On the first day of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, the Heritage Minister has pledged the Welsh Assembly Government''s support for one of Wales' cultural jewels by making £1million available for maintenance and refurbishment of the Llangollen Royal Pavilion.

The Welsh Assembly Government is making this significant investment alongside Denbighshire County Council, who has pledged an additional £600K, to upgrade the Pavilion and secure the festival¹s long-term future as one of Wales' high profile cultural events.

Announcing the investment, Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones said, "The Llangollen International Festival is one of Wales' cultural jewels.  The annual Eisteddfod attracts visitors and participants from all over the world and the annual festival makes a prominent and crucial contribution to the Welsh Assembly Government¹s efforts to promote and develop cultural tourism.

"The Eisteddfod pavilion lies at the heart of the efforts to build on the success of the festival to date. There is a need to repair the structure of the building and without this there might have been a threat to Eisteddfodau in the near future.  This money means that the structural work will be achieved before the Llangollen International Festival in 2010."

Mervyn Cousins, Executive Director of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod said, "This is wonderful news for the festival; we are delighted that we will be able to continue to develop the actual venue and the infrastructure of the site in parallel to that of the activities of the festival itself, and we have a real passion to give the world an even more special 'Croeso' here."