2002 in Wales
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| See also: | List of years in Wales Timeline of Welsh history
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This article is about the particular significance of the year 2002 to Wales and its people.
Incumbents[edit]
- First Minister – Rhodri Morgan[1]
- Secretary of State for Wales
- Paul Murphy (until 24 October)[2]
- Peter Hain
- Archbishop of Wales – Rowan Williams, Bishop of Monmouth (translated)
- Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
- Meirion Evans (outgoing)[3]
- Robyn Llŷn (incoming)
Events[edit]
- In the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons poll,[4] those with a Welsh connection who finished in the top 100 were:
- Diana, Princess of Wales – 3
- Elizabeth I of England – 7
- Owain Glyndŵr – 23
- Henry VIII of England – 40
- Aneurin Bevan – 45
- Henry V of England – 72
- Richard Burton – 96
- 14 February – at the Ogmore by-election, the Labour Party candidate Huw Irranca-Davies holds the seat held by Sir Ray Powell until his death[5]
- 13 March – The ferry MS Stena Europe is introduced on the Fishguard–Rosslare route.[6]
- April – Welsh Assembly Government concessionary travel scheme (‘Cerdyn Cymru’) entitles over-60s and registered disabled people to uniform free off-peak travel on all stage carriage bus services.
- May – H & Claire release their debut single.
- May 25 – Jessica Garlick represents the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Estonia.[7]
- June
- Archaeologists discover the Newport ship.
- DNA from the exhumed body of Joe Kappen proves beyond reasonable doubt that he was responsible for the murders of three teenage girls in 1973.
- June 18 – Cowbridge businessman Peter Shaw is kidnapped while working in Tbilisi, Georgia. He is held in brutal conditions until he escapes in November.
- June 28 – David Morris receives four life sentences for the Clydach murders of June 1999. Despite his having been a suspect days after the murder was committed, it had taken police 21 months to arrest and charge him.
- July
- Research reveals that Wales has the highest figures for company failures of any region of the UK.
- Ebbw Vale Steelworks shut down.
- August – "Barney" saves his owners' lives by warning them of a fire at their home in Wrexham.
- August 5 – Rowan Williams is admitted to the Gorsedd of bards.
- October – Archaeological excavations on a Bronze Age site recover the Banc Ty'nddôl sun-disc, one of the earliest gold objects found in Wales.
- October 24 – Paul Murphy is appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Arts and literature[edit]
- Teenage actor Gethin Rhys Williams is killed in an accident in Spain.
- Connie Fisher wins the Wilbert Lloyd Roberts Scholarship in the National Eisteddfod "Songs from the Shows" competition.
- Menna Elfyn is named Poet Laureate for the Children of Wales.
Awards[edit]
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – Myrddin ap Dafydd
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – Aled Jones Lewis
- National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – O! Tyn y Gorchudd – Hunangofiant Rebecca Jones by Angharad Price
- Wales Book of the Year:
- English language: Stevie Davies, The Element of Water[8]
- Welsh language:
- Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen – Eirug Wyn[9]
- John Tripp Prize for Spoken Poetry – Cliff Forshaw
New books[edit]
English language[edit]
- Richard J. Evans – Telling Lies About Hitler
- Ken Follett – Hornet Flight
- Steve Jones – The Descent of Men
- Jo Mazelis – Diving Girls
- Jan Morris – A Writer's House in Wales
- Steve Strange – Blitzed! The Autobiography of Steve Strange
- Rachel Trezise – In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl
- Rowan Williams – Arius – Heresy and Tradition
Welsh language[edit]
- Grahame Davies – Cadwyni Rhyddid
- Angharad Price – O! Tyn y Gorchudd
- Eirug Wyn – Bitsh[9]
Drama[edit]
- Dic Edwards – Franco's Bastard[10]
Film[edit]
- Christian Bale stars in Laurel Canyon.
- Anthony Hopkins plays Hannibal Lecter for the third time, in Red Dragon.
Welsh-language films[edit]
- Gwyfyn.[11]
- Oedd yr Addewid
Music[edit]
- 3SL – "Take it Easy" (single)
- Carreg Lafar – Profiad (album)[12]
- Feeder – Comfort In Sound (album)
- Mclusky – Mclusky Do Dallas
- Bonnie Tyler – Heart & Soul/Heart Strings (album)
Broadcasting[edit]
English-language television[edit]
- Cable TV (chat show with Stuart Cable)[13]
Welsh-language television[edit]
Sport[edit]
BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year[edit]
2002 Commonwealth Games[edit]
- 25 July to 4 August – At the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, the Wales team wins a total of 31 medals: 6 gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze.
Cycling[edit]
- Andrew Windsor wins the Welsh National Road Race Championships.
Football[edit]
- John Fashanu becomes Chairman of Barry Town.
- Barry Town are Welsh Cup winners after beating Bangor City 4–1, and win a sixth League of Wales title.
- Winners of the three divisions in the Welsh Football League are: Ton Pentre (Division 1), Garden Village (Division 2) & Newport YMCA (Division 3).
- Welshpool Town are champions of the Cymru Alliance.
Horse racing[edit]
- 27 December – The Welsh National is won by Mini Sensation, ridden by Tony Dobbin.[16]
Rugby union[edit]
- December – Brynmawr RFC and Abertillery RFC withdraw from the Principality Cup, after the Welsh Rugby Union makes an error during the live radio draw for the fifth round.[17]
Snooker[edit]
- 27 January – Paul Hunter wins the Welsh Open tournament in Cardiff.[18]
- 3 March – Mark Williams wins the China Open tournament in Shanghai.[19]
- 15 December – Mark Williams wins his second UK Championship title.[20]
Births[edit]
- 23 February – Emilia Jones, actress, daughter of Aled Jones
- 15 September – Medi Harris, swimmer[21]
- 17 December – Matt Richards, Olympic swimmer (in Worcester)[22]
- 22 December – Emma Finucane, cyclist[23]
Deaths[edit]
- 2 January
- Ian Grist, politician, 63[24]
- Arthur Joseph, cricketer, 82
- 7 January – Jon Lee, rock musician, 33
- 12 January – Moss Evans, trade union leader, 76[25]
- 3 February – Edward Thomas Chapman, Victoria Cross recipient, 82
- 22 February – David James, cricketer, 80
- 7 March – Geoff Charles, photojournalist, 93[26]
- 2 March – Mary Grant Price, costume designer, 85[27]
- 3 March – Bill Hopkin, rugby player, 87
- 6 March – David Jenkins, Librarian of the National Library of Wales 1969–79, 89
- 7 May – Sir Ewart Jones, organic chemist and academic administrator, 91[28]
- 26 September – Willie Davies, Wales international rugby union and league player, 86
- 6 October – Nick Whitehead, athlete, 69[29]
- November – Ernie Jones, footballer, 81/82
- 3 November – Sir John Habakkuk, economic historian, 87[30]
- 20 November – George Guest, organist and choirmaster of St John's College, Cambridge, 78[31]
- December – Brian Morgan Edwards, businessman, 68
- 10 December – Steve Llewellyn, rugby league player, 78
- 24 December – Jake Thackray, singer-songwriter, 64[32]
- 31 December – Billy Morris, footballer, 84
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Hannan, Patrick (18 May 2017). "Rhodri Morgan obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ^ "Murphy returns as Welsh secretary". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
- ^ "An Archdruid's Experiences". People's Collection Wales. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ "100 great British heroes". BBC News. 21 August 2002. (contains the top 100, sorted alphabetically)
- ^ "Labour holds Ogmore with cut majority". BBC News. 15 February 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Stena Europe – Stena Line". NIFerrySite. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Final of Tallinn 2002". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Best Books of 2002". The Observer. 1 December 2002. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- ^ a b D Ben Rees (11 June 2004). "Eirug Wyn". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ Rebecca Nesvet. "Franco's Bastard". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Mwynhad yn y tywyllwch" [Enjoyment in the dark] (in Welsh). BBC. 26 November 2002.
- ^ The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. St. Martin's Press. 2003. p. XLIV.
- ^ "Stereophonics sack drummer Cable". BBC Wales. 25 September 2003. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
- ^ Robyn Tomos (1 November 2003). "Ffilm hynod sy'n brawf bod y diwylliant teledu Cymraeg wedi aeddfedu" (in Welsh). Western Mail.
- ^ "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "2:50 Chepstow, Coral Welsh National Showcase Handicap (Chase) Class A Grade 3". Racing Post. 27 December 2002.
- ^ "Abertillery withdraw from Cup". BBC Sport. 11 December 2002.
- ^ "2002 Welsh Open Results". Snooker Database. 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ "China Open 2002". snooker.org. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ "UK Championship full results". BBC Sport. 11 December 2002. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ "Medi Harris profile". Eurosport. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ "Richards Matthew". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Profile". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ Andrew Roth (22 January 2002). "Ian Grist". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Geoffrey Goodman (14 January 2002). "Moss Evans". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Troughton, William. "Charles, Geoffrey (1909-2002), photographer.". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. National Library of Wales. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
- ^ Veronica Horwell (16 April 2002). "Mary Grant Price". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ Pearce Wright (18 May 2002). "Sir Ewart Jones". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ "Nick Whitehead: Olympic sprinter and influential sports administrator". The Independent. 12 October 2002. Archived from the original on 4 August 2009.
- ^ Negley Harte (14 November 2002). "Sir John Habakkuk". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ John Gummer (4 December 2002). "George Guest". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ Alan Clayson (28 December 2002). "Jake Thackray". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 March 2019.