Over 35,000 at Porthcawl's 'very Welsh' Elvis festival

Are you lonesome tonight? Then pull on your blue suede shoes and head over to a Welsh seaside town this weekend - where more than 35,000 Elvis fans will be paying homage to the King.

Performers from all over the UK, Europe, United States and even Australia will be in the Bridgend resort of Porthcawl.

Fans from across the globe will be getting 'All Shook Up'.

But it remains a "very Welsh event", insisted organiser Peter Philips.

Visitors will flood pubs and fill marquees for over 1,000 shows over the two days.

The town's striking 1920s art deco Grand Pavilion theatre, threatened with closure until the "Elvies" festival helped breathe new life into it, will host the Best Festival Elvis competition.

"Us Welsh love Elvis," said Mr Philips. The event is "really supported by the Welsh Valleys," he added.

Large make-up box

Garry Foley has been an Elvis impersonator for 15 years and will be performing in Porthcawl on Saturday.

"It's a great job," he says. He has just returned from Canada and tours India every January. In 2015 he toured China for three months, regaling crowds with hits such as "Suspicious Minds".

The atmosphere at the event in Porthcawl is "electric", he says. "It really is all age groups. It's great to see the legacy Elvis has left behind is still appealing to youngsters today."

Preparations before a show take a long time, says Mr Foley, from Poole, Dorset.

"It's a bit of a ritual. My make-up box is bigger than my wife's. It takes about 40 minutes to an hour."

The costume, in his view, is as important as the voice.

He has been performing in Porthcawl for 11 years.

Once a seaside resort for miners from the Valleys, Porthcawl in Bridgend county is perhaps an unlikely location for a celebration of "the King", but the festival has grown quickly since it started in 2004.

"It's a big boost to the local economy," said Mr Philips, with fans spending money on things like accommodation, food, drink, taxis.

This year, the Maesteg Gleemen Male Voice Choir will be performing Elvis hits too, as will the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra and a male drag act.

"There is so much of it," Mr Foley says of the range of acts at the festival. Peter (Philips) has created a big legacy for Elvis fans in Porthcawl."