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CARDIFF READY FOR THE ASHES |
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The first ever npower Ashes Test Match will take place in Cardiff next week and the message is ‘the Welsh capital is ready.’
The Ashes test match between England and Australia will start at the home of Glamorgan Cricket on Wednesday, July 8th and, if it runs the full five days, will finish on Sunday July 12th.
Cardiff is making the most of hosting its first Ashes test match and agencies across the city including Glamorgan Cricket, Cardiff Council, Welsh Assembly Government. Cardiff & Co and South Wales Police have been pulling together to ensure this event is a huge success.
The Tourist Information Centre (TIC), based at the Old Library on the Hayes which is currently hosting an Ashes exhibition, will be providing a range of services including left luggage facilities, tourist information and maps. Cricket fans will also be able to pick up a welcome goody bag prepared by Cardiff & Co, which includes a commemorative mug. One thousand of these have prepared for Ashes ticket holders on a first come first served basis.
The TIC will also hang Welsh, English and Australian flags in the window and put welcome messages on the screen in the TIC window as well as the screen in Queen Street.
Banners will be displayed around the city, welcoming Australian cricket fans displaying messages such as "Wales says G'Dai" and "Wales Welcomes New South Wales and
there will be Australian themed stalls at the Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival which is taking place on the weekend of the test match in Cardiff Bay.
Cardiff and Wales will be promoted as can-do destinations via the big screen at the stadium during the event and Cardiff and Co is running a business supplement in conjunction with International Business Wales which will be published in the Financial Times during Ashes Week, profiling businesses in Wales and celebrating the Ashes coming to Cardiff.
A comprehensive travel plan has also been put in place to help spectators get in and out of the city as smoothly as possible and Glamorgan Cricket will have 50 'Ashes Ambassadors' situated across the city to give spectators information and help direct them on-foot to the stadium.
The travel plan has been produced to assess the impact on the local transport network during the Ashes Test Match and to try and ensure that residents and visiting spectators face minimum disruption.
Councillor Nigel Howells, Executive member for Sport, Leisure & Culture said: " Cardiff is full prepared to host its first Ashes test match. Glamorgan Cricket, Cardiff Council, Welsh Assembly Government, Cardiff and Co and South Wales Police have all worked incredibly hard to ensure this will be a fantastic event.
"We are striving to ensure that Cardiff is as welcoming as possible for cricket fans and I really believe all the different agencies have pulled together to ensure everybody will have the world class experience normally associated with major sporting events in the capital city. The eyes of the world will be watching and once again I am confident Cardiff will deliver.”
Richard Thomas, Managing Director of Cardiff & Co, the organisation charged with promoting the city said: “The vision to bring Test match cricket to Cardiff, and the Team Wales approach that backed that aspiration, will deliver long term benefits to the city-region. The £14 million capital investment that transformed the old Sophia Gardens into the venue that it is today will be viewed as a smart investment in years to come.
He added, “The Test match between England and Australia will be broadcast to a live TV audience of 40 million with recorded highlights transmitted to over 100 million people. This will obviously provide excellent exposure for the Cardiff-city region. Cricket also has a huge following on the Indian sub-continent and attracting Category A matches involving countries such as India in the future could present significant commercial opportunities for both Cardiff and Wales.
“We’re particularly pleased that we’ve been able to use the Ashes as a hook to promote Cardiff as an investment location. The way Glamorgan Cricket, Cardiff Council and the Welsh Assembly Government attracted the Ashes in the first place is a perfect example of the positive, can-do attitude that potential inward investors are looking for from a city.”
First Minister Rhodri Morgan added: “We have been working as a team with Cardiff Council, Glamorgan County Cricket Club, Cardiff & Co, and other partners to make the upcoming historic first Ashes test match in Wales a huge success. We want the test match to deliver long-lasting benefits to Wales by raising the profile of Wales and Cardiff as a holiday destination. We want the world to know Wales is also a great place to do business. On top of the economic benefits, we are working at the grass-roots level to encourage the take-up of sport in Wales and cricket in particular.
“Getting the Ashes to Wales is a wonderful opportunity to launch the new SWALEC stadium as a test match venue that is hard to equal for its facilities and because it is only a stone’s throw away from city centre. Once the world’s cricket fans have tasted test cricket in Cardiff, we will be on the map and they will want to come back for more.”
Alan Hamer, Glamorgan’s Commercial and Finance Director, added: “On July 8th, the eyes of the sporting world will be on Cardiff. The 1st npower Ashes Test match will be a historic event – the first time a “home” Test match is played outside of England.
“Cardiff is well established as a ‘sports mad’ City, much loved by supporters all across the United Kingdom. Over the past few years, it has successfully hosted a number of high profile sporting events (including several FA Cup Finals, Carling Cup Finals, Heineken Cup Finals and Challenge Cup Rugby League finals). We are greatly looking forward to welcoming our visitors to Cardiff for what promises to be an extremely momentous occasion for both Cardiff and Wales.”
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