What's on during the day
The event will feature a full programme of activities, including a wide variety of military displays and demonstrations.
There will also be more than 50 stands onsite throughout the day. See our full list of stalls.
We encourage visitors to book tickets in advance to help us manage the event, but you will not be turned away if you attend on the day without a ticket.
Timetable:
11:30 : Event opens - Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Welsh and parade.
Armed Forces Day will begin with a short parade of standards, led by our local cadets and veteran organisations. The parade will march to the stage area to lay up their standards, marking the formal start of the opening ceremony.
12:00 : Opening ceremony
12:30 : A400M Atlas Flypast
A versatile airlift aircraft, Atlas C.1 A400M provides tactical airlift and strategic oversize lift capabilities. Operating at high-level altitudes up to 40,000ft.
Atlas can carry 116 passengers, or 9 aircraft pallets and 54 passengers, or 66 stretchers, with a maximum payload of 37 tonnes.
12:30 - 15:45 : Afternoon entertainment
Mari Grug will host performances by Meibion Elli, Kelly Ann Wyatt, British Legion Band of Llanelli (Wales), NHS Hospital notes and talented individuals from Loud Applause Rising Stars.
15:45 : Royal Air Force Falcons Parachute Display Team *weather dependant*
16:00 : Closing ceremony
17:30 – 19:30 : Evening entertainment
The event will continue into the evening, with a free concert in the park from 5:30pm until 7:30pm with music provided by Newshan, and performances from former and current Loud Applause Rising Stars members including- Lauren Elizabeth Williams, Liam J Edwards (S4C’s Y Llais finalist in 2025) and headlined by West End performer Samuel Wyn Morris.
Day and Evening Host
Mari Grug
Mari Grug is an experienced broadcaster and a familiar face on S4C television for over 20 years. She has presented many of Wales’ leading cultural events, including the National and Urdd Eisteddfodau and the Royal Welsh Show, and is part of the presenting teams for Heno and Prynhawn da. In 2025, her Welsh-language cancer podcast 1 mewn 2 won a British Podcast Award, and she is also an ambassador for Cancer Research Wales.
Artistic Director
Cerith Owens
Cerith Owens is a co-founder of Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS) and Director of Loud Applause Productions. He is an experienced producer who organises musical concerts and mentors young performers across South Wales.
Parade - The Regimental Band of the Royal Welsh
The Regimental Band and Corps of Drums of The Royal Welsh is one of the very few all-brass bands within British Army Music, drawing players from South Wales’s rich brass band heritage and culture to its ranks. All musicians are members of the Army Reserve and commit to the Band around their educational studies or civilian occupations.
Flypast - Atlas C.1 A400M
The aircraft is operated by two pilots and a Weapons Systems Operator (Air Loadmaster)
Atlas has the ability to carry a 30-tonne payload over 2,400nm to both established and remote civilian and military airfields, or by landing on short, unprepared or semi-prepared strips. The aircraft is capable of operating at high-level altitudes up to 40,000ft. Atlas can carry 116 passengers, or 9 aircraft pallets and 54 passengers, or 66 stretchers, with a maximum payload of 37 tonnes.
Loads can also be delivered by parachute, gravity extraction from the aircraft’s rear ramp (influenced by the cargo’s own weight).
Photo credited to Crown Copyright
Afternoon entertainment performers
Meibion Elli
Formed in Llanelli in 2019, Meibion Elli began as a group of men brought together by a shared love of singing. The choir now numbers over 30 members and performs regularly at community and civic events.
British Legion Band of Llanelli (Wales)
The British Legion Band of Llanelli (Wales) is a wind band made up of former military musicians who regularly perform at commemorative events, ceremonies and charity concerts.
Connor Horton
Connor Horton, 18, from Carmarthen, has received an offer to study voice on the BMus course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Isla Lloyd
Isla Lloyd, 18, from Penarth, attends Howell’s School in Cardiff and is a member of Loud Applause Rising Stars.
Kelly Ann Wyatt
Kelly Ann Wyatt is a professional vocalist from Neath who has performed across the UK and internationally as a cruise ship artiste. Her themed and tribute performances continue to entertain audiences worldwide.
Georgia Barley
Georgia Barley, aged 19 from Blackwood, studies Musical Theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and is a promising member of Loud Applause Rising Stars.
Rhys Hunter
Rhys Hunter, aged 21 from Mumbles, is a first-year student at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.
Hospital Notes Choir
Hospital Notes Choir was formed in 2018 to mark the NHS’s 70th anniversary, and what began as a one off celebration quickly grew into a community that continues to thrive. Today, we are a lively, feel good choir made up of people from across Health, Social Care, and the Emergency Services, both past and present.
Evening entertainment performers
Liam J Edwards
Liam J Edwards from Gorseinon is a First-Class Honours graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and a finalist on Y Llais.
Samuel Wyn Morris
Samuel Wyn Morris from Llanelli is a successful international musical theatre performer currently appearing as the Phantom on the International Tour of The Phantom of the Opera.
Lauren Elizabeth Williams
Lauren Elizabeth Williams, aged 23 from Glynneath, has been a member of Loud Applause Rising Stars for five years. This year she is completing her Master’s degree in Vocal and Opera Studies at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Newshan
Newshan is a band from Ceredigion, which has been established for 25 years this year. They entertain audiences across Wales, singing popular songs in Welsh and English. They love to sing and have a lot of fun as a band.
Menna Rhys
Guest Accompanist.
