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Dateline: 26th November, 2006

WMC Is Two

Today (26th November) the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff celebrates its second birthday. In the two years

• It has attracted more than 1.2 million visitors
• Attracted over 575,000 attendees to over 360 performances in the Donald Gordon Theatre
• Attracted 18,000 attendees to 160 Weston Studio performances
• Attracted over 446,000 casual visitors
• Welcomed more than 25,000 schoolchildren, many from North and West Wales as well as the South Wales Valleys who have benefited from the Centre’s educational programmes
• Attracted 34,000 people to take guided tours of the building
• 30,000 business users have attended over 830 conferences/events
• Over 870 free foyer performances have taken place
• Created a database of 135,000 with 5,000 joining every month
• 98% of first time visitors intend to visit again in the near future
• Secured over 30 new corporate supporters since opening

In addition it has has won several architecture awards including the National Eisteddfod Gold Medal for Architecture 2005, the European Convention for Structural Steelwork Award 2005 for creative and outstanding use of steel in architecture & construction, the MIPIM (International Property Conference) Award for Excellence, a RIBA Award and a RICS Award.

Chief Executive Judith Isherwood says, “We have come a long way in such little time and delighted with what we have achieved to date. One of the events that encapsulates our success on an international level and demonstrates our primary objective of bringing the best of the world to Wales is the Mariinsky Theatre’s Ring Cycle, performing at the Centre in a week’s time.

“It is estimated that the Centre has brought more than £120 million to the Welsh economy which can only be good news for Wales and Cardiff. Noticeably, since we have opened, ticket sales for the other Cardiff arts venues have also increased, clearly highlighting that interest in the arts is rising and that we are reaching new audiences.”

WMC has also created its own productions such as the Ivor Novello’s Glamorous Night concert that toured to San Francisco and the West End in 2006. New work has also been generated through the Incubator Project, a scheme aimed to nurture, develop and encourage emerging talent and new work in Wales.

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©Peter Lathan 2006