2004 in Wales
Encyclopedia
This article is about the particular significance of the year 2004 to Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 and its people
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...

.

Incumbents

  • Prince of Wales
    Prince of Wales
    Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...

     - Charles, Prince of Wales
    Charles, Prince of Wales
    Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...

  • Princess of Wales
    Princess of Wales
    Princess of Wales is a British courtesy title held by the wife of The Prince of Wales since the first "English" Prince of Wales in 1283.Although there have been considerably more than ten male heirs to the throne, there have been only ten Princesses of Wales. The majority of Princes of Wales...

     - vacant
  • First Minister - Rhodri Morgan
    Rhodri Morgan
    Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...

  • Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales
    Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales
    The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales is the Speaker of the National Assembly for Wales, elected by the Members of the National Assembly for Wales to chair their meetings ; to maintain order; and to protect the rights of Members.He or she also heads the Corporate Body of the...

     - Dafydd Elis-Thomas
    Dafydd Elis-Thomas
    Dafydd Elis Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas, PC, AM, is a Welsh politician and was the Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales until 2011...

  • Secretary of State for Wales
    Secretary of State for Wales
    The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the British cabinet. He or she is responsible for ensuring Welsh interests are taken into account by the government, representing the government within Wales and overseeing the passing of legislation which is only for Wales...

     - Peter Hain
    Peter Hain
    Peter Gerald Hain is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Neath since 1991, and has served in the Cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, firstly as Leader of the House of Commons under Blair and both Secretary of State for...

  • Archbishop of Wales
    Archbishop of Wales
    The post of Archbishop of Wales was created in 1920 when the Church in Wales was separated from the Church of England , and disestablished...

     - Barry Morgan
    Barry Morgan
    Barry Cennydd Morgan has been the Archbishop of the Church in Wales since 2003.-Early life:Morgan was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot and studied history at University College, London and theology at Selwyn College, Cambridge...

     (Bishop of Llandaff
    Bishop of Llandaff
    The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.-Area of authority:The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul , in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of...

    )
  • Archdruid
    Archdruid
    The Archdruid is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd.The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, The Award of the Prose Medal and Chairing of the Bard. From 1932 only former winners of the...

     of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
    National Eisteddfod of Wales
    The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...

     - Robyn Lewis

Events

  • 6 January – An inquest is opened into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
    Diana, Princess of Wales
    Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...

    .
  • 12 January – An inquest is opened into the death of 12-year-old Stuart Cunningham-Jones in a school bus crash near Cowbridge in December 2002.
  • 23 February – The former Welsh Secretary Ron Davies announces he is joining the new Forward Wales party led by John Marek.
  • 1 March
    • The Prince of Wales visits the Vale of Glamorgan
      Vale of Glamorgan
      The Vale of Glamorgan is a county borough in Wales; an exceptionally rich agricultural area, it lies in the southern part of Glamorgan, South Wales...

       and attends a special service in Cowbridge.
    • Cardiff is granted Fairtrade City status.
  • 13 March – The market town of Cowbridge
    Cowbridge
    Cowbridge is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, approximately west of Cardiff. Cowbridge is twinned with Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique department in northwestern France.-Roman times:...

     celebrates the 750th anniversary of its charter.
  • 15 March – A second bridge over the river Monnow is opened in Monmouth
    Monmouth
    Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....

    .
  • 28 April – The Wales Trades Union Congress annual conference opens at Llandudno
    Llandudno
    Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...

    .
  • 15 May – Singer James Fox
    James Fox (singer)
    James Fox, real name . is a pop music singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist. He represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 in Istanbul...

     represents the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest
    Eurovision Song Contest 2004
    The Eurovision Song Contest 2004, was the 49th Contest and it was held in the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. This was the first occasion in which the contest was held in Turkey after they had won the competition in 2003 with Sertab Erener singing "Everyway That I Can"...

    , finishing 16th.
  • 18 May – Denbighshire
    Denbighshire
    Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...

     becomes the first local authority in Wales to ban smoking on all council property and for all its workers.
  • 28 May
    • Technology Wales 2004 opens at the Celtic Manor Resort
      Celtic Manor Resort
      The Celtic Manor Resort is a golf-centric hotel and leisure resort in Newport, south Wales. It consists of two adjoining hotels, a country inn, two golf and country clubs, and a multi-purpose conference centre...

      , Newport.
    • Guardian Hay Festival
      Hay Festival
      The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales for ten days from May to June. Devised by Norman and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was described by Bill Clinton in 2001 as "The Woodstock of the mind"...

      , annual literary festival, opens at Hay-on-Wye
      Hay-on-Wye
      Hay-on-Wye , often described as "the town of books", is a small market town and community in Powys, Wales.-Location:The town lies on the east bank of the River Wye and is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, just north of the Black Mountains...

      .
  • 31 May – The Urdd National Eisteddfod opens at Llangefni
    Llangefni
    Llangefni is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the population of Llangefni was 4,662 people and it is the second largest settlement on the island...

    .
  • 4 June – Professor Merfyn Jones
    Merfyn Jones
    Merfyn Jones CBE is a historian, broadcaster, governor of the BBC and former vice-chancellor of Bangor University.He grew up and still lives in Gwynedd, Wales....

     is named as the new Vice Chancellor of the University of Wales, Bangor.
  • 6 June – Rhodri Morgan
    Rhodri Morgan
    Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...

    , the First Minister of Wales is criticized for not attending celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of D-Day
    D-Day
    D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

    .
  • 10 June – As a result of the local elections, there is power sharing in nine councils across Wales, Labour control in eight, Independents in three, and Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives control one each.
  • 24 June – Police in Swansea
    Swansea
    Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

     arrest twenty people on charges of drug dealing.
  • 2 July – Jeffrey John
    Jeffrey John
    Jeffrey Philip Hywel John SCP is a Church of England priest and the current Dean of St Albans. He made headlines in 2003 when he was the first person to have openly been in a same-sex relationship to be nominated as a Church of England bishop...

    , an openly gay clergyman originally from Tonyrefail, is inducted as Dean of St Albans.
  • 6 July
    • The International Musical Eisteddfod opens in Llangollen
      Llangollen
      Llangollen is a small town and community in Denbighshire, north-east Wales, situated on the River Dee and on the edge of the Berwyn mountains. It has a population of 3,412.-History:...

      .
    • The Queen
      Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
      Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...

       unveils the memorial fountain erected in London in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales
      Diana, Princess of Wales
      Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...

      .
  • 14 July
    • The National Assembly for Wales
      National Assembly for Wales
      The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...

       brings the Wales Tourist Board, Welsh Development Agency
      Welsh Development Agency
      The Welsh Development Agency was a QUANGO and later an Assembly Sponsored Public Body established in 1976 to encourage business development and investment in Wales, to clear derelict land and to encourage growth of local businesses...

       and Elwa
      ELWa
      ELWa was an Assembly Sponsored Public Body responsible for post-16 learning in Wales, active from 2000 to 2006. ELWa's functions are now exercised by the Assembly Government's Department for Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills....

       under its immediate control.
    • The National Woollen Museum
      National Woollen Museum
      The National Woollen Museum located in Drefach Felindre, Llandysul, Carmarthenshire is part of the National Museum Wales.-Background:Historically and into the 19th century, the production and processing of wool surpassed even coal as the most important of Wales' industries...

       re-opens at Dre-fach Felindre.
  • 19 July – The Royal Welsh Show
    Royal Welsh Show
    The Royal Welsh Show is the biggest agricultural show in Europe. It is organised by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, which was formed in 1904, and takes place in July of each year, at Llanelwedd, near Builth Wells, in Powys, Mid Wales....

     opens at Builth Wells
    Builth Wells
    Builth Wells is a town in the county of Powys, within the historic boundaries of Brecknockshire, mid Wales, lying at the confluence of the River Wye and the River Irfon, in the Welsh of the Wye Valley. It has a population of 2,352....

    .
  • 28 July – It is announced that the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education
    North East Wales Institute of Higher Education
    Glyndŵr University is a university with campuses at Wrexham and Northop in north-east Wales. Formerly known as the North East Wales Institute of Higher Education , it was granted full university status in 2008 after being a member of the University of Wales since 2003...

    , Swansea Institute of Higher Education, Trinity College, Carmarthen
    Trinity College, Carmarthen
    Trinity University College was a university college in Carmarthen, Wales. In 2010, it merged with the University of Wales, Lampeter to become the new University of Wales, Trinity Saint David.- History :...

     and the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
    Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
    The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is a conservatoire within the University of Glamorgan Group located in Cardiff, Wales....

     will all become part of the University of Wales
    University of Wales
    The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...

    .
  • 30 July – The National Eisteddfod of Wales
    National Eisteddfod of Wales
    The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...

     opens at Tredegar House
    Tredegar House
    Tredegar House in Newport, set in the 90 acre Tredegar Park, is one of the best examples of a 17th century Charles II country house mansion in the United Kingdom.-History of the Building:...

     near Newport.
  • 12 August – The Keep Cardiff Tidy campaign wins a special merit award at the Association of Public Service Excellence Awards 2004.
  • 26 August – The Festival of History in North Wales opens in Llanfairfechan
    Llanfairfechan
    Llanfairfechan is a town and community in the Conwy County Borough, Wales. It lies on the coast of north Wales on the route of the A55 road, between Penmaenmawr and Bangor. It previously was in Gwynedd and prior to that was in Caernarfonshire. For ceremonial and electoral boundary purposes it was...

    .
  • 28 August – Bryn Terfel
    Bryn Terfel
    Bryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....

    's Faenol Festival opens.
  • 7 September – Kalan Kawa Karim, an Iraqi Kurd, dies after what police take to be a racist attack in Swansea
    Swansea
    Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

     city centre.
  • 7 October – The Western Mail changes from broadsheet to tabloid/compact format.
  • 8 October – Breconshire Brewery
    Breconshire Brewery
    Breconshire Brewery is a brewery in Brecon in Powys, Wales. The head brewer was Justin "Buster" Grant, formerly of Brakspear Brewery.Named after the original 1841 Breconshire Brewery established by Mordecai Jones, the new brewery since its establishment in 2002, has received numerous awards at...

     wins the "Champion Beer of Wales" competition at the Campaign for Real Ale
    Campaign for Real Ale
    The Campaign for Real Ale is an independent voluntary consumer organisation based in St Albans, England, whose main aims are promoting real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub...

     (CAMRA) Great Welsh Beer Festival in Cardiff.
  • 26 October – The Monmouth
    Monmouth
    Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....

    -based inventor, Andrew Hubert von Staufer, wins the Platinum Award for Design and Gold Award for Leisure at the British Invention Show.
  • 1 November - Neil Kinnock
    Neil Kinnock
    Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...

     becomes head of the British Council
    British Council
    The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

    .
  • 2 November – Flights to Egypt
    Egypt
    Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

     become available for the first time from Cardiff International Airport
    Cardiff International Airport
    Cardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff, and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010....

    .
  • 8 November – The Welsh Assembly Government
    Welsh Assembly Government
    The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...

     launches its "free swimming for over-60s" pilot scheme.
  • 19 November – The Wales Children in Need
    Children in Need
    Children in Need is an annual British charity appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over £500 million. The highlight of the Children in Need appeal is an annual telethon, held in November. A teddy bear named "Pudsey Bear" fronts the campaign, while Terry Wogan is a long...

     concert is held at Wrexham
    Wrexham
    Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...

    , starring Bryan Adams
    Bryan Adams
    Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...

    .
  • 26 November – Official opening of the Wales Millennium Centre
    Wales Millennium Centre
    Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...

     in Cardiff
    Cardiff
    Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

  • 31 December – In the New Year Honours List, author Leslie Thomas
    Leslie Thomas
    Leslie Thomas, OBE is a British author.- Virgin Soldiers :His novels about 1950s British National Service such as "The Virgin Soldiers" spawned two film versions, in 1969 and 1977, whilst his Tropic of Ruislip and Dangerous Davies, The Last Detective have been adapted for television Leslie...

     is made an OBE for services to literature.

Arts and literature

  • 23 March – The National Library of Wales
    National Library of Wales
    The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...

     successfully bids for an 18th century Welsh manuscript auctioned in Los Angeles.
  • 5 April – Launch of Katherine Jenkins
    Katherine Jenkins
    Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...

    ' first album, Première.
  • May – Foundation of Swansea City Opera
    Swansea City Opera
    The Swansea City Opera is a touring opera company founded in Swansea, Wales in May 2004. The company incorporates elements of Opera Box Limited, a touring opera company founded in 1989. Since its launch the opera has toured to 91 venues across the United Kingdom...

     company.
  • 17 August – Announcement of the Dylan Thomas Prize
    Dylan Thomas Prize
    The Dylan Thomas Prize is the world’s top cash prize for young writers. The annual prize, named in honor of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a cash award of £30,000 . It is open to published writers in the English language under the age of thirty. The prize...

    , a new £60,000 literary prize. The first award will be made in 2006.
  • November
    • Roger Rees
      Roger Rees
      Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...

       is appointed artistic director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts
      Williamstown, Massachusetts
      Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,754 at the 2010 census...

      .
    • Welsh National Opera
      Welsh National Opera
      Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...

       moves into the Wales Millennium Centre
      Wales Millennium Centre
      Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...

      .
  • 7 December – The Stereophonics
    Stereophonics
    The Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band now living in turners x that formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in Cynon Valley, Wales. The band currently comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing...

     introduce their new drummer, Argentinian Javier Weyler
    Javier Weyler
    Javier Andrés Weyler is the drummer for the Welsh based rock group Stereophonics. Despite being born in Argentina, Weyler lived most of his life in Caracas, Venezuela, and now resides in London, England...

    .
  • Magenta
    Magenta (Welsh band)
    Magenta are a Welsh progressive rock band formed in 1999 by ex-Cyan member Rob Reed. Reed takes his influences from bands like Genesis, Mike Oldfield, Yes, Eurythmics and Björk.-Current Lineup:*Christina Booth: lead vocals....

     wins the Classic Rock Society
    Classic Rock Society
    Classic Rock Society, also known as the CRS, began life in 1991, originally as a society founded in Rotherham, England at the Florence Nightingale public house, which quickly progressed to become a large and well recognised organisation helping to forward the cause of Progressive rock, and Classic...

     award for Best Live Band. Christina Booth
    Christina Booth
    Christina Maria Booth is a Welsh progressive rock vocalist and singer-songwriter.Since its inception in 2001, she has been the lead vocalist for the Welsh progressive rock band Magenta, in which she collaborates with Rob Reed....

     wins Best Female Vocalist.

Awards

  • Glyndŵr Award
    Glyndwr Award
    The Glyndŵr Award is made for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales. It is given by the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust to pre-eminent figures in music, art and literature in rotation...

     - Peter Prendergast
    Peter Prendergast (artist)
    Peter Prendergast was a Welsh landscape painter. After the death of Sir Kyffin Williams in September 2006, he was recognised as the leading landscape painter in Wales.-Early years:...

  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Huw Meirion Edwards
  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Jason Walford Davies
  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - Annes Glyn
  • National Eisteddfod of Wales: Music Medal - Owain Llwyd
  • Wales Book of the Year
    Wales Book of the Year
    The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors...

    :
    • English language: Niall Griffiths
      Niall Griffiths
      Niall Griffiths is an author, who has published six books to date. He has also written travel pieces, restaurant and book reviews, and radio plays...

      , Stump
    • Welsh language: Jerry Hunter
      Jerry Hunter
      T. Gerald Hunter, more commonly known as Jerry Hunter, is an American graduate of Cincinnati , Aberystwyth and Harvard . Originally from Cincinnati, he now lives in Wales and has held academic posts at Cardiff and more recently Bangor University, where he is currently a Reader in the School of...

      , Llwch Cenhedloedd
  • Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen
    Daniel Owen
    Daniel Owen was a Welsh novelist, generally regarded as the foremost Welsh-language novelist of the 19th century.-Early life:...

     - Robin Llywelyn
    Robin Llywelyn
    Robin Llywelyn is a Welsh novelist, writing in both Welsh and English. His works include From Empty Harbour to White Ocean, winner of the National Eisteddfod Prose Medal...

    , Un Diwrnod yn yr Eisteddfod
  • John Tripp
    John Tripp (poet)
    John Tripp was an Anglo-Welsh poet and short-story writer.Born in Bargoed, Wales, he worked for the BBC as a journalist with the BBC, and later became a civil servant. He edited the literary magazine, Planet, and was a popular performance poet...

     Award for Spoken Poetry: Clare Potter

New books

  • Peter Finch
    Peter Finch (poet)
    Peter Finch is a Welsh poet, critic, author and literary entrepreneur living in Cardiff, Wales. He is Chief Executive of Academi, the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society of Writers. As a writer he works in both traditional and experimental forms...

     – Real Cardiff
  • Niall Griffiths
    Niall Griffiths
    Niall Griffiths is an author, who has published six books to date. He has also written travel pieces, restaurant and book reviews, and radio plays...

     – Stump
  • Bethan Gwanas
    Bethan Gwanas
    Bethan Gwanas is a popular contemporary Welsh author, who publishes exclusively in the Welsh language. A prolific writer, she has had 17 titles published in the last decade...

     – Hi yw fy Ffrind
  • Mererid Hopwood
    Mererid Hopwood
    Mererid Hopwood is a Welsh poet who made history in 2001 by becoming the first woman ever to win the bardic Chair at the National Eisteddfod of Wales....

     – Singing in Chains: Listening to Welsh Verse
  • Rhys Hughes
    Rhys Hughes
    Rhys Henry Hughes , is a Welsh writer and essayist.Born in Cardiff, Hughes is a prolific short story writer with an eclectic mix of influences, which include Italo Calvino, Milorad Pavić, Jorge Luis Borges, Stanisław Lem, Flann O'Brien, Felipe Alfau, Donald Barthelme and Jack Vance...

     – A New Universal History of Infamy
    A New Universal History of Infamy
    A New Universal History of Infamy is the title of a 2004 collection of short fiction by Welsh fantasy writer Rhys Hughes. The book serves as a parody and homage to Jorge Luis Borges' collection A Universal History of Infamy, following the plan of the original closely but not slavishly.The book was...

  • Jon Ronson
    Jon Ronson
    Jon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, documentary filmmaker, radio presenter and nonfiction author, whose works include The Men Who Stare At Goats. His journalism and columns have appeared in British publications including The Guardian newspaper, City Life and Time Out magazine...

     – The Men Who Stare at Goats
  • Eirug Wyn
    Eirug Wyn
    Eirug Wyn was a Welsh satirical novelist who wrote in the Welsh language. He was born Eirug Price Wynne, in Llanbrynmair in Mid Wales, and educated at Brynrefail School and Trinity College, Carmarthen...

     – Dyn yn y Cefn Heb Fwstash

Music

  • Karl Jenkins
    Karl Jenkins
    -Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...

     – In These Stones Horizons Sing
    In These Stones Horizons Sing
    In These Stones, Horizons Sing is a work for chorus and orchestra composed by Karl Jenkins. It was commissioned for the opening of Wales Millennium Centre and first performed at its opening on 29 November 2004...

  • Dill Jones
    Dill Jones
    Dillwyn Owen Paton Jones, or Dill Jones , was a Welsh jazz stride pianist.-Biography:Jones was born in Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire, on 19 August 1923. He was brought up in New Quay on the Cardiganshire coast. Music was in the family as his mother was a pianist and his aunt played organ at the...

     – Davenport Blues (posthumous album release)
  • Katell Keineg
    Katell Keineg
    Katell Keineg , is a Breton-Welsh singer-songwriter, based in Dublin and New York.-Early life:Born in Brittany and raised in Cardiff, Katell Keineg is the second child and only daughter of Breton poet and playwright Paol Keineg and his then wife, Judith, a Welsh political activist and...

     – July
  • Alun Tan Lan
    Alun Tan Lan
    Alun Tan Lan is a Welsh singer-songwriter. He sings exclusively through the medium of the Welsh language.When Lan was 14 he formed the punk rock band Dail Te Pawb, he later went on to join Boff Frank Bough playing bass....

     – Aderyn Papur
  • Lostprophets
    Lostprophets
    Lostprophets is a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997. Founded by vocalist Ian Watkins, bassist Mike Lewis, drummer Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze, they were originally a side-project to hardcore punk band Public Disturbance. To date, Lostprophets have released four studio...

     – Start Something
  • Manic Street Preachers
    Manic Street Preachers
    Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...

     – Lifeblood
    Lifeblood
    - Personnel :Manic Street Preachers*James Dean Bradfield – lead vocals, guitar*Sean Moore – drums, drum programming*Nicky Wire – bassAdditional personnel*Patrick Jones - additional lyrics on "Fragments"*Nick Nasmyth - keyboards*Jeremy Shaw - keyboards...

  • Tom Jones
    Tom Jones (singer)
    Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...

     and Jools Holland
    Jools Holland
    Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer, and television presenter. He was a founder of the band Squeeze and his work has involved him with many artists including Sting, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, The Who, David Gilmour and Bono.Holland is a...

    (album)
  • Tystion
    Tystion
    Tystion was a Welsh language hip hop band from Wales.- Background :In 1996, MC Sleifar and G Man got together and released a few cassettes themselves...

     – Miwsig I'ch Traed A Miwsig I'ch Meddwl

Film

  • Ioan Gruffudd
    Ioan Gruffudd
    Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he started off in Welsh language film productions, then came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic , and as Lt. John Beales in Black Hawk Down...

     stars as Lancelot in King Arthur.
  • I'll Sleep When I'm Dead is filmed partly in Fishguard
    Fishguard
    Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300 . The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5043 at the 2001 census....

    .

Welsh-language films

  • Dal: Yma/Nawr, with John Cale
    John Cale
    John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....

    , Ioan Gruffudd
    Ioan Gruffudd
    Ioan Gruffudd is a Welsh actor.Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he started off in Welsh language film productions, then came to international attention as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe in the film Titanic , and as Lt. John Beales in Black Hawk Down...

    , Guto Harri, Cerys Matthews
    Cerys Matthews
    Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer and songwriter. She is known as the lead singer of the Welsh rock band Catatonia, her more recent bilingual solo career, and for a 1998 Christmas duet with Tom Jones.-Biography:...

    , Siân Phillips
    Siân Phillips
    Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...


Broadcasting

  • 3 May – A new community radio station, WHAM! RADIO 1449, is launched in Blaenavon
    Blaenavon
    Blaenavon is a town and World Heritage Site in south eastern Wales, lying at the source of the Afon Lwyd north of Pontypool, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. The town lies high on a hillside and has a population of 6,349 people...

    .
  • 16 July – The filming of a new Doctor Who
    Doctor Who
    Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

    series begins in Cardiff.
  • 28 July – S4C
    S4C
    S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...

     and the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society sign a deal guaranteeing nation-wide TV coverage of the Royal Welsh Show
    Royal Welsh Show
    The Royal Welsh Show is the biggest agricultural show in Europe. It is organised by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, which was formed in 1904, and takes place in July of each year, at Llanelwedd, near Builth Wells, in Powys, Mid Wales....

     for the next five years.
  • 17 October – Pobol y Cwm
    Pobol y Cwm
    Pobol y Cwm is a Welsh-language television soap opera which has been produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, Pobol y Cwm was originally transmitted on BBC Wales television and later transferred to the Welsh-language station S4C when it...

    , the Welsh language
    Welsh language
    Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

     soap opera
    Soap opera
    A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

    , celebrates its thirtieth anniversary by receiving a "Hall of Fame" award from the Royal Television Society
    Royal Television Society
    The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...

    .
  • November – Bread of Heaven, a series of six programmes about the history of religion in Wales, presented by Huw Edwards
    Huw Edwards (journalist)
    Huw Edwards is a BAFTA award-winning Welsh journalist, presenter and newsreader.He is a news presenter for BBC News in the United Kingdom. Edwards presents Britain's most watched news programme, BBC News at Ten, which is also the corporation's flagship news broadcast...

    , begins its run on BBC 1 Wales.
  • November–December - Mine All Mine
    Mine All Mine
    Mine All Mine is a British television series produced by Red Production Company for ITV. It was written by Russell T Davies and starred Griff Rhys Jones...

    , written by Russell T Davies and starring Griff Rhys Jones
    Griff Rhys Jones
    Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...

    .
  • Rob Brydon
    Rob Brydon
    Rob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...

     stars in The Keith Barret Show
    The Keith Barret Show
    The Keith Barret Show is a spoof BBC chat show hosted by Keith Barret who interviews celebrity couples in the hope of finding the secret to a successful marriage . It was devised by Paul Duddridge and co written with Rob Brydon...

    .
  • Alex Jones
    Alex Jones (presenter)
    Charlotte Alexandra "Alex" Jones is a Welsh television presenter, from Ammanford, best known for co-presenting BBC's The One Show since August 2010.-Early life:...

     presents the first series of Hip neu Sgip?
    Hip neu Sgip?
    Hip neu Sgip? is an S4C room makeover television programme for children. It is shown on the Welsh-language children's television programming opt-out, Stwnsh.-History:...


Sport

  • 4 June – Simon Khan
    Simon Khan
    Simon Khan is an English professional golfer.Khan turned professional in 1991, but spent many years struggling to establish his tournament career. His first full season on the European Tour was 2002 and his first European Tour win came at the 2004 Celtic Manor Wales Open...

     breaks the course record at the Celtic Manor Wales Open
    Celtic Manor Wales Open
    The Saab Wales Open, previously the Celtic Manor Wales Open, is a European Tour golf tournament which was founded in 2000 and is played each June. The event is hosted at the Celtic Manor Resort in the city of Newport, South Wales, also the venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup...

     golf tournament.
  • 24 June – Joe Calzaghe
    Joe Calzaghe
    Joseph William Calzaghe, CBE, MBE is a Welsh former professional boxer. He is the former WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF, The Ring & British super middleweight champion and The Ring light heavyweight champion....

     pulls out of scheduled world title fight against Glen Johnson
    Glen Johnson (boxer)
    Glengoffe Donovan Johnson is a professional boxer. Nicknamed Gentleman and The Road Warrior, Johnson is the former IBF and Ring magazine light heavyweight champion.-Amateur career:...

     because of injury.
  • 30 August – The 19th World Bog Snorkelling Championships are held at Llanwrtyd Wells
    Llanwrtyd Wells
    Llanwrtyd Wells is a small town in the parish of Llanwrtyd in Powys, mid Wales, lying on the River Irfon.With a population of 601 people , it claims to be the smallest town in Britain, although Fordwich in Kent has a smaller population...

    .
  • 15 September – Mark Hughes
    Mark Hughes
    Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE , is a former Welsh international footballer. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals....

     resigns as manager of the Welsh national football team after being appointed manager of Blackburn Rovers.
  • 16 September – The Wales Rally GB begins in Cardiff.
  • 17 September – The 2004 Paralympics open in Athens: Welsh athletes will return home with twelve gold, six silver and nine bronze medals.
  • 9 October – The Welsh national football team loses 2-0 to England at Old Trafford in Manchester.
  • 12 November – John Toshack
    John Toshack
    John Benjamin Toshack OBE is a Welsh former footballer and manager. He is currently the manager of Macedonia. He has also managed several others clubs including Swansea City, who he took from the Fourth Division to the First in four seasons.As a player, he is remembered for being part of the...

     becomes the new manager of the Welsh national football team.
  • 20 November – The Wales Rugby Union
    Rugby union
    Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

     side loses 25-26 to New Zealand at the Millennium Stadium
    Millennium Stadium
    The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...

    , Cardiff
    Cardiff
    Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

    .
  • 6 December – Tanni Grey-Thompson
    Tanni Grey-Thompson
    Carys Davina "Tanni" Grey-Thompson, Baroness Grey-Thompson, DBE is a Welsh athlete and TV presenter.Grey-Thompson was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. She is considered to be one of the most successful disabled athletes in the UK...

     becomes the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year
    BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year
    The BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year is a televised sporting competition, broadcast on BBC Two every year; and the most prestigious annual sport award in Wales. It was first awarded in 1954, and is currently organised by BBC Cymru Wales...

     2004 (50th anniversary of the award).

Deaths

  • 3 January - T. G. Jones
    T. G. Jones
    Thomas George "T.G." Jones was a Welsh footballer most notable for his career with Everton and Wales.-Biography:Born in Connah's Quay, Jones started his professional career with Wrexham. He signed for for £3,000 in 1936...

    , footballer, 86
  • 22 January – Islwyn Ffowc Elis
    Islwyn Ffowc Elis
    Islwyn Ffowc Elis was one of Wales's most popular Welsh-language writers.Born Islwyn Ffoulkes Ellis in Wrexham, Elis was educated at the University of Wales colleges of Bangor and Aberystwyth. During World War II he was a conscientious objector and he began writing poetry and prose, winning the...

    , author, 79
  • 21 February – John Charles
    John Charles
    William John Charles, CBE , commonly known as John Charles, was a Welsh international footballer best remembered for spells with Leeds United and Juventus. Rated by many as the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Wales, he was equally adept at centre-forward or centre-back...

    , footballer, 72
  • 4 April - Alwyn Williams
    Alwyn Williams (geologist)
    Sir Alwyn Williams Kt, FRS, FRSE, MRIA, FGS was a Welsh geologist, who was Principal of the University of Glasgow from 1976 to 1988, and President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1985 to 1988.-Early life:...

    , geologist, 82
  • 18 April – Geraint Howells
    Geraint Howells
    Geraint Wyn Howells, Baron Geraint was a leading Welsh Liberal Democrat politician.Howells was born in Ponterwyd in Cardiganshire. He was the son of David John and Mary Blodwen Howells, both farmers.-Education:...

    , politician, 79
  • 25 April – Eirug Wyn
    Eirug Wyn
    Eirug Wyn was a Welsh satirical novelist who wrote in the Welsh language. He was born Eirug Price Wynne, in Llanbrynmair in Mid Wales, and educated at Brynrefail School and Trinity College, Carmarthen...

    , author, 53 (myeloma)
  • 2 June – Alun Richards
    Alun Richards
    Alun Morgun Richards was a Welsh novelist, best known for his novel Ennal's Point, about the work of a lifeboat crew in South Wales.Richards was born in King Edward Avenue, Caerphilly...

    , novelist, 74
  • 15 June – J. Gwyn Griffiths
    J. Gwyn Griffiths
    John Gwyn Griffiths , was a Welsh poet, Egyptologist and nationalist political activist who spent the largest span of his career lecturing at Swansea University.-Early history:...

    , poet, Egyptologist and nationalist political activist, 92
  • 17 July – Sir Julian Hodge
    Julian Hodge
    Sir Julian Hodge was a London-born entrepreneur and banker who lived in Wales for most of his life, from the age of five. He formed the Bank of Wales , and later the Julian Hodge Bank in Cardiff.- Background and beginnings :As the son of a plumber, he came from humble beginnings...

    , banker, 99
  • 18 July – Emrys Evans, banker
  • 20 August – Arthur Lever
    Arthur Lever (footballer)
    Arthur Richard Lever nicknamed "Buller", was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international.-Career:...

    , footballer
  • 1 September - Gordon Parry, Baron Parry
    Gordon Parry, Baron Parry
    Gordon Samuel David Parry was a Welsh Labour politician. He was created a Life Peer as Lord Parry of Neyland on 21 January 1976 by the Prime Minister Harold Wilson....

    , 78
  • 10 September – Glyn Owen
    Glyn Owen
    Glyn Griffith Owen was a British stage, television and film actor, probably best known to British TV viewers for two roles: that of Dr...

    , actor, 76
  • 15 September – Sue Noake, athletics official
  • 13 October – Bernice Rubens
    Bernice Rubens
    Bernice Rubens was a Booker Prize-winning Welsh novelist.-Background:She was of Russian Jewish descent and born in Cardiff, Wales where she attended Cardiff High School. She came from a very musical family, both her brothers becoming well-known classical musicians. She was married to Rudi...

    , novelist, 76
  • 21 October – Brinley Rees
    Brinley Rees
    Professor Brinley Roderick Rees was a Welsh academic. He wrote extensively on Classics, particularly the study of the Greek language. Early work was devoted to Greek papyri; a later publication was devoted to the Life and Letters of Pelagius...

    , academic, 84
  • 9 November - Emlyn Hughes
    Emlyn Hughes
    Emlyn Walter Hughes, OBE was an English footballer who captained both the England national team and the much-decorated Liverpool F.C. team of the 1970s.- From Blackpool to Liverpool :...

    , English footballer of Welsh parentage, 57 (brain cancer)
  • 14 November - David Stanley Evans
    David Stanley Evans
    David Stanley Evans was a British astronomer, noted for his use of lunar occultations to measure stellar angular diameters during the 1950s.-Early life and education:...

    , astronomer, 88
  • 29 November – Jonah Jones, writer and artist
  • 4 December – Sir Anthony Meyer
    Anthony Meyer
    Sir Anthony John Charles Meyer, 3rd Baronet was a British soldier, diplomat, and Conservative and later Liberal Democrat politician, best known for standing against Margaret Thatcher for the party leadership in 1989...

    , politician, 84
  • 14 December – Harry Bowcott
    Harry Bowcott
    Harry Bowcott was a Welsh international rugby union centre who played club rugby for Cardiff and London Welsh and later became president of the Welsh Rugby Union.-Club career:...

    , international rugby player and president of the Welsh Rugby Union, 97
  • date unknown - Eifion Jones
    Eifion Jones
    William Eifion Jones was a Welsh marine botanist, noted for his study of marine algae.He was born and brought up in Aberystwyth and studied botany at the University of Wales under Professor Lilly Newton....

    , marine botanist
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