The Welsh coastal town that hosts the world’s largest gathering of Elvis impersonators
The concept of being in a tribute act is, for the most part, an incredibly easy thing to grasp.
You have a passion for an artist, and you want to share that passion with the world through your loving reinterpretations of their work. Actively wanting to seek out a tribute act, on the other hand, is a touch more complicated.
Now, there are certain reasons as to why watching a tribute act might be a desirable activity to seek out. If, say, you’re a huge fan of Buddy Holly, but were born after the 1950s, then there’s absolutely no way you’d have been able to witness him in the flesh, given that he died in 1959. On the other hand, those who are still active and have large enough followings to warrant a tribute act existing, such as U2 or Bruce Springsteen, may not tour frequently enough where you live, or have the cost of tickets be extortionately high, and so a tribute might appear to be the next closest thing that’s within your reach.
But is it better than the real thing, and would you want to subject yourself to an entire weekend of performances dedicated to the music of one artist? There’s being dedicated to supporting your favourite musicians, and then there’s wanting to listen to frankly lesser versions of said musicians performing their songs to varying degrees of competency.
However, there’s one world in which talent isn’t necessarily the key factor in the enjoyment of a tribute act, and where a shared sense of community and a tendency to lean into kitschy pantomime tends to dominate over there being any musical merit. There are plenty of competent Elvis impersonators around the world, but there are just as many whose inadequacy is entirely part of their appeal. If only there were a place for all of the various Elvis impersonators of the world to gather every year…
Of course, Elvis impersonation is nothing new, and was even commonplace while ‘The King’ was still alive, but while there are many around the world whose adoration of his rock and roll prowess knows no bounds, you wouldn’t expect the premier Elvis impersonation hotspot to be in Porthcawl on the south coast of Wales. Elvis rather notably never played in Europe, let alone in Wales, so why has this unlikely and unassuming location, better known as a surfing spot, established itself as the home of the world’s largest Elvis-themed festival?
The tradition began in 2004 as an awards ceremony designed to celebrate the best Elvis impersonators around the world, with different acts celebrating different periods of his career, be that his early years, the Hawaii years, or the Las Vegas residency that characterised the tail end of his career. However, what may have seemed like a curious novelty to locals initially began to snowball into an annual event attended by Elvis devotees around the world.
The reason for it originating in Porthcawl was as a result of the threatened closure of the Grand Pavilion, a local venue that also serves as a major landmark on the town’s seafront. Not wanting it to come to an unfortunate demise, local events co-ordinator Peter Phillips sought to come up with some ideas that might lead to a renewed interest and source of revenue for the venue, with one in particular sticking out as the most likely to succeed.
In fact, the idea of attempting to hold a globally-recognised festival for Elvis tribute acts in South Wales was so strange that it was almost impossible for it to fail. While a relatively modest number of people rocked up to watch Elvis impersonators in the first year, which featured an Elvis-themed wedding on the beach as its main attraction, it’s now a big enough prospect that it spans multiple venues around the town, with approximately 40,000 people attending every year – over double the population of the town.
It’s a truly surreal experience to enter a town where the streets are littered with people of all ages dressed as the rock and roll icon, and with competitions for amateurs as well as an award given to the best overall act, it’s the kind of event that revels in its silliness, yet is more than serious about its admiration of Elvis Presley, the man, and Elvis Presley, the artist.
Wales may have its own musical heritage that it is celebrated for, whether that’s its history of male voice choirs or chart-toppers like Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey, and yet, Porthcawl’s status as a major landmark in the continued celebration of one of music’s greatest ever stars – a man who never even set foot in Wales – is testament to just how much Elvis impersonation is frankly more than just a tribute, but an entire artform to devote yourself to in of itself.
