10,000 fans to descend on Cardiff park

A sports village will be set up in Cathays Park to cater for the thousands of fans who want to see Wales attempt to win a third Grand Slam in eight years.

Cardiff Sports Village is a temporary site which is being erected purely for the three RBS Six Nations fixtures on Saturday.

They expect between 10,000 and 15,000 fans to descend on the village to watch the three games on the big screen.

The BBC, as the official RBS Six Nations broadcaster, have erected the screen and set up the venue.  There will be various other attractions such as rides, shops and catering vans.

There are close to 10,000 people expected to turn up for the Wales France game, which is shown at 2.45pm.  There could be many more if the weather is good. 

The site manager, Alex King, said: “It’s run by the BBC and the caterers are Steadman, so you’ll get the works”.

The screen will be set up outside the Bute building, facing City Hall.  The two beer vans will, ironically, be placed outside the Crown Court and there will be rides and attractions outside city hall.

“The caterers are here so you’ll get your usual suspects, burgers, pies and the like” said Mr King. “We’re expecting a big audience, especially for the middle game, but the broadcasting will go on until about 9pm at night”.

In-house security have been hired as licencing laws mean fans will not be allowed to bring their own alcohol into the village. 

Approximately one twelfth of the Welsh population are expected to arrive in Cardiff for the game.  With the stadium packed to the rafters, there will be thousands more watching on the big screen.  The nation expects, come 5pm on Saturday, they will have something to celebrate.