 come to pay homage to the KingCredit: Mike Venner I'm at the largest Elvis festival of its kind in the world, according to organisers, and it's held in a small town in South Wales with no connection to the singer (although the Preseli Hills and parish of St Elvis aren't too far away). Every September, the Victorian seaside town of Porthcawl gets all shook up as 40,000 Elvis fans treble its population. Over three days, more than a hundred ETAs (Elvis Tribute Artists, as they prefer to be known, rather than Elvis impersonators) come to pay homage to the King. But it's not just the acts, who can spend thousands on their costumes, that are a spectacle. Regular visitors are dressed up too. A sea of quiffs dominates the seafront, and rhinestone-studded, caped jumpsuits stand out among Priscilla wedding dresses, GI uniforms and Hawaiian shirts. They come for the shows — hundreds and hundreds of them, in every possible venue — and pack out the streets, bars, cafes and hotels. Although the official shows are held in the Grand Pavilion, one of the best-preserved 1930s dance hall theatres in the country, 'every pub in Porthcawl does something to do with it', founder and organiser Peter Phillips tells me. He says the festival is crucial to local businesses, bringing in an annual figure 'probably exceeding £6million' to the former 1950s miners' retreat. The whole town seems to join in, from the Coney Beach pleasure park to fast-food joints — so there may well be a guy who works down the chip shop who swears he's Elvis. At the Hi-Tide pub alone, 68 ETAs are putting on a whopping 220 shows over the weekend. Meanwhile, thousands pack into t){kind=link}
LORD almighty, I feel my temperature rising.
There are Elvises everywhere – on stages, in streets, on rollercoasters- and I don’t know which way to turn.
I’m at the largest Elvis festival of its kind in the world, according to organisers, and it’s held in a small town in South Wales with no connection to the singer (although the Preseli Hills and parish of St Elvis aren’t too far away).
Every September, the Victorian seaside town of Porthcawl gets all shook up as 40,000 Elvis fans treble its population.
Over three days, more than a hundred ETAs (Elvis Tribute Artists, as they prefer to be known, rather than Elvis impersonators) come to pay homage to the King.