Thousands turn out for Swansea Croeso Festival

They enjoyed the free event which featured a vibrant mix of Welsh food and drink producers, cooking demonstrations by top chefs, contemporary Welsh music, local community groups and plenty of family entertainment.

It was presented by Swansea Council in association with First Cymru – and supported by Food & Drink Wales.

Council cabinet member Robert Francis-Davies said: “Croeso really did see Swansea celebrate Welsh culture last weekend.

“It was great to see so many people picking up recipes from celebrity chefs in the cooking demonstrations, browsing the trade stands for delicious Welsh produce, enjoying the daytime and evening live entertainment, and taking part in children’s activities.

“The festival created a cheerful atmosphere as usual, attracting more people into the city centre – supporting the daytime and night time economy.”

First Cymru general manager Chris Hanson said: “We were really excited about the weekend’s plans and what they offered families.

“The Croeso team in Swansea worked hard to make this fabulous free event magical and super-accessible for all ages. We were proud to be a part of it.”

Food and drink was at the heart of Croeso. People browsed stalls for some of the best local produce from traders based across Wales, including Halen Mon sea salt, Calon Wen organic dairy, and Kilvey honey.

Visitors saw live cooking demonstrations by top chefs and home cooks.

Heading the line-up of celebrity chefs were: John Partridge, who won Celebrity MasterChef in 2018; Hywel Griffith who has retained a Michelin Star at his restaurant in Oxwich, Beach House; Jack Stein, chef director of Rick Stein Restaurants; and Kwoklyn Wan, the bestselling author and TV chef.

Live music was provided by performers such as Eleri Angharad, a country artist from Swansea, Melda Lois, Araby, Gildas, Phoenix Choir of Wales, Asha Jane, Dafydd Hedd, Tom Emlyn and Llyffant.

On both days, Croeso carried on into the evening. The council teamed up with Swansea Music Hub, Menter Iaith Abertawe and city centre venues to present Croeso Nightworks live music, featuring many of the artists that performed during the day alongside Motel Thieves, Ci Gofod, Grey Flx, Mali Haf, Akimbo, The Night School and Grace MacKenzie.

Family entertainment was provided by Roly Poly and Mellin Arts. There was a parade on Saturday and the afternoon featured Sunflowers Wales presenting a thank you to Wales from the Swansea Ukrainian Community.

(Lead image: Swansea Council)