The Urdd’s Centenary Year

A total of 118,000 – the highest ever number of people – were welcomed through the gates of the Urdd Eisteddfod in Denbighshire. Thanks to additional support from the Welsh Government entry to the 2022 was free and thousands of competitors stepped onto the three pavilion stages as the Urdd offered a ‘Stage for All’ to competitors for the first time. The week came to an end with the Triban Festival, the biggest reunion of the century and the largest national arts event for young people in Wales since the start of the pandemic.

The Mistar Urdd selfie bench travelled to various locations and events across Wales in 2022. The unique bench was launched on Yr Wyddfa and then travelled to Aberystwyth, the National Eisteddfod, Carmarthen, Newport and even visited the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham during the centenary year.

World Champions from sports including BMX, Skateboarding, Wheelchair Basketball, Scootering and Breakin’ all came to Cardiff in June to compete at Wales’s first Urban Games competition. The event took place at Roald Dahl Plass during 17-18 June, giving children and young people the opportunity to compete, watch and take part in the sports alongside world champions.

The Urdd’s International projects went from strength to strength in 2022 with members traveling to Alabama, Ireland, Philadelphia, Qatar, Dubai and New Zealand during the centenary year.

Over Easter, the Urdd’s choir travelled to Alabama, USA to perform, continuing our partnership with the city of Birmingham, Alabama. Urdd members collaborated on the third Welsh/Irish project with TG Lurgan youth from Ireland. In August, four ambassadors went to Philadelphia to perform at the North American Wales Festival; and to end the year the Urdd’s girl’s rugby team competed in the World School Sevens tournament in New Zealand – the first time for a team from Wales to compete in the competition.

Thanks to a £1 million investment (over a period of 5 years) from the Welsh Government, the Urdd Youth Theatre Company was relaunched in October 2022, led by Branwen Davies.

The Urdd supported the national football team with the Team Wales 2022 campaign during the World Cup. Football and cultural sessions were organised at 23 of the Wales squad’s former primary schools in England and Wales as part of the tour. A team of staff and ambassadors travelled to Doha and Dubai to give sports and cultural sessions at some of the schools, and the Urdd’s choir and other artists performed to international audiences, sharing our language and culture at events and various locations in Doha.

In November, almost a quarter of a million children from across Wales came together on Zoom to sing along and show their support to the Welsh football team at the World Cup Jambori. The highlight of the event was singing Yma o Hyd live with Dafydd Iwan. The event was organised by the Urdd in partnership with Stwnsh Sadwrn, BBC Cymru, S4C, the FAW and the Welsh Government.