Cân i Gymru


Cân i Gymru is a Welsh-language television talent competition that is broadcast annually on S4C. It was first introduced in 1969 when BBC Cymru wanted to enter the Eurovision Song Contest. The winner of the contest represents Wales at the annual Pan Celtic Festival held in Ireland and is also awarded a cash prize.
WWW Official Site

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 , for the first time in 1969. At the time, Meredydd Evans, head of light entertainment at BBC Cymru Wales, hoped that the winning song would be able to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest, 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 under the title Song for Wales and was presented by Ronnie Williams 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 Pan Celtic Festival in Ireland in the early 1970s 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 and was broadcast on BBC Radio Cymru.
By 1982 the competition was back on television but a panel still chose the winner. In later years, the winning song was chosen by a vote where members of the public phone for their favorite song. Due to techinical issues in 2024, this vote was moved online in 2025. In 2024, the prize was £5,000 with £3,000 for second place and £2,000 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.

Hostings

YearLocationPresenterProduction companyBroadcaster
1969NewportRonnie WilliamsBBC Cymru WalesBBC1
1970CardiffRonnie WilliamsBBC Cymru WalesBBC1 Wales
1971CardiffBBC Cymru WalesBBC1 Wales
1972CardiffBBC Cymru WalesBBC1 Wales
1974CardiffDewi MorrisBBC Cymru WalesBBC1 Wales
1975CardiffHywel GwynfrynBBC Cymru WalesBBC1 Wales
1976CardiffBBC Cymru WalesBBC1 Wales
1977CardiffBBC Cymru WalesBBC1 Wales
1978CardiffBBC Cymru WalesBBC1 Wales
1979CardiffArfon Haines DaviesHTV ProductionsHTV
1980Aberystwyth and BBC Cymru WalesBBC Radio Cymru
1981MoldGwyn ErfylHTV ProductionsHTV
1982Cardiff and Emyr WynBBC Cymru WalesBBC1 Wales
1983CardiffEmyr WynBBC Cymru WalesS4C
1984CardiffEmyr WynBBC Cymru WalesS4C
1985CardiffEmyr WynBBC Cymru WalesS4C
1986CardiffMargaret WilliamsBBC Cymru WalesS4C
1987LlandudnoCaryl Parry JonesS4C
1988LlandudnoGeraint GriffithsS4C
1989LlandudnoNia RobertsS4C
1990CaernarfonAlaw Bennett Jones and Owain GwilymS4C
1991CaernarfonNia RobertsS4C
1992CaernarfonNia RobertsS4C
1993CaernarfonNia RobertsS4C
1994CardiffNia Roberts and Stifyn ParriHTV ProductionsS4C
1995PontrhydfendigaidNia RobertsApolloS4C
1996PontrhydfendigaidNia RobertsApolloS4C
1997PontrhydfendigaidNia RobertsApolloS4C
1998CardiffNia RobertsApolloS4C
1999CorwenNia Roberts and Dafydd MeredyddApolloS4C
2000LlangollenNia Roberts and Dafydd MeredyddApolloS4C
2001LlangollenNia Roberts and Dafydd MeredyddApolloS4C
2002Port TalbotLisa Gwilym, and Angharad LlwydApolloS4C
2003Port TalbotLisa Gwilym, and Angharad LlwydApolloS4C
2004NewportSarra ElganApolloS4C
2005NewportSarra Elgan and Alun WilliamsApolloS4C
2006Port TalbotSarra Elgan and Hefin ThomasAvantiS4C
2007Port TalbotEleri Siôn and Dafydd MeredyddAvantiS4C
2008Port TalbotSarra Elgan and Rhydian Bowen PhillipsAvantiS4C
2009LlandudnoRhodri Owen and Sarra ElganAvantiS4C
2010LlandudnoRhodri Owen and Sarra ElganAvantiS4C
2011PontrhydfendigaidElin Fflur and Dafydd MeredyddAvantiS4C
2012PontrhydfendigaidElin Fflur and Dafydd MeredyddAvantiS4C
2013CardiffElin Fflur and Dafydd MeredyddAvantiS4C
2014GwalchmaiElin Fflur and Gethin EvansAvantiS4C
2015GwalchmaiElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2016CardiffElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2017CardiffElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2018BangorElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2019AberystwythElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2020AberystwythElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2021CardiffElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2022AberystwythElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2023AberystwythElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2024SwanseaElin Fflur and AvantiS4C
2025BridgendElin Fflur and AvantiS4C