Wales Millennium Centre welcomes all

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Narrator: The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff is an international arts venue that opens its doors to everyone.

Woman 1: I think it’s really played a big part in the regeneration of the area, which is now very popular with people from Cardiff and the local areas and also the tourists.

I come quite regularly really because I live quite close. We come to see some of the big musicals, for example most recently we’ve been to see Mamma Mia and We Will Rock You, and also for other events such as this year we came to Britain’s Got Talent, to the audition show and we got really good seats in one of the front rows for that.

We often come as a family and the children really enjoy it. My favourite thing would be the relaxed, friendly environment. There’s always something going on, either inside or around the bay. I also like the shape, the distinctive shape of the building: the writing.

I think it’s been a big boost for tourism in Cardiff and the south-east Wales area, and it’s really well known as a distinctive landmark. It’s like a beacon, the building and you can see it from any area of Cardiff, wherever you come from. It signifies the regeneration of the area and it has close links with Welsh culture.

I think it’s truly a centre for the people. Not only do we have the big performances, the musicals and the big stars, but it’s used by a lot of other groups. Sort of minority groups, and I myself have been to a performance by a number of partially sighted people, which was lovely.

Narrator: This is a Big Lottery Fund podcast, for more information go to: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk

The Wales Millennium Centre has opened its doors to a youth organisation, a touring theatre group and an arts therapy company

The Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) has become much more than the successful international arts venue that has played its part in the regeneration of the once-derelict Cardiff Bay.

The spectacular building is home to the Welsh National Opera (WNO), the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Arts Council of Wales, but it’s also the headquarters of Wales’s leading youth organisation Urdd Gobaith Cymru, arts therapy company Touch Trust and touring theatre company Hijinx.

“The Wales Millennium Centre belongs to the whole nation; it is for all of the people of Wales and not just for the elite”

The Millennium Commission and the Welsh Assembly Government were both keen to ensure that the funding achieved something more than a theatre, and set out to create a space that would become an icon for the people of Wales.

did you know?

• The Wales Millennium Centre is home to nine arts organisations
• The Centre has made numerous appearances in film and television including Doctor Who, whose modern era is produced by BBC Wales
• On 3 November 2006, an attempt to gather the most people with the same surname, Jones, took place in the Centre. The record was broken with 1,224 Joneses filling the Centre