Past participants include renowned artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Julian Lloyd Webber, and Katherine Jenkins.
A group of children were taken to hospital after an “extraordinary medical incident” that led to the cancellation of a music festival. The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod organisers confirmed on Wednesday the incident was due to a “flu-like outbreak”, with several individuals exhibiting similar symptoms.
Public Health Wales stepped in on Thursday to confirm a “small group of children” had been affected by the outbreak. The agency reassured that while the children are currently in hospital for assessment, they are not in a serious condition, reports Wales Online.
Chris Williams, Consultant in Health Protection for Public Health Wales, said: “We are aware that a small group of children who were visiting the Eisteddfod at Llangollen were taken to hospital [on Wednesday] evening.
“Currently, the children are being medically assessed for mild respiratory symptoms, but they are not seriously unwell.”
Festival organisers announced the event was given the all-clear to proceed as usual on Thursday morning. The annual six-day festival attracts performers from across the globe to compete in over 20 categories, drawing an audience exceeding 50,000.
Past participants include renowned artists such as Luciano Pavarotti, Julian Lloyd Webber, and Katherine Jenkins.
A festival statement confirmed: “Further to the previous statement, we can confirm that following the declaration of an extraordinary incident by the Welsh Ambulance Service, following Public Health Wales advice – the incident related to a flu-like outbreak and related to multiple people with similar symptoms.
“The extraordinary incident was called by the Welsh Ambulance Service due to the number of people who presented ill at one time. The Llangollen International Eisteddfod takes the safety of its audience, competitors, performers and volunteers extremely seriously.
“Therefore, following advice – we were forced to cancel an event in this way for the first time in our history.
“We are pleased to report our site has been cleared to re-open tomorrow at 9am, as we continue to welcome the world to Wales. We’d like to thank our staff, medical staff and our volunteers for their swift response this evening.”
An earlier announcement from organisers said the event had been axed at short notice due to an “extraordinary medical incident”. Festival bosses praised the medical teams who responded to the situation.
They concluded: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
