Football Association of Wales

FAW ANNOUNCES GŴYL CYMRU FESTIVAL – A FESTIVAL OF CREATIVITY AND CULTURE UNITING THE RED WALL

CARDIFF: The FAW today announces Gŵyl Cymru Festival, a 10-day* creative event to bring communities together as part of the nation’s support for Cymru during their FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign in Qatar.

Gŵyl Cymru Festival, starting 19 November, aims to unify and amplify the wealth of arts,
music and events being created for Cymru’s historic World Cup journey – in locations across
Wales and beyond. By creating spaces and opportunities for people to come together to
celebrate the national team’s sporting success, Gŵyl Cymru Festival will also introduce new
audiences to Welsh arts, culture and language – ensuring a cultural legacy to the FIFA World
Cup 2022.
Key to the festival is supporting independent grassroots venues – and community
organisations, football clubs, and venues are now invited to curate their own programme of
events, workshops and performances to become part of the ambitious creative festival.
Football Association of Wales CEO, Noel Mooney said: “The FAW are proud to be
utilising our incredible World Cup campaign to work with grassroots independent
venues through Gŵyl Cymru Festival. In collaboration with our fantastic partners, we
are calling on arts centres, music venues, football clubs and community enterprises
across Wales to join us in the support of our Cymru Men’s national team.
“The Gŵyl Cymru Festival events can range from live music events in front of 100’s to
art workshops or Q&A’s and comedy sets with 20 attendees. We can’t wait to see
those across Wales join together in support of the Cymru team.”
Gŵyl Cymru Festival is supported by the Welsh Government’s World Cup Partner Support
Fund.
Minister for Economy, Vaughan Gething MS said: “The FIFA World Cup offers a
historic opportunity to promote Wales. The Gŵyl Cymru Festival will build excitement
for the tournament in Qatar and unite Cymru behind the team with a celebration of our
wonderful culture and heritage. I am delighted the Welsh Government is supporting
what promises to be a truly unique event.”

The open call is for any venue or organisation, in Wales and around the world, who are
showing the Wales fixtures to submit their event details to join Gŵyl Cymru, and any activity
within the arts world is applicable – from music gigs, comedy nights or film screenings to
children’s activities, literary sessions and art workshops.
Elan Evans, Promoter at Clwb Ifor Bach said: “Music venues across the country have
suffered since Covid-19, and are still in a period of uncertainty with the cost of living
crisis, so we’re extremely grateful to the FAW for supporting grassroots venues and
independent businesses with this festival. It’s amazing to see the national men’s team
going to the World Cup, and I hope we all get a chance to come together to celebrate
their success and to enjoy a modern and inclusive range of Welsh arts and culture
across Cymru.”
By signing up on the website – gwyl.cymru – activities and events will be listed in a directory
and promoted as part of the festival online. Organisers will also gain access to a digital
toolkit, marketing material, videos, playlists, social media assets and art activities. The
closing date for submissions is 19 October.
The event is co-produced by the FAW and The Arts Council of Wales, with Nick Davies
appointed as World Cup Arts Producer.
Nick Davies said: “This is a special moment for football in Wales – and also for Welsh
culture. The world is watching so we want to create and promote events that best
represent what Cymru is about – events that are inclusive, celebratory and fun, that
people from all our communities can engage in.”
Lleucu Siencyn, Director Arts Development, Arts Council of Wales said: “The Arts
Council of Wales is delighted to be working in partnership with the FAW on this
unique nationwide festival of the arts. Nothing quite like this has taken place in Wales
before! This is a fantastic opportunity for the arts sector to be part of the celebrations
across our communities, creating long-lasting links between culture and sport in a
fun and accessible way. We are grateful to the Welsh Government and the good
causes fund of the National Lottery for supporting this programme.”