‘Fabulous’ Underneath The Arches Attracts Huge Crowds & Praise

Thousands flocked to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct to soack up some sunshine and enjoy one of Wrexham’s largest and most popular annual events. 

Last Friday saw the return of the ever popular ‘Underneath the Arches’ at the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct – an event which has become a staple part in the Wrexham calendar.

Around 3000 people attended the event, which featured an evening of live entertainment before culminating in the lighting up of the aqueduct and a spectacular firework display.

Now in its fifth year the event celebrates Thomas Telford’s masterpiece and forms the cornerstone of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal World Heritage Site event calendar.

The event, staged by Wrexham County Borough Council with support from Nightingale House Hospice and local firm Moneypenny saw bands Salty Hog and Luke Gallagher support headline act the Big Beat.

Along with live music, the field below the aqueduct featured face-painters, food outlets, fairground stalls and event-goers brought picnics and their own drinks to enjoy before the firework finale.

Speaking about the event, Destination Manager at Wrexham County Borough Council, Joe Bickerton said: “The event is a real showcase for one of North Wales’ major tourism assets and on Friday we had a mix of people from the local community and people visiting the area who decided to make a weekend of it.

“This all brings extra spend to the local economy from local pubs to hotels and added to the recent success of the Stereophonics concert and last year’s Tour of Britain finale – it shows that Wrexham can stage successful big events that add to our ever-growing tourism offer.”

He added: “The whole team also gives our sincere thanks to the residents of Trevor and Froncysyllte who have helped us improve the event and minimise the impact for them too”.

This year’s ‘Underneath The Arches’ featured several changes, including the price rise for tickets and a reduction on the volume of alcohol that could be brought into the site.

Prior to the event there had been negative feedback to the changes, however speaking after this year’s Underneath the Arches organisers have pointed out that feedback on social media found that ‘event-goers enjoyed the evening and felt that the reduced capacity, added on-site facilities and friendly security made their overall experience better’.

Speaking about the changes implemented this year, Cllr Neil Rogers Lead Member for the Economy & Regeneration at Wrexham County Borough Council said: “Whilst Underneath the Arches continues to get better each year, the increase in popularity meant that changes had to be made from previous events to help the experience for those attending the event, local residents and our event staff. This meant a small reduction on capacity, limiting the amount of alcohol at the event and implementing a new pedestrian and traffic management plan.

“By all accounts, the feedback so far has been that these changes were for the better – whilst they still enabled our team to stage a fabulous event.”

Organisers have also confirmed that a donation of £2,500 will be made to Nightingale House Hospice from ticket sales.