis acts will battle to be crowned the best performer on Saturday, and the judges are looking for the best entertainers.

The acts have brought tears to many eyes, audience members said.

The festival began in 2004 and and has grown massively.

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Paula Horn has been one of the competition judges for eight years and said this festival is the highlight of her year.

People dressed up to watch the performance in the Pavilion on Friday

"There was nothing before 2003 where you could get together with an Elvis," she said. "I was here for the first year and there was only about 500 of us."

"I remember the first ETA (Elvis tribute act) I saw was Kraig Parker, he did a concert in the first year at the Hi-Tide. He is the first singer to make me cry."

"I would never have had the pleasure of seeing Elvis and I was sat at the front of the stage, on the floor cross-legged because I didn't want to miss it," she said.

"It was electric from there it's just got bigger and better."

Ms Horn said over the years more tribute artists have joined and there are now sister festivals in other countries showcasing the Elvis Presley talent.

She said when she is judging she is looking for "the quality to provide for the fans, like Elvis did."

Lisa Ponsford and Paula Horn said the festival felt like a community

Ms Horn said she was not asking for Elvis lookalikes but wanted to see them "perform like Elvis - but they're all unique in their own little way".

"We're all under the umbrella of The King. We're all doing it for Elvis Presley," she said.

"[Elvis is] my best friend and he never even knew it. Honestly, seven years of age I've been a fan, I'm 56 now."

Lisa Ponsford, 51 and her partner met when he was competing in an Elvis competition.

"It's just a big community," she said.

Victor Andrews met his wife at an Elvis competition

Victor Andrews, Ms Ponsford's partner, has been performing as Elvis in his own show in Benidorm and has returned to the Porthcawl festival every year for the past eight.

He won Welsh champion last year and said he enjoyed "capturing Elvis for people who would never have seen Elvis".

Dai Basset has been performing as Welvis - Welsh Elvis - in Canada for four years.

"I just loved Elvis and loved his voice. I loved the way he entertained the audience."

Welvis usually entertains Canadian audiences but travelled to Wales specificially for the festival

Mr Basset performed at Hi-Tide on Friday afternoon and said: "It's the audience that make it, that and meeting the other entertainers- some of them are truly fantastic."

Darryl Crick, 55 from London is also performing this weekend and said his mum had Elvis playing "in the delivery room when I was born".

He has been performing at the festival for four years and said part of his love for it is meeting the other performers.

Mr Crick said the younger generation of Elvis' are "keeping the legacy alive".

Ian Vockins said the performances were emotional

Ian Vockins from Ceredigion said the first heat of the competition at the Pavilion was "fantastic".

He said he had "tears in my eyes" during the performance as one of the tribute acts sang Bridge over Troubled Water as it is his father-in-law's favourite song.

"My heart was pumping."

Cameron Durrant, 63, who lives in New York said: "I've had coming to the Elvis Festival on my bucket list for many many years."

What is the Elvis Presley festival?

The festival began in 2004 when its founder, Peter Phillips, decided to try and stop the Grand Pavilion in Porthcawl from closing.

"This is like an iconic building and in 2004 it was under threat of closure," he said.

Mr Phillips said the council wanted to close it but "the town were worried that was really a Trojan horse for a housing development".

To save it he suggested "an award show for Elvis Tribute Artists".

Peter Phillips founded the festival 19 years ago and it has continued to grow

"It was like the Grammy's for Elvises. We had the best gospel, the best Vagus, the best 68 special Elvis.

"I always thought Elvis tribute artists don't get the credit they deserve," he said.

"Everybody thought it was a ridiculous idea in the town, except from the Hi-Tide and what was the Brentwood hotel."

Mr Phillips said the festival grew quickly because "it has become an institution in the valleys" and at least 40,000 people are expected this weekend.

"It's actually a Welsh party, I think it only works to the extent it does because it's in Wales.

"The Welsh government calculated it brings in £6m and to an economy the size of Porthcawl, that's pretty significant," he said.

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