The Urdd Choir: Aelwyd Hafodwenog travells to Lyon

Over 40 members of the Urdd travelled to Lyon to represent the organsiation and Wales ahead of the game against Australia.

In the lead-up to the game, the choir was invited to the Rugby Village to perform to locals, and fans from Wales and Australia. The choir raised the atmosphere in the Rugby Village with their energetic clogg dancing (dawnsio clocsio), and left the audience feeling very emotional with their beautiful performances of Calon Lân and the Welsh language version of 'World in Union'.

After a successful day at the Rugby Village, the choir then got the special opportunity to perform to the Welsh Rugby team and their families as they left the hotel for the game. This is what one of the choir members had to say about the experience:

"Everyone was extremely excited about the game and the experience of being able to sing for the team just before the match was quite emotional."

And of course, to conclude the special day - everyone travelled to the stadium to experience Wales winning against Australia in the World Cup!

Before travelling home, the choir visited a local school in Lyon where they performed for the young people and then taught them how to sing the Welsh anthem and a bit traditional Welsh folk dancing. It was an unforgettable experience to share the Welsh language and culture with young people in France.

Chwarae Yn Gymraeg: Lorient a Nantes

As part of the preparations for the Wales v Georgia match in Nantes, 'Chwarae Yn Gymraeg' (Play in Welsh) sessions were held in primary schools in Lorient and Nantes by the Urdd's sports and arts staff. Created by the Urdd, 'Chwarae yn Gymraeg' is a program that introduces the Welsh language and culture to children in a fun and interactive way: through play and various activities.

Over a week the Urdd staff visited 8 schools in Brittany. It was a special for all involved - sharing the Welsh language and Welsh culture with children and teachers from Lorient and Nantes, but also learn more about Breton culture and traditions.

Following the success of the visit, the Urdd is eager to develop its relationship with Brittany, with the hope of traveling there again soon.

Lorient Interceltique Festival

As part of the Urdd's international projects that share our language and culture, three of the Urdd's projects will travel to the Lorient Interceltique festival which takes place from 12-18 August. The festival attracts over 700,000 visitors annually to enjoy Celtic music and culture. The theme of this year's festival is youth, and the Urdd has for the first time been invited to be part of this.

Following an open application process, Aelwyd yr Ynys was selected as the successful choir that will perform in the Urdd's name at the festival. And thanks to the financial support of the TAITH scheme, two other Urdd projects will have the opportunity to travel, which are Twmpdaith and the Plethu Project.  

Twmpdaith is a project organised by the 'Project Eight' scheme to promote traditional Welsh dancing amongst a younger audience in Wales. The scheme was trialled in 2023 and is back again this year offering 9 young musicians the opportunity to work over the summer months in Wales hosting various Twmpath across Wales with the culmination of travelling to Lorient to perform and learn from some of the other Celtic traditions. 

The Plethu Project bring together groups of young people across Wales to collaborate and experiment with the arts to create performances and art. These two projects are Fitzalan High School and Clocsiwyr Conwy, interweaving project which weaves traditional Welsh stripping with Bollywood and Roma dancing. The rhythms, and various patterns create a feast for the eyes and ears. The group of young people have shared their own traditions to create a contemporary assortment that showcases identity.