Aled Jones has come a long way since The Snowman made his name

The July eisteddfod is a major event in the music calendar, attracting 80,000 visitors each year.

Aled, who found fame as a child star and is now 32, follows in the footsteps of Dame Shirley Bassey, who dazzled festival-goers last year.

West End star Michael Ball, whose family roots are in the south Wales valleys, will top the bill on 11 July, the final night of the event.

Anglesey-born Jones will appear on stage for the 58th festival with the Opera Babes on Friday 9 July. The week-long event starts on 6 July.

"Following the success of 2003 it was vitally important the 2004 festival built on that success and continued to open up the event to new audiences," said chief executive Gwyn L. Williams.

"I believe we have achieved our initial aims in that respect and the numbers of new season ticket sales certainly backs that opinion up substantially."

The eisteddfod attracts people from across the world

People from as far afield as Japan, Chechnya, Cuba and the Philippines will gather for the annual eisteddfod.

Established in 1947, the musical eisteddfod is one of the highlights of the Welsh cultural calendar.

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Luciano Pavarotti also performed there in 1955 as a 19-year-old unknown, and again in 1995 as a superstar tenor, but he pulled out at short notice last year, angering a number of fans.

The week-long event brings in more than �6m to the local economy.

The eisteddfod will begin at 1700GMT on 6 July with the established parade of nations through the streets of Llangollen.

The spectacle has become so popular with visitors that the route has been increased for the very first time.

Other concerts include an evening celebrating 5,000 years of Chinese traditional music, dance and acrobatics, and the Argentine tango.