WITH Wales Millennium Centre turning 10, new Artistic Director Graeme Farrow has outlined is vision to transform the venue into a cultural powerhouse. A number of projects have been announced to celebrate the anniversary year.

Since its first public performance on 26 November 2004, the Centre has welcomed over 13.5m visitors and has grown to become Wales’ most popular attraction and one of the most visited cultural destinations outside London. The Centre contributes a substantial £50 million per annum into the Welsh economy and is recognised as one of the UK’s most successful Lottery funded projects.

Also housed within its walls are some of Wales’ major arts organisations, including the world renowned Welsh National Opera and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, alongside other culturally significant companies.

To coincide with this anniversary, Graeme Farrow – the man behind the hugely successful Derry-Londonderry City of Culture programme – has been appointed as the Centre’s Artistic Director. His vision: to develop the Centre into an international cultural powerhouse sitting alongside other globally significant arts centres.

Highlights of the anniversary include Project 21 in association with Lloyds Bank called ‘Murmurs of the Furnace’ being performed this October. 200 ten year olds from seven Welsh schools will perform in this special production that they have been working on since 2005.

‘Lord of the Flies’ will be performed after a successful outreach project to discover the new Billy Elliott with training happening over the last three months. Hundreds of boys from the South Wales Valley have been trained up to perform at the Centre from October 22-25.

The first official 10th anniversary performance will be ‘Night at the Casablanca’ in association with Lloyds Bank.

Wales Millennium Centre is located in the regenerated docklands of Cardiff, the UK’s oldest multi-cultural community, popularly known as Tiger Bay. A Night at the Casablanca is a one-night celebration of the rich musical heritage of this community, which will form the first official performance on November 1.

Using The Casablanca, a since-demolished music venue frequented by the likes of Jimmy Ruffin, as the backdrop, the performance tells the story of one man’s return to Tiger Bay and his journey through the decades of amazing music, performed live on the Donald Gordon Theatre stage by many of the original artists.

The Centre, in partnership with Birmingham Hippodrome, has commissioned The Frozen Scream from novelist Sarah Waters and producer Christopher Green. The ghost story opens at Wales Millennium Centre on December 11 for a limited run before transferring to Birmingham in January.

Also commissioned by the Centre for Christmas is the paper sculptor Andy Singleton, who will be creating intricate decorations on a huge scale for display throughout the Centre’s public spaces.

For more information about any of the upcoming shows please visit the Wales Millennium Centre website at www.wmc.org.uk.