S4C promises best ever coverage of this year’s Royal Welsh Show
S4C is promising it’s most extensive coverage ever of the Royal Welsh Show which gets underway in Llanelwedd on Monday (24 July).
The Welsh language broadcaster’s coverage commences on Sunday evening (23 July) with a preview show.
Nia Roberts will host the day’s events at the show from Monday, with Ifan Jones Evans and Mari Lovgreen presenting evening highlights.
Alun Elidir, Meinir Howells, Aeron Pugh, Hannah Parr and Heledd Cynwal will also be covering events from around the showground.
All competitions will be broadcast on S4C, S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer live every day at 09:00 with English subtitles.
Viewers will be able to follow the main ring competitions from 08:00 in English and Welsh on YouTube and Y Sioe S4C’s Facebook. The Ponies and Cobs’ individual classes are also being streamed live without commentary and without interruption on YouTube and Facebook from 08:00 and are available worldwide.
Nervous
Hannah Parr, a Welsh teacher at Ysgol Bro Peter, Lampeter and a horse breeder in Llangeitho is looking forward to presenting from the ring for the first time.
“I’m excited but also very nervous,” she said.
“The feeling of community is the greatest thing about the Show – it’s another world, there’s no similar show on the planet.
“The Show is where I feel at home with everyone who’s like-minded. I don’t have to prove myself and I don’t have to keep a lid on the excitement I feel. Everyone has the same passion.”
Shearing
This will be the ninth year that Alun Elidyr has covered the Show, and the sheep and cattle farmer from Meirionnydd says he is as enthusiastic as ever.
Alun who will be commentating on the shearing, said: “When you think about competing with cows and sheep everything is so calm and they need keep the animals under control.
“With shearing it’s full of energy – it’s all heart.
“I try to talk to all the competitors. I see a combination of respect between the boys because it’s such a physical and difficult challenge – shearing 20 sheep in 15 minutes, and the willingness to nurture the younger talents.
“The older generation develop to stewarding and judging. It feels like one big family, there is a welcome for everyone of all ages.”
The shearing shed is expected to be a popular spot this year following the Wales’ success at the Golden Shears world championship in Scotland in June.
Gwion Evans from Clwt, Denbighshire was crowned champion, with shearing partner Richard Jones from Llangollen, coming second.
Alun added: “The focus is usually on New Zealand. But things have changed, the Welsh are now coming out on top and New Zealand weren’t in the running for the first time ever.
“New Zealand will want payback. It should be an exciting competition.”
Coverage of this year’s show wraps up with a programme showing the week’s highlights on Sunday, July 30 at 21:00.
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S4C needs a good shaking. The opportunities for the channel are endless but the ones in charge prefer to show cartoons for most of the day. They need to get a daily Welsh/English language breakfast news programme similar to the BBC and ITV to draw in viewers. Dramas should be done in both Cymraeg and Saesneg. I have said this before, when I once asked an employee what S4C spends its budget on I was told to look in the car park.
Most corporate entities come to behave in the same way although they may set off with good noble intentions. Sadly these kinds of selfish “me, me” attitudes have also crept into the charity sector having probably migrated via the senior levels of the public sector. Havens for serious underachievers with high opinions of themselves.