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Cultural Cardiff

When you think of Cardiff you may picture the Millennium Stadium. This iconic stadium is famous for being the national stadium of Wales and is home to the Wales national rugby union team. The stadium was built in 1999 to host the Rugby World Cup but has since been used to stage huge events such as music concerts and the Tsunami Relief concert. This year the stadium was officially renamed the Principality Stadium.

With a capacity for holding 74.500 people, only the Stade de France and Twickenham are bigger. It can boast being the second largest stadium in the world with a retractable roof. Football has also been played there and it has been chosen to host the UEFA Champions League final next year. FA Cup finals were also held there when Wembley was being redeveloped.

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The Cardiff city area covers a third of the population of Wales and is the cultural and national sporting centre of Wales. It is also an extremely popular tourist destination with 18.3 million visitors in 2010 alone. Promoting your business in this area would be a profitable move. For a Cardiff web designer, visit http://www.netcentrics.co.uk/

Cardiff is also famous for music and has given the world some big names in the world of show business. Famous artists from the city include: Shirley Bassey, Charlotte Church and Shakin’ Stevens. Bands from Cardiff include: Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals and Catatonia. For more classical tastes, Cardiff hosts the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition every two years in opera.

On a literary note, Roald Dahl himself was born in the city. Although his family were originally from Norway, he attended school in Cardiff before joining the Royal Air Force and becoming a flying ace during World War Two. Sports stars from the city include Tammi Grey-Thomson and Colin Jackson. Currently the world’s most expensive footballer, Gareth Bale also hails from Cardiff. The comedian Griff Rhys Jones is another son of the city.

Cardiff is also home to the famed Cardiff Castle which was built in the 11th century but now has a Victorian appearance due to renovations done in that era. The original castle was built on top of a Roman fort so the site dates back even further than the Normans. This Castle is believed to have one of the finest Gothic interiors ever achieved. It has a rich history and many layers to explore from the Romans to the building of air shelters in the walls during WWII.