WALES Millennium Centre has announced that Disney's award-winning production of The Lion King is coming to Wales this Christmas (2014) - and tickets go on sale this month.

From Thursday, November 6, to January 11 (2015), The Lion King will play at Wales Millennium Centre. This Cardiff season will mark the first time the legendary musical has played in Wales and will be the only Welsh dates in the show's record-breaking tour of the UK and Ireland.

The Lion King will play a ten week season in Cardiff, giving audiences the opportunity to experience the global phenomenon in their local theatre.

Four years in the making, this truly international production brings together a cast of more than 50 actors, singers and dancers, from 18 different countries, supported by a backstage team of over 100 people. The touring production is the biggest musical production ever to tour the UK. With hundreds of masks, puppets and more than 700 elaborate costumes representing 26 different types of animal, 23 giant trucks are used to transport everything across the country. In total, the touring production will visit 11 cities across the UK and Ireland over two and a half years, with further dates and locations to be announced.

Mathew Milsom, managing director of Wales Millennium Centre said: "I’m extremely pleased to finally be able to announce that The Lion King will be this year's Christmas show. With 2014 marking our tenth anniversary, it only seemed right that the Christmas show should be one of the most successful and spectacular around.

"Now in its 16th year on Broadway, The Lion King certainly fits that bill. I hope all our audiences will be excited by today's announcement and can start looking forward to welcoming The Lion King on its first ever visit to Wales."

Fiona Thomas, Vice President of Live Entertainment for The Walt Disney Company EMEA, said: "We are so excited to be bringing Disney's The Lion King to the magnificent Wales Millennium Centre. We continue to be delighted by how much audiences enjoy The Lion King in London and we look forward to sharing Julie Taymor’s legendary production with audiences in Wales."

Disney's The Lion King is based on the beloved Academy award-winning animated film which was entrusted to Director and Co-Designer Julie Taymor to adapt the film for the stage.

Taymor brought a vast array of disciplines to The Lion King which draws upon her immeasurable experience of various theatrical styles and cultures to tell the compelling tale of Simba, the young lion cub, as he journeys through life and struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destined role of King.

The acclaimed stage adaptation of Disney’s 1994 film was first seen on Broadway in 1997, where it recently became the highest grossing show in Broadway history. The production has now been seen by over 70 million people across six continents and the acclaimed West End production continues to sell out at London's Lyceum Theatre in its 15th triumphant year.

In addition to the record-breaking productions in London and New York, Disney’s The Lion King can currently be seen in Tokyo, Hamburg, Madrid, Sao Paulo, Brazil and on tour in the US, UK and Japan. The production has also recently opened in Sydney, Australia.

To date, this new touring production has enjoyed sell-out, record-breaking seasons in Bristol, Manchester, Dublin and Birmingham. The production is currently in Edinburgh, marking the first time the musical has played in Scotland. Both audiences and critics have embraced Disney's The Lion King, giving it rave reviews and standing ovations.

Disney's The Lion King will play at Wales Millennium Centre from Thursday, November 6 2014, to Sunday, January 11 2015. Tickets go on general sale on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, from 10am via 029 2063 6464 or www.wmc.org.uk and from 8am in person at the centre.

Groups and members of Wales Millennium's Centre's Promise scheme can access tickets from January 13, 2014, www.wmc.org.uk/Membership/