10,000 expected for second Festival No.6 at Portmeirion

Marr and the Manics - two of the acts at Portmeirion

More than 10,000 people are gathering at Italianate village Portmeirion in Gwynedd as the second Festival No.6 is held over three days from Friday.

Manic Street Preachers will headline but there will be around 300 other acts taking part, including Welsh language bands on a new stage.

Last year local people living across the Dwyryd Estuary complained of excessive noise from the event.

Organisers said lessons had been learned.

In its first year around 6,500 attended the festival, whose name was inspired by the 1960s cult TV series The Prisoner which used the village as a backdrop and where Patrick McGoohan's character was called Number 6.

Acts taking part include James Blake, Johnny Marr, My Bloody Valentine, Gruff Rhys, London Grammar, I Am Kloot and Tricky.

There will also be an appearance by the Brythoniaid Male Voice Choir which has recorded a version of Good Times by US dance act Chic. The choir will also perform at the festival with founder member Nile Rodgers.

For the first festival the choir recorded a version of Blue Monday by 2012 headliners New Order.

The festival takes its name from the cult 1960s series The Prisoner - and draws fans from groups such as The Prisoner Appreciation Society

One of the organisers at Portmeirion, Meurig Jones, said the festival was a celebration of diverse music and art, inspired by the surroundings of the village designed and built by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis.

"We are trying to give a vast range of music and arts," he said.

"My favourite stage is the central piazza, the great iconic building that we have here that will have a whole range of comedy and spoken word.

"Sir Clough who built the village didn't want it to become a museum. He wanted it to be used and be an inspiration to others, and to have this here is of course carrying on his legacy."

Even though last year's event was the first, it has already claimed a number of industry accolades, including the title of Best New Festival and Best Headliner performance for New Order's gig. It was also named as the Best Small Festival by the NME music magazine.

This year's festival is expected to entice some 10,000 visitors, thousands up on last year.

"We're close to the 10,000 mark but we don't think it will get much bigger because we don't have a big village - 10,000 would be lovely," said Mr Jones.

The Italianate village of Portmeirion dominates the River Dwyryd estuary