2025 in Wales


Events from the year 2025 in Wales.

Incumbents

Events

January

February

March

  • 2 March – Train fares on Transport for Wales services are scheduled to increase, with off peak and day return tickets increasing by 6%, while single tickets increase by 3% and seven-day season tickets by 3.5%.
  • 3 March – Richard Jones is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years for the July 2024 murder of Sophie Evans, his son's partner, who he wrongly believed had scammed him.
  • 4 March
  • * The Senedd votes 29–28 to approve the Welsh Government's £26bn budget for 2025–26 after Labour secured the support of Liberal Democrat Jane Dodds to achieve a majority.
  • * Oakwood Theme Park, the largest theme park in Wales, announces its closure with immediate effect following a decline in the number of visitors.
  • 7 March
  • * Around 80 people are to be made redundant from the Royal Mint in Llantrisant.
  • * Cardiff Council confirms that the speed limit on four busy roads in the city will be reverted from 20 mph back to 30 mph.
  • * Former Secretary of State for Wales Simon Hart claims that Mark Drakeford, the country's First Minister during the COVID-19 pandemic, "dented people's confidence" in the UK government by claiming successful aspects of the fight against COVID as Welsh Government policy and the unsuccessful as UK government policy.
  • 9 March
  • * Police began a murder investigation after a 40-year-old woman, subsequently named as Joanne Penney, is shot dead at a block of flats in Talbot Green. A man is arrested in connection with the incident.
  • * Following an unseasonably warm spell of weather, the highest temperature of the year so far is recorded at Hawarden in north Wales, with a high of 18.7 °C.
  • 11 March
  • * Police investigating the shooting of Joanne Penney make a further four arrests; they are also investigating the possibility she was killed following a case of mistaken identity.
  • * The Democracy and Boundary Commission has decided that all Senedd seats will have Welsh language only names from 2026.
  • * Donald Trump's niece, Mary Trump, will speak at the 2025 Hay Festival, the event's organisers confirm.
  • 12 March
  • * Data from Public Health Wales indicates an increase in alcohol-related deaths, with 562 deaths in 2023, a 15.6% increase on the previous year.
  • * Anthony Pierce, the former Anglican Bishop of Swansea and Brecon, is sentenced to four years and one month in prison after pleading guilty to the sexual abuse of a boy over a period of five years.
  • * Transport for Wales publishes new images of a proposed £140m upgrade to Cardiff Central railway station.
  • 14 March
  • * A hearing at the Old Bailey sets a trial date of 29 June 2026 for Nathan Gill, who is accused of accepting bribes to make statements in the European Parliament that would have been beneficial to Russia.
  • * At Crown Court, three men are sentenced to eight years and one month in prison after pleading guilty to the attempted kidnapping of Israeli record producer Itay Kashti, who was lured to an isolated farm by the three, who posed as representatives of Polydor Records.
  • 15 March – South Wales Police confirm that five people have been charged in connection with the death of Joanne Penney; four have been charged with murder and a fifth with assisting an offender.
  • 17 March – South Wales Police launch a murder investigation following the disappearance of Charlene Hobbs, a 36-year-old woman from Cardiff, who was last seen in the city in July 2024.
  • 18 March – Six people are remanded in custody in connection with the death of Joanne Penney. A plea hearing is set for 7 July, while a trial could take place at the end of October.
  • 21 March –
  • * Firefighters are dealing with a number of wildfires following a recent spell of unseasonably warm weather.
  • * Wales's first post box to bear King Charles III's Royal cypher is installed next to a delivery office in Severn Street, Welshpool, Powys.
  • * Cardiff and Vale University Health Board imposes a temporary ban on visitors to its hospitals following an outbreak of norovirus.
  • * BBC Radio Wales DJ Aleighcia Scott reaches number one in the iTunes Reggae Chart with her first Welsh-language single, "Dod o'r Galon".
  • * A motorcyclist and pillion passenger are killed in a late night crash in Wrexham.
  • 25 March – An inquest into the death of Joanne Penney hears that she died following a gunshot wound to the chest.
  • 28 March – First Minister Eluned Morgan refuses to give her backing to welfare cuts outlined by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the 2025 spring statement until she has more information about their potential impact, and conforms she has written to Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to request an impact assessment for Wales.
  • 29 March – Launch of the Black Welsh Music Awards, designed to recognise talented black musicians in Wales.
  • 31 March –
  • * The Welsh Government says it will not publish Liz Kendall's response to Eluned Morgan regarding the impact of welfare cuts in Wales.
  • * The Welsh Government publishes legislation to bring control of bus services in Wales back under public control, creating a London-style franchised bus service controlled by Transport for Wales.

April

May

  • 1 May –
  • * A planned strike by staff at Cardiff University is called off after the university said there will be no compulsory redundancies during 2025.
  • * The record is broken for Wales's warmest start to May, with 27 °C recorded at Cardiff's Bute Park.
  • 2 May – The number of people who have fallen ill following a petting session at a farm in Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, rises to 47.
  • 3 May – Hywel Dda University Health Board introduces a new technology that provides pregnant type 1 diabetic women with an artificial pancreas to help regulate their insulin levels.
  • 8 May –
  • * First Minister Eluned Morgan sends Wales's congratulations to the newly elected Pope Leo XIV.
  • * The number of people who have fallen ill following an animal petting session at a farm in the Vale of Glamorgan rises to 74.
  • 13 May – Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says he will not stand in the 2026 Senedd election and has no plans to lead the party in Wales.
  • 14 May – The number of people to fall ill following an animal petting session at a farm in Cowbridge reaches 81.
  • 15 May – Pride Cymru bans the involvement of political parties in its largest pride event, Cardiff Pride, unless they show commitment to transgender rights.
  • 16 May – Welsh Conservatives leader Darren Millar tells his party's annual conference that the Conservatives may need to work with Plaid Cymru or Reform UK to form a government following the next Senedd election.
  • 21 May – Data released by Statistics Wales suggests crashes on roads with 20 mph and 30 mph speed limits are at their lowest since records began.
  • 22 May –
  • * Welsh Labour expels Cardiff councillor Keith Jones after an investigation found he had sexually harassed a teenager.
  • * Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway submits an application to the Office of Rail and Road to operate an open access train service linking Wrexham with London Euston.
  • 23 May –
  • * Corey Gauci is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years for the April 2024 murder of Colin Richards, who was stabbed in the Ely area of Cardiff.
  • * A report by Estyn, the education and training inspectorate for Wales, suggests secondary school attendance levels in Wales may not return to pre-pandemic levels for another decade.
  • * Police begin an investigation following the death of a 16-year-old boy after a "medical episode" at Barry Island Pleasure Park.
  • 26 May – BBC News reports that Gwynedd Council have made an application for the Grade II listed Corbett Arms Hotel in Tywyn, where John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent a holiday as newlyweds in 1969, to be demolished after the building has remained derelict for a decade and parts of it have collapsed.
  • 27 May – Cardiff University backtracks on plans to close its music and modern languages departments.
  • 29 May –
  • * Reform UK win their first local council seat in Wales, when Michelle May Beer wins at a by-election in the Lliedi ward in Llanelli.
  • * Wales has experienced its sunniest spring on record, provisional Met Office indicate, with 648 hours of sunshine between 1 March and 28 May, a figure higher than the UK average of 636.8.
  • * Bangor Cathedral has its spending suspended by its local diocese after the discovery of debts worth several thousand pounds.
  • 30 May –
  • * An upgrade to the A465 road which began in 2002 is finally completed after 23 years, and at a cost of £2bn.
  • * Bangor University is to reconsider cuts to its special collection and archive departments after concerns were raised.

June

  • 3 June
  • * Denbigh High School is evacuated after "potentially harmful chemicals" were found in a science department store cupboard.
  • * Lucy Langmead, a former police administrator with South Wales Police, is sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison for passing confidential information to her drug dealer boyfriend.
  • 5 June – Former workers at a poultry factory in Anglesey are given the go-ahead to proceed with legal action against the factory's parent company over an outbreak of COVID-19 in June 2020.
  • 6 June – Alexander Walker, the youngest member of Rhyl Town Council, is elected as the town's mayor at the age of 25.
  • 9 June
  • * The Royal Welsh Show announces a ban on English livestock from the 2025 event because of the spread of bluetongue disease.
  • * Engineering work begins on overhead power cables in the Severn Tunnel linking England and Wales by rail, reducing train services until 20 June.
  • 10 June – Teachers in Wales are offered a 4% pay rise, but unions express their dismay that the offer is below the 4.8% recommended by the Independent Welsh Pay Review Body.
  • 11 June – 2025 Spending Review: Funding for five new railway stations in Cardiff, Newport and Monmouthshire are announced as part of the Spending Review, as well as upgrades to the existing rail network in Wales.
  • 12 June
  • * Restrictions are to be placed on bringing livestock from England to Wales due to the spread of the bluetongue virus.
  • * North Wales Police confirm that two women have been killed during an incident in Snowdonia National Park the previous evening during which both were pulled from the pools on the Watkin Path.
  • 13 June – Alexander Dighton, who attempted to murder a police officer with a Molotov cocktail during an incident outside Talbot Green police station in January 2025, is sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 22 years by the Old Bailey.
  • 18 June – An inquest is opened and adjourned into the deaths of two sisters who drowned at Snowdonia National Park on 11 June.
  • 19 June
  • * Wales becomes the first part of the UK to ban wet wipes containing plastic after the Senedd votes to make their sale illegal from December 2026.
  • * Firefighters tackle a fire in the Conwy Tunnel on the A55 after a vehicle catches fire.
  • 22 June – Former Pembrokeshire councillor Andrew Edwards is disqualified from holding public office for four years over a racist voice note he posted on WhatsApp.
  • 24 June – A report by Arts Council Wales warns that Welsh folk music could be extinct within a generation unless the situation is urgently addressed.
  • 26 June – Protection zones are put in place following the discovery of bird flu at poultry farms in Haverfordwest and Wrexham.
  • 27 June – Andrew John announces his retirement from the post of Archbishop of Wales with immediate effect.
  • 28 June – The Welsh Government announces that smokers and ex-smokers aged between 55 and 74 will be offered screening for lung cancer.

July

  • 1 July – Dyfed-Powys Police recover the body of Labour Party peer Lord David Lipsey from the River Wye at Glasbury, Powys, after receiving a concerned call about a man swimming in the river the previous day.
  • 2 July – A report by the Senedd Standards Commission finds that First Minister Eluned Morgan failed to declare a donation from the Unite union.
  • 3 July – Student Evan Powell, who in October 2024, broke into the homes of three Swansea women while they slept and watched them sleeping, is sentenced to five years in prison by Swansea Crown Court, together with a further four years on extended licence.
  • 5 July – A new water park is scheduled to open at Cosmeston Country Park in the Vale of Glamorgan.
  • 6 July – BBC News reports that Reform UK would be highly unlikely to introduce an insurance based healthcare system in Wales should it win the 2026 Senedd election, largely because of the timescale and potential legal implications of doing so.
  • 8 July – Members of the Senedd vote to approve a tourism tax for accommodation in Wales that would see a daily fee of £1.30 added to the cost of staying overnight in Wales.
  • 9 July – Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens says public services in Wales will not face cuts despite a shortfall in covering a rise in employers' National Insurance contributions. Her comments follow a warning from Welsh Government Finance Secretary Mark Drakeford, who warned Wales was facing a £36m financial black hole.
  • 12 July – 2025 United Kingdom heatwaves: Train services between Pontypridd, Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare are cancelled after rail tracks buckle in the heat, affecting concertgoers travelling to a Stereophonics concert in Cardiff.
  • 13 July – Train services continue to be disrupted after heat damage to tracks the previous day.
  • 14 July – Former Conservative MP Jamie Wallis is given a fine and a community order for her ex-wife.
  • 15 July –
  • * Following a trial at Mold Crown Court, Michael and Kerry Ives are found guilty of the murder of their two-year-old grandson, Ethan Ives-Griffiths, after he suffered "catastrophic" head injuries at their home in Garden City, Flintshire, in August 2021. Ethan's mother, Shannon Ives, is found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a child.
  • * ASDA is fined £640,000 for selling a number of out-of-date items, some as much as two weeks past their sell by date, at two of their stores in Cardiff.
  • 16 July –
  • * A further two people are charged in connection with the death of Joanne Penney in March.
  • * Plaid Cymru says it will hold a Wales-specific inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic if it forms a government after the 2026 Senedd election.
  • 18 July
  • * Terminal 3 of Holyhead Port, one of two terminals at the site damaged by Storm Darragh in December 2024, is scheduled to reopen following a number of delays.
  • * Sir Wayne David announces he is standing down as chief special adviser to Eluned Morgan for health reasons.
  • 19 July
  • * An eleventh person is charged in connection with the death of Joanne Penney.
  • * Former rugby union player Alun Wyn Jones is made an honorary colonel of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Welsh by King Charles III.
  • * Caerphilly Castle reopens after two years of renovations costing £8m.
  • 21 July – Following the publication of a review by the Independent Water Commission, the UK government announces the water regulator Ofwat is to be scrapped, with new separate bodies created for England and Wales to replace it. The Welsh Government must decide whether responsibility should fall to Natural Resources Wales, which regulates Welsh Water over pollution, or if a newly created body.
  • 22 July – Welsh Conservative member of the Senedd Laura Anne Jones joins Reform UK.
  • 24 July – People in Wales with health conditions that prevent them from eating gluten are to be given debit-style cards preloaded with money to help pay for their food under a new scheme starting later in the year. The scheme replaces the current system where they receive food on prescription from their pharmacy.
  • 25 July – Jacqueline Totterdell is appointed as the next chief executive of NHS Wales, and is expected to succeed Judith Paget at the end of September.
  • 30 July – The Most Reverend Cherry Vann is named as the new Archbishop of Wales, becoming the first woman elected as an Anglican archbishop in the UK and the first openly gay and partnered bishop to serve as a primate in the Anglican Communion.
  • 31 July – Tata Steel is fined £1.5m over the death of contractor Justin Day, who was crushed to death while working at the Port Talbot plant in September 2019.

August

  • 1 August – The Baptist Union of Wales confirms that a campaign group set up to save Capel Rhondda in Hopkinstown, Rhondda Cynon Taf, where the hymn "Cwm Rhondda" was first performed in December 1907, will be allowed to buy the building.
  • 2 August – Police have arrested seven people in Newport following a violent disturbance in the town the previous day. They are subsequently charged with violent disorder.
  • 4 August – Owain Rhys wins the Crown at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham.
  • 5 August – Plans are unveiled for a 50-storey building in Cardiff, which if approved, would become Wales's tallest, and the UK's second tallest.
  • 8 August
  • * Michael O'Brien, one of three men wrongly convicted of the 1987 killing of Cardiff newsagent Phillip Saunders, loses a legal case in which he sought to reclaim money charged for his bed and board during the eleven years he spent in prison.
  • * New members of the Gorsedd inducted at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham include Mark Lewis Jones, Rhun ap Iorwerth and Maxine Hughes.
  • 12 August
  • * Police launch an investigation after a group of children were filmed at a scouting camp in Caerphilly after being mistaken for asylum seekers, then subjected to online abuse when the footage was posted on social media.
  • * A double heatwave is forecast for parts of Wales, with temperatures reaching 33 °C on Tuesday 12 August, then rising again towards the weekend after a cooler period.
  • * A planned three week strike by Unite members at Cardiff Bus starting on 17 August is called off after staff received a better pay offer.
  • 13 August – Thirteen children and one adult receive minor injuries after an accident involving a ride at Coney Beach Pleasure Park in Porthcawl.
  • 14 August – Natural Resources Wales declares a drought in parts of Wales following the driest six-month period since 1976.
  • 14 August – At a by-election in Grangetown the Green Party wins their first ever seat on Cardiff Council and their first ever by-election win in Wales.
  • 16 August – A 36-year-old man dies after falling from Mount Snowdon.
  • 19 August – Beachgoers are warned not to venture into the sea at Llandudno's West Shore after harmful levels of bacteria were found in the water.
  • 20 August – Former Conservative MP Sarah Atherton leaves the party, describing it as "impotent" and something that "no longer aligns" with her "values or ideology", and announces plans to stand in the 2026 Senedd election.
  • 26 August – An inquest opens into the death of Welsh Labour Senedd member Hefin David.
  • 27 August – A multi-agency report into a girl who stabbed a pupil and two teachers at Amman Valley School in Carmarthen, finds that she would have benefited from "targeted help" if "information had been fully shared and assessed".
  • 29 August – A drought is declared in North Wales following the driest six months since 1976.
  • 30 August – Figures published by Wales's fire services indicates the number of wildfires during 2025 has surpassed the number of wildfires in 2020.
  • August – Two pots containing between 10,000 and 15,000 Roman coins were found by metal detectorists in Wales, probably the largest such find in the country ever.

September

October

November

  • 2 November – Gwent Police report that a nine-month-old baby has been killed by a dog attack in Monmouthshire. The dog responsible is later confirmed to have been an American XL bully.
  • 4 November
  • * The Welsh Government publishes plans for providers of self-catering accommodation in Wales to obtain a licence showing they have met certain safety standards.
  • * Heavy rain brings flooding to parts of Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Swansea.
  • 5–6 November – A major incident is declared in parts of south west Wales as a result of floods caused by heavy rain. A severe flood warning continues in place for a caravan park in Tenby and parts of Carmarthen.
  • 7 November – The Independent Office for Police Conduct announces that six officers from Gwent Police will face a misconduct process over their actions after it took them two days to find a car that had crashed and killed three people in March 2023.
  • 8 November –
  • * Votes for the 2026 Senedd election will be counted the day after election day rather than overnight after the polls close.
  • * Robert James and Sean Morgan, two former Labour council leaders, of Carmarthen and Caerphilly respectively, defect to the Green Party.
  • 10 November – The Unite union announces that bus drivers at First Cymru will stage a two-month strike from 20 November in a row over pay.
  • 11 November – A yellow weather alert is in place for heavy rain in Wales.
  • 12 November – The Senedd Standards Commission recommends Laura Anne Jones, the Senedd's only Reform UK member, face a two-week suspension from the chamber for her use of a racial slur against Chinese people in a WhatsApp group in August 2023, while she was a member of the Welsh Conservatives.
  • 14 November – A man is charged following an investigation into a fake admiral at a wreath-laying ceremony in Llandudno on 9 December.
  • 15 November
  • * A major incident is declared in Monmouth following severe and widespread flooding caused by Storm Claudia.
  • * An 18-year-old man is charged with the murder of 17-year-old Lainie Williams and the attempted murder of another woman at a property in Cefn Fforest in Caerphilly on 13 November.
  • 18 November – At a hearing at Mold Crown Court, Miles Cross pleads guilty to four counts of intentionally committing an act capable of encouraging or assisting suicide after selling chemicals online that could be used as a suicide aide.
  • 19 November – Laura Anne Jones is suspended from the Senedd chamber for 14 days for breaking the parliamentary code over her use of a racial slur in a WhatsApp message.
  • 20 November –
  • *At a hearing at the Old Bailey, Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, pleads guilty to eight counts of bribery relating to a pro-Russian influence campaign in the European Parliament during 2018 and 2019.
  • *COVID-19 in Wales: Publication of the second report by the COVID-19 Inquiry, which describes the Welsh Government's initial response to the pandemic as "inadequate", and says ministers were "overly reliant" on the UK government to take the lead.
  • *Snow and ice causes disruption across Wales, with several hundred homes without power and a number of schools closed for the day.
  • 21 November –
  • *At the Old Bailey, Nathan Gill, former UKIP and later Reform UK leader in Wales, is sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for accepting Russian bribes while in the European Parliament during 2018 and 2019.
  • *Around 60 schools are closed as snow and ice continues to cause disruption, and after overnight temperatures fell to as low as −6°C.
  • 24 November – A study published by Natural Resources Wales reveals a list of endangered species in Wales. It includes the high brown fritillary butterfly and Snowdon leaf beetle.
  • 27 November – A hearing in Cardiff rules that plans introduced by Cyngor Gwynedd in September 2024 that required a planning application for properties to be turned into second homes or holiday lets is unlawful.
  • 28 November – Former Swansea headteacher James Richards, who exposed himself to other staff members while on a school trip, is banned from teaching in Wales for at least 15 years.
  • 29 November – An amber weather alert for heavy rain is issued for south Wales on Monday 1 December.
  • 30 November – Public Health Wales launches an investigation after a number of cases of acute respiratory infections associated with Blaenhonddan Primary School in Bryncoch, Neath.

December

  • 1 December – Heavy rain causes some disruption, with an amber weather alert for south Wales and a yellow alert for north Wales.
  • 2 December – Plaid Cymru confirms it is in talks with Welsh Labour over the Welsh Government's budget.
  • 5 December
  • *Joe Cooper is sacked as Director of Music at Bangor Cathedral following a disciplinary hearing over an inappropriate song performed by a choir on 31 August as part of a protest about cuts.
  • *Holyhead Port temporarily closes Terminal 5 following a "berthing incident" involving a ferry during severe weather.
  • 9 December – The Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru agree a deal to pass the Welsh budget after an agreement to supply more money to local authorities and healthcare.
  • 10 December – It is reported that 43 people have fallen ill from food poisoning after eating a Sunday lunch at a pub in Llangynwyd near Bridgend.
  • 12 December – Two people are killed following an explosion in the garden of a house in Caerphilly.
  • 14 December – The Met Office issues separate weather warnings for north, mid and south Wales ahead of heavy rain on 15 December, with concerns it could cause extensive flooding.
  • 15 December – Heavy rain and flooding causes widespread disruption, with some "possible risk to life" warnings in place.
  • 17 December –
  • *An 86-year-old man is arrested in connection with the 1993 shooting of Harry and Megan Tooze at their farmhouse in Llanharry.
  • *Teacher Patrick Lawler, who described Islam as "satanic" and told pupils that "cocaine was purer back in the day", is found guilty of professional misconduct by the Teaching Regulation Agency.
  • 19 December – At a hearing at Swansea Crown Court, Michelle Mills and her lover Geraint Berry are sentenced to 19 years in prison for conspiracy to murder Mills' husband Christopher, who was attacked in a caravan by two masked men.
  • 24 December – The Met Office issues a yellow weather warning for high winds for much of Wales on Christmas Day.
  • 25 December – Around 1,800 people participate in the annual Christmas Day swim at Porthcawl to mark the event's 60th anniversary, despite warnings of 85mph winds.
  • 29 December – Jonathan Davies receives the CBE in the 2026 New Year Honours list issued today. Other Welsh recipients include Gabby Logan, campaigner Marcus Fair and wildlife photographer Sue Flood.
  • 31 December – A yellow weather warning for ice and snow is issued for parts of Wales on Friday 2 January.

Arts and culture

  • National Eisteddfod of Wales
  • * Crown: Owain Rhys
  • * Chair: Tudur Hallam
  • * Drama Medal: Greta Siôn – Presennol
  • * Prose Medal: Bryn Jones
  • * Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen: Peredur Glyn Cwyfan Webb-Davies, ''Anfarwol''

Music

Albums

Film

English language films

Havoc, written and directed by Gareth Evans, starring Tom HardyMadfabulous, directed by Celyn Jones, starring Callum Scott Howells

Welsh language films

  • ''Hud y Lleisiau Bach''

Broadcasting

English language television

Cleddau/The One That Got Away, starring Richard Harrington. Welsh version shown on S4C in 2024.Death Valley, starring Timothy Spall and Gwyneth Keyworth

Welsh language television

Tŷ Ffit
  • ''Ruth Ellis: Y Cariad a'r Crogi''

Radio

Sport

Holidays

''see Public holidays in Wales''

Deaths