Wales has put on some great events in recent years, and that experience should help it to win more work in the future. Charles Williams reports.
For a small country, Wales can punch above its weight when it comes to big events. In the last dozen or so years, it has put on a Rugby World Cup final, an Ashes test, six FA Cup finals, a European summit and a Ryder Cup.
Then there are the annual festivals - Hay, Green Man, Wakestock - not to mention national and international eisteddfods, the Royal Welsh Show and home-grown oddities such as bog-snorkelling.
And we're not just hosting events. We're doing them with style, skill and supreme competence. "It's no coincidence that the Heineken Cup Final is back here for a sixth time," says Arthur Emyr, the former Wales rugby international winger who heads the Welsh Assembly Government's Major Events Unit. "We’ve now got a whole portfolio of events: international events that come to Wales, our signature festivals, annual fixtures such as the Six Nations, and all those emerging events, many of which are home-grown. And there's a whole matrix of benefits that Wales is gaining from these events."
Some benefits are economic, but there is a broader agenda, says Emyr: "There's no doubt that events such as the Ryder Cup and the Ashes change people's preconceptions of who we are and what we're about. The people who think they know us - well, they're thinking again. And if they've never heard of us - and in countries such as the US, you often have to accept that reality - then they certainly have now, and in vastly greater numbers."
As well as identifying home-grown events with growth potential, the unit is trying to ensure that Wales grabs its share of international events, including the Olympics.
David Evans, a former Welsh rugby international now working at the unit, has been lobbying hard for teams to do their vital pre-Games preparation here in Wales. He says: "We want to engage with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as much as possible, and one of the most visible ways to do that is by attracting teams to prepare for the Games in Wales."
So far almost 1,000 athletes and support staff are expected in Wales, including the Australian Paralympic team whose pre-Games budget will inject an estimated £1.5m into the Welsh economy.
But there's more to it than money, says Evans: "The Trinidad & Tobago team will be based here. They're one of the greatest sprinting nations on earth, so you've got all that added value that comes with hosting a team like that; for example, the social engagement, the prospect of our own athletes and communities getting involved with them."
It's impossible to say whether the Aussies' decision to choose Wales was swayed by the country's hosting of the first Ashes test in 2009. But it seems that success breeds success. In the next five years, Cardiff is hosting more international cricket than any other city in the UK, apart from London.
"More importantly," says Paul Russell, chairman of Glamorgan Cricket, "the event confirmed the ability of Wales to host global sporting events and the unrivalled attraction of our country as a tourist venue."
This means that Welsh representatives are able to walk confidently into the boardrooms of sports federations, and entertainment and music promoters, all over the world – and even make serious bids for huge international events like the UEFA Champions League Final, says Arthur Emyr.
"We can go to organisations such as UEFA and be taken seriously. The Champions League Final is a huge event, similar in size to the Ryder Cup. Apart from the final, you've got a women's final, a youth final and a major expo. There are huge challenges in terms of accommodation, transport, the fans, the VIPs and the massive corporate and media dimensions that comes with it. But the point is, we know we're capable of doing it. And with all we've achieved with events in recent years, we can prove it."
Events make many of us happier, some of us healthier – and perhaps richer, too, it seems. As a case in point, look at the most trumpeted event of all: the 2010 Ryder Cup. A recent study estimated that it had generated £82.4m for the Welsh economy, on top of an earlier 21 per cent increase (to £42m) in golf tourism in 2010.
In terms of marketing Wales to the US, it's been estimated that the Ryder Cup drummed up ten years' worth of public relations in a single week. The host city got much of the benefit, according to Newport Council leader Matthew Evans, who cites the environmental and infrastructure enhancements, new opportunities for our children and worldwide recognition.
First Minister Carwyn Jones talks about lasting benefits in tourism, golf development and awareness of Wales as a place to do business.
In North Wales, events such as Wakestock and the International Snowdon Race are creating a similarly warm glow, says Iwan Trefor Jones, Gwynedd Council's corporate director: "We have put a lot of emphasis on attracting events to the area because of the direct economic benefits that they bring as well as raising the profile of the county as a good place to live and do business.
"It's important that the area is portrayed as vibrant and exciting so that our young people have a desire to stay here as well as to attract visitors."
Research indicates that the direct economic benefit to Gwynedd of hosting events over the past year has been £10m.
Now the Celtic Manor finds itself with a world-class event infrastructure that it would be a waste not to use. Another big golf tournament - the Wales Open - takes place in June. Then in July, there's the inaugural Polo at the Manor event, worked on by events specialist Nigel Murphy of Freshbaked.
"Celtic Manor has a £2m bridge over the Usk, lots of reclaimed land by the driving range, a superb transport infrastructure and facilities that are second to none. It's ideal for all sorts of events, and polo was an obvious one to do," says Murphy, who was heavily involved in the Welcome to Wales concert held at the Millennium Stadium to mark the start of the Ryder Cup.
"That was a great example of different organisations working together," he says. "There was the stadium, the event planner, another company to look after the artistic and creative side, another to organise dinner for 1,500. Then you had the transport issues, the difficulty of shifting thousands of people from Newport during the rush hour, arranging for all the traffic lights to be green, so Gwent Police and Cardiff Council were involved.
"We all sat down around a table and said: 'How can we cut through the red tape? What do we need to do to make it happen?' It worked so well because all the people on the ground were dealing with each other directly," he says.
This is another priceless legacy of the Ryder Cup: the experience of working together to create a global event. The logistical mountain was climbed because of the close collaboration between many companies – some of which were, on paper at least, business rivals.
Murphy adds: "If there’s a major event, then no single company can coordinate the whole thing on its own. But working together - as part of Team Cardiff, or Team Wales, depending on the event - then we can."
Emyr's unit now finds itself presiding over a dynamic new industry. "People often refer to the critical importance of confidence to the success of business," he says. "It can fairly be argued that the emerging events industry in Wales is a leading example of a confident, outwardlooking Wales at its best."
Also in: May 2011
-
Bridge the gaps
Is Wales moving towards the rest of the UK, or going its own way? Within weeks, we will have a newly elected Assembly Government free to make its own laws. That will create differences.
-
Steven Madeley
Douglas Friedli finds the manager of Cardiff's St David's Centre in cheerful mood as another high-profile retailer moves in.