Cân i Gymru 2024 judges announced ahead of Saint David’s Day event

Stephen Price

S4C’s popular songwriting competition Cân i Gymru has announced the judging panel for this year’s revamped event which will take place on St David’s Day.

The competition will return to the screen with a host of new elements, with the live final to be held on Swansea Arena’s huge stage for the first time, on Friday 1 March 2024.

Musician Osian Huw Williams, lead singer of the Candelas and former co-winner of the award will chair the jury, mentor the competitors and present the brand new Cân i Gymru trophy to the winner.

Osian will also be joined by some of the leading names in Welsh language music today – Mared Williams, Dom James, Bronwen Lewis and Carwyn Ellis.

Prizes

The composer of the winning song will also earn a prize of £5,000 and a performance contract, with the runner up winning £3,000 and the third prize winner getting £2,000.

The final will be broadcast live on S4C with Trystan Ellis-Morris and Elin Fflur returning to present the competitions climax.

Entertaining

Osian Huw Williams said: “I’m really excited to be chairing the judges panel because I’ll get to see who I want to work with, but also since I’ve been involved in the competition myself in the past it’s always entertaining, always fun, so to be able to be even more of a part of it is very exciting.

“The composing element is very important because it gives someone, especially young people starting out, a national platform similar to when we won back in 2013, it gets your name out there.”

“Go for it!”

For anyone considering entering next year’s event, which has yet to open for submissions, Osian said: “Go for it – there’s nothing stopping you whether you’re alone in your room with a cluster of songs or with just the one song, or you’re with a band, you don’t know what will happen.”

The song ‘Patagonia’ by Alistair James from Llanfairfechan, performed by Dylan Morris, won last year’s event which took place at the Arts Centre in Aberystwyth.

Tickets for the Swansea show have now sold out, but you can tune in to S4C and S4C Clic on 1 March to watch the show in full.