The Wrexham football mural is on course to be finished just in time for Wales’ first world cup match, and one player’s family has already given it the seal of approval.
Artists Liam Stokes-Massey and Adam Pritchard are battling the elements to get the piece, which is situated on the side of the Fat Boar, finished in time for Monday (November 21).
The mural, when finished, will feature a world cup silhouette with Gareth Bale at the top, with local players Neco Williams and Harry Wilson appearing on the wall. On the top will be written “Yma O Hyd you sons of Speed” which is inspired by Michael Sheen’s powerful speech.
The pair, who are both from Wrexham, will be working through the weekend to get it finished and are hoping the weather stays dry enough.
For Liam, this is his first mural though his passion lies in football-related art and brought Adam, who is a graphic designer and mural artist, onto the project for his expertise.
This is the biggest project they’ve done, with Liam doing the initial design based on Michael Sheen’s speech and going back and forth with Adam to get the final design.
Liam said that lots of hours have been put in to get it to this stage, but that it was “worth it”.
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He said: “I think Wrexham is a really creative city anyway and when you go to the likes of Bristol or Dublin there’s murals everywhere and it's like Wrexham has been crying out for a big one for a long time I think so it's nice to be able to get one up, especially with the world cup as well.”
He added: “I can’t wait for this scaffolding to come down. I can’t imagine what it's going to look like.”
They hope that it will be imposing and eye-catching as Wrexham celebrates the World Cup with fan zones and a “booming” city.
It is also hoped that the mural will remain on the wall for the foreseeable future.
Family members of Corwen’s Harry Wilson, who is in the Wales squad in Qatar, have also approved of the design.
Liam added: “Harry Wilson’s auntie, nain and taid have been by and they’ve given it the seal of approval. You can only really see harry Wilson from the street so they spotted him straight away so that was music to my ears.”
The family also plan to take the Wales player to see the mural when he comes back from the World Cup.
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