Rhos-on-Sea has officially taken the helm of the Conwy Pirate Weekend.

The annual Conwy summer event, which has been rebranded as The Rhos Pirate Weekend, has been accepted by members of the Colwyn BID's Rhos section to take place on the same weekend of Saturday, June 16 and 17.

The Pioneer reported last week that organisers HTC Events were in talks with Rhos-on-Sea business leaders after they pulled the event from Conwy following a lack of financial support from the town's businesses.

Chris Williams, event organiser, said: "It wasn't an easy decision to make, but Rhos-on-Sea is in a better position to support the Pirate Weekend because of the Colwyn BID, and with its maritime history it's the perfect location

"We still want to benefit the Conwy county, and we hope Conwy itself will still have its hotels fully booked and we have no doubt Pirates in Rhos will still visit the town for its many attractions while they're here."

Although, unlike Conwy, Rhos-on-Sea doesn't have a working harbour, the change in location has created opportunities to premiere some new, pirate themed attractions in this year's event.

Mr Williams added: "We're really excited for some of the twists and surprises that have arisen from moving to a beachside location. We'll be having things like sandcastle competitions and buried treasure - There will definitely be a different vibe about it.

"There will also be an attack from the pirate ship, and while we can't give away too much, there's going to be a good battle in the town."

Returning mainstays of the festival's seven years in Conwy include the pirate camp, a Navy camp organised by hearts of Oak, a pirate ship, live music presented this year by Tennessee musician Scott Jeffers as well a variety of stalls featuring Rhos-on-Sea traders.

Not to be deterred by the move, some Conwy Pirate Weekend stalwarts are planning a fringe event in the town.

A Conwy business owner, who asked not to be named said: "There is something of a slight mutiny going on, a lot of traders want to keep the pirate weekend and maybe bring it back to its roots of being based more on historical recreation rather than more child focused."

The fringe event organiser have been shoring up elements of the event - which was started in by the Chamber of Trade in 2011 - such as the Liverpool Pirate Brethren, a full costume pub crawl and a visit from the pirate ship - which is expected to moor overnight in Conwy harbour.

The Blue Bell pub - one of the four businesses who offered support to HTC will continue to host its annual Pirate Shindig Friday event, which will now have free admission.

Heron Webb, landlady of Bluebell said: "I'm sure I'll head over to the Rhos event but it will really depend on how pirate-y it is in Conwy. More than 80 people have contacted me already committing to spend some time in Conwy."