World premiere of Yma o Hyd documentary to be held in Wrexham

A documentary which follows the evolution of Yma o Hyd as a Welsh football anthem and the popularising of the song by Dafydd Iwan will take place in Wrexham this weekend.

The premiere will be held at The William Aston Hall, Glyndwr Universit at 8.30pm pm on Saturday, November 12th, as part of the inaugural Wal Goch Festival for Football Lovers.

This new documentary film from Afanti for S4C follows his journey with the Wales national football team alongside the fans’ army of the ‘Red Wall’ who have embraced his classic song.

From the nerve wracking qualifying game against Austria to the team’s final World Cup preparations, the cameras follow Dafydd every step of the way. The film unpacks the meaning of the song as the folk legend records an updated version of the football anthem before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar.

Dafydd Iwan said: ‘The whole thing about the football slogan ‘Together Stronger’ (the Football Association of Wales’s slogan) has really worked. It has worked from the football point of view and the fans point of view.’ He’s also very pleased that the fans have taken up his song on the terraces. ‘They’ve adopted the song, they’ve learnt it – and wow, how they sing it!’ he said.

After the screening of Yma o Hyd there will be a 30-40 min question and answer session. Dafydd will be joined by Dave Driscoll, the FAW’s match day producer who was responsible for popularising the song at Wales’ home games.

Roopa Vyas will also be on the panel. As a young woman from an Indian family who has discovered her Welsh identity through football she will talk about the big part that Dafydd’s music has had in that journey.

The stunning video for the official Cymru World Cup song ‘Yma o Hyd’ was released yesterday to global acclaim.

The powerful, soul-stirring video documents the struggles of Welsh football and Wales through the decades.

Dafydd Iwan’s iconic song has been remastered from its original tapes, elements re-recorded and dramatically mixed with the voices of The Red Wall as the official anthem for Cymru’s appearance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Hidden microphones inside Cardiff City Stadium during the two FIFA World Cup Play-Off matches recorded over 70,000 voices of The Red Wall singing ‘Yma o Hyd’ along with Dafydd Iwan as Cymru created history by qualifying for their first World Cup since 1958.

The song also features the voices of the Cymru squad singing the emotionally charged song in their post-match celebrations with Dafydd Iwan on the pitch following their 1-0 victory over Ukraine that was secured by Gareth Bale’s free kick.

‘Yma o Hyd’ was originally recorded by Dafydd Iwan and Ar Log in 1983 as a passionate song of defiance about the survival of the Welsh language against all the odds. The song’s title translates to ‘We’re Still Here’ and celebrates Welsh as one of the oldest living languages in the world.

The song has become synonymous with the recent success of the Cymru National Teams and Dafydd Iwan has spent time with both the men’s and women’s squads to explain the cultural importance of the song.

“Yma o Hyd has become a national slogan and now the song which gave meaning to it is the official anthem of the Cymru National Team for the World Cup,” commented Dafydd Iwan about the remastered version of his anthem.

“It’s an impossible dream come true and the incredible sound of The Red Wall on this track is exciting and inspiring to hear. This version of Yma o Hyd forever documents a marvellous moment in Welsh history, with all those wonderful voices helping Cymru reach the World Cup with their passion.

“No other nation will have anything like this to inspire their team on the grandest stage of them all. So c’mon Cymru, let us tell the world that we are here.”

Yma o Hyd is out now on Sain Records and is available to stream and download across all major platforms.

A week after the digital release a limited-edition CD will also be available to order (retail price £2.99) through www.sainwales.com, which will also feature the Red Wall rendering of Hen Wlad fy Nhadau, all profits being invested directly into grassroots facilities across Wales.

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