''Cân i Gymru'' (English: ''A Song for Wales'', ) is a Welsh television show broadcast on

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

annually. It was first introduced in 1969 when

BBC Cymru BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is b ...

wanted to enter the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

. It has taken place every year since, except in 1973. The winner of the contest represents Wales at the annual

Pan Celtic Festival The Pan Celtic Festival ( ga, Féile Pan Cheilteach) is a Celtic-language music festival held annually in the week following Easter, since its inauguration in 1971. The first Pan Celtic Festival took place in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland. I ...

held in Ireland and is also awarded a cash prize (which varies from year to year).

History

''Cân i Gymru'' was presented to Wales under the name ''Cân Disc a Dawn'', a competition based around the Welsh language pop music show ' (as seen on Victor Lewis Smith's '' TV Offal''), for the first time in 1969. At the time,

Meredydd Evans Meredydd Evans (9 December 1919 – 21 February 2015), known colloquially as Merêd, was a collector, editor, historian and performer of folk music of Wales. A major figure in Welsh media for over half a century, Evans has been described as influe ...

, head of light entertainment at

BBC Cymru Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is b ...

, hoped that the winning song would be able to compete in the

, although the BBC in London decided in the end that only one song from Britain would compete. Eight programmes were broadcast in the series to select a Song for Wales with seven songs in each, performed by well-known singers of the time. The public voted by sending in letters and the song with the most votes went through to the final. The last programme was broadcast on 5 June 1969 throughout Britain on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

under the title ''Song for Wales'' and was presented by

Ronnie Williams Ronald Clive Williams (29 March 1939 28 December 1997) was a Welsh actor and comedian, who remains best known for his association with Ryan Davies during the 1970s. Ronnie Williams began his career as an actor, but struggled for recognition, ...

in Welsh and English. A panel then chose the winning song on the night. The programme was also part of the BBC's provision for the Investiture of Prince Charles which would take place on 1 July 1969. Following the establishment of the

in Ireland in the early 1970's the Festival's Wales Committee started the ''Cân i Gymru'' competition once again in order to choose a song to represent Wales in the Celtavision competition. There was no competition in 1973. Initially the media in Wales did not have much interest in the competition. ''Cân i Gymru'' was not broadcast live on television, and a panel voted to choose the winners. For example the 1980 competition was held at Bar Cefn yr Angel in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location i ...

and was broadcast on

BBC Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio network owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts on two stations across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and online. The main network broadcasts for hours a day from ...

. By 1982 the competition was back on television but a panel still chose the winner. The winning song is now chosen by a vote where members of the public phone for their favorite song. In 2019, the prize was £5,000 with £2,000 for second place and £1,000 for third place. The winner has the opportunity to go on to compete in Celtavision, held in Ireland as part of the Pan Celtic Festival. Unlike the majority of singing competitions in Europe, the emphasis is on the composer of the song rather than the performer. A compilation album was released in 2005 by Welsh record label Sain containing all the tracks that won the competition from its inception in 1969 to 2005. This was followed by individual compilation albums for the 2006 and 2007 competitions, both of which were released by TPF Records.

Winners by year

Hostings

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Can I Gymru 1960s Welsh television series 1969 British television series debuts 1970s Welsh television series 1980s Welsh television series 1990s Welsh television series 2000s Welsh television series 2010s Welsh television series 2020s Welsh television series Annual events in Wales British music television shows Music competitions in the United Kingdom S4C original programming Singing competitions Song contests Welsh-language music Welsh-language television shows Welsh television shows BBC Cymru Wales television shows Television shows produced by Harlech Television (HTV)

History

Winners by year

Hostings

See also

References

External links