A two-day festival will take place in Cardiff this September to celebrate 100 years since Roald Dahl’s birth.
The City of the Unexpected event will take place over the weekend of the 17th and 18th of September, and will see artists, puppeteers and dancers come together to give the city a Roald Dahl theme.
Groups will be able to see and hear the work of the author around the whole city – on street corners and rooftops, in markets and cafes, on lampposts and even on their mobile phones.
Many of the author’s stories will be told in unlikely locations by well-known fans, and the event will involve some of Cardiff’s iconic locations such as Cardiff Castle and the National Museum.
A large cast of parkour artists, farmers, pigeon fanciers and puppeteers will also be putting on performances throughout the weekend.
Luke Kelly, managing director of the Roald Dahl Literary estate and Roald Dahl’s grandson, added, “Roald Dahl’s City of the Unexpected is undoubtedly going to be one of the highlights of the Roald Dahl 100 celebrations this year. We cannot think of a more fitting or creative way to honour Roald’s Welsh beginnings by transforming his birth city into a place of magic. To borrow a phrase from Roald, we will be watching with glittering eyes as the spectacle unfolds. We hope everyone who participates has a wonderful time.”
Volunteers will also play a large part in the event. 2,000 choristers, 1,000 dancers, 50 Moris Minor drivers, 40 bald men, 13 magicians, four brass bands, three excavator drivers, a Spitfire pilot, firemen, circus artists, aerialists, rock climbers, grandparents, children and a performing mouse are currently being recruited to feature in the weekend’s festivities.
Nigel Jamison, director of the festival, commented, “Roald Dahl’s imagination has touched the most extraordinary number of people around the world. For generations, he has been part of our bed times, our childhoods, and the development of our imaginations. It is thus fitting that the weekend celebrating his birth in Cardiff will involve one of the most ambitious mobilisations of a city’s inhabitants ever attempted, together transforming it into a place that will unlock the child in everyone and create a city of wonder and surprise.”
For more information visit www.cityoftheunexpected.wales.
