Usk in Bloom has been invited to be judged on the international stage with an invite to the 2018 Communities in Bloom International Challenge.

It was announced yesterday, 6th February, that Usk are one of the finalists in the 2018 RHD Britain in Bloom competition and were featured in a new BBC Two series showing five of this year’s national finalists and may now be thrust into the international spotlight if they decide to accept the invitation to compete at international level.

Chairman of the bloom committee in Usk, Tony Kear said that the invitation came as a massive surprise to the volunteers but they viewed it as “a wonderful honour” that their work over many years has “been recognised and considered worthy to be judged with communities from all over the world”.

“We have been enthused by the many words of encouragement to accept the invitation and look forward to engaging with the mayor of Usk and the chief executive of Monmouthshire County Council to see how they can help support us as this unique opportunity can only be good news for Usk, tourism and economic success,” he added.

The Usk in Bloom committee have until 1st March to consider this opportunity.

The Communities in Bloom International Challenge involves winners from different National Programs (Communities in Bloom, Britain in Bloom, America in Bloom, Tidy Towns of Ireland, Japan in Bloom, Communi Fioriti, Entente Florale and others) competing with each other based on population categories.

The day long judging is at the end of June with the awards ceremony held in Canada in September.