Gŵyl Cerdd Dant Cymru festival comes to Cardiff

An annual festival dedicated to the art of singing with the harp will be held in Cardiff in November.

Gŵyl Cerdd Dant Cymru will be held at Cardiff and Vale College, Dumballs Road on Saturday, 11 November.

Hundreds of competitors from all over Wales are expected to flock to the College in November to compete in disciplines such as cerdd dant (singing with the harp), folk singing, recitation, folk dancing and playing the harp.

In the weeks and months leading up to the festival, there will be workshops in English and Welsh medium schools across Cardiff for pupils who will be encouraged to engage with the festival.

The festival’s main sponsor this year is Cardiff City Council and the leader of the council Cllr Huw Thomas said: “Wales and music are deeply connected through traditions that stretch back many hundreds of years, and I’m proud that this year Cardiff Council will be the main sponsor of Gŵyl Cerdd Dant on its return to Cardiff.

“As the capital city, Cardiff has a key role to play in supporting and promoting Welsh music and culture – they’re part of what makes Wales unique, and the festival is a great opportunity for people to experience our heritage first hand.”

City Hall

This year’s event in Cardiff will be the second time Gŵyl Cerdd Dant Cymru has been hosted in the capital since its inception in 1947, when it was held in City Hall in 1981.

Elen Rhys, Chair of the Festival’s Working Committee said: “It’s forty two years since the Gŵyl Cerdd Dant last visited Cardiff and it’s wonderful to welcome it back to our vibrant capital city. We’re really looking forward to welcoming competitors from across Wales to sing, dance and enjoy the sights and sounds.

“We’d like to thank the Council and the College for their support and their willing cooperation to ensure a fantastic Gŵyl in November,” she continued.

Chair of Governors at Cardiff and Vale College Geraint Evans MBE added: “It’s a huge honour to be hosting the Gŵyl Cerdd Dant at CAVC and we are immensely proud of it.

“As the college in the heart of the Capital Region of Wales we are strongly committed to growing opportunities to promote Welsh language and culture, and to emphasising the importance of continuing Welsh language in post-16 education.

Hosting this prestigious event in the Welsh cultural calendar provides a unique opportunity to further this.”

A list of the competitions is available here. To coincide with publishing the list, a poem to welcome the event to Cardiff has been composed by the prize-winning poet and author, Llŷr Gwyn Lewis.