A NEW boat show will be launched in Pwllheli following an overwhelming demand from the public following the announcement that The All Wales Boat Show would not be returning this year.

The All Wales Boat Show was due to take place in Plas Heli this summer, but organisers have called off returning to the Llyn Peninsula and will re-launch the event in Conwy in 2017.

The news that the boat show wouldn’t be returning was met by huge disappointment to businesses and residents in Pwllheli which spurred Stephen Tudor, chairman of Plas Heli Cyf and his team, to organise their own brand-new boat show, which will run between 10 and 12 June this year.

Mr Tudor said: “We sensed from the reaction on social media that there is a real need for a boat show in Pwllheli.

“It was disappointing when we heard that the All Wales Boat Show wouldn’t be returning this year and we know it came as a shock to the community so we have acted fast to fill the void.

“We are now holding Pwllheli Boat Show, which will benefit all of the marine industry in the area.

“After we discovered the All Wales Boat Show wouldn’t be returning this year we started to set the ball rolling and have already been in contact with several marine traders and we hope to hold many different activities over the weekend.”

All Wales Boat Show organiser Davina Carey-Evans say they have cancelled the event this year in Pwllheli to focus on a ‘bigger and better’ show in Conwy in 2017.

She said: “There is a long lead-in to an event like the All-Wales Boat Show and, as we had decided to return to Conwy, it would have been a huge rush to organise an event of the right quality with the right exhibitors.

“We now have plenty of time to plan a fantastic event for 2017 and we have already started to make the arrangements.”