Wales Millennium Centre gives Welsh artists a global platform via its live streaming capability
Wales Millennium Centre has launched a new online streaming service which means that audiences can now watch regular live performances from the comfort of their own home or on the move with their smart phone or tablet devices. The Centre Connected enables viewers from across the globe to watch free, regular, live performances from the Centre’s Glanfa Stage.
http://www.wmc.org.uk/connected
Visitors to Wales Millennium Centre have enjoyed free performances from the Glanfa Stage since the Centre first opened in 2004, with up to 450 performances a year held in this public space. The Centre now hopes to increase accessibility to the arts through its new online programme. Visitors will now have the ability to view these performances regularly, in high quality, live online. Wales Millennium Centre believes it is the first in the UK to commit to a regular, free live streaming programme on this scale.
The Centre Connected hopes to extend Wales Millennium Centre’s founding vision of ‘showcasing the best of Wales to the world’. This platform will do just that, extending the reach of performances by established and emerging Welsh artists to a wider audience both nationally and internationally.
Jonathan Harper, Director, Marketing and Communications at Wales Millennium Centre says, “We’re very excited to launch The Centre Connected as a permanent addition to Wales Millennium Centre’s online offer. The talented artists who perform on our Glanfa stage are part of the life and soul of our public spaces. To be able to stream their work live to anyone, anyway across the world, will help them reach a whole range of potential new audiences.”
In addition to this new application, the Centre will curate a series of on-going insight films which will provide audiences with more information about the artist(s) it presents, from new emerging artists, established artists to regular favourites. The short films will be archived and can be viewed online, via the Centre’s YouTube channel www.youtube.com/user/clipiau and on The Centre Connected page of the website http://www.wmc.org.uk/connected
Visitors to the site will be able to view the Centre’s upcoming St David’s Day celebrations on 1 March. A full programme of events spread over three days will include an array of singers and musicians covering many genres of music.
In previous years Wales Millennium Centre has trialled similar applications which have resulted in successes. Last year the Centre reached the families and friends of children from Mid Wales performing in a Curtain Raiser project alongside Matthew Bourne’s New Adventure’s company. The project featured young people from John Beddoes School in Presteigne performing a dance piece inspired by The Nutcracker. The web stream meant that friends and family of the Powys school could view the special performance live from the Donald Gordon Theatre’s stage. The Curtain Raiser project will take place again this year on 8 March, when Hawthorn High School from Pontypridd take to the stage for a performance inspired by the story of Sleeping Beauty.
In June 2012, a live webcast of Cape Town Opera’s Mandela Trilogy on the Donald Gordon stage was broadcast on S4C and live on demand. The production was watched globally.
To view The Centre Connected live and archived performances from the Glanfa Stage, visit http://www.wmc.org.uk/connected