Pupils across Llanishen joined the ‘Yma o Hyd’ singer and over 1,700 schools across Wales for the World Cup event.
SCHOOLS in Llanishen and the rest of Cardiff joined together on Thursday morning to take part in a live World cup singalong event organised by the Urdd. The Welsh language youth organisation streamed the event, dubbed Jambori Cwpan y Bwyd, which it said drew participation from around 230,000 pupils from 1,700 schools.
Llanishen-based schools which took part in the singalong include Christ The King Primary, The Court School, and Ysgol Y Wern and Coed Glas Pimary School. Over 1,500 pupils from these schools are said to have joined in, according to Urdd statistics.
Coed Glass Primary teacher and girls’ football coach Miss Roberts said of the event: “It was a real show of unity with adults and children embracing Welsh culture together.”
Another teacher, Ms. Rachel Hatfield added: “Events like this give us a genuine reason to join with Welsh medium schools to celebrate. Pob lwc Cymru!”
The livestream also featured Welsh superstar Dafydd Iwan. Iwan led the schoolkids in a rendition of his viral Welsh nationalist hit ‘Yma o Hyd’, first released in 1983. The song has undergone a huge surge in popularity in recent months among Welsh football fans in particular, as Wales embark on their first World Cup finals appearance since 1958.
According to Wales boss Rob Page: “Yma o Hyd, is a massive anthem for us now. Chris Gunter started it. We played it every day before training and on the coach, and that’s something we’ve got now as our anthem.”
The song’s main refrain ‘Yma o Hyd’ roughly translates to ‘we are still here’, and the track features powerful lyrics referencing historic Welsh figures such as Macsen and Jac Glan-y-gors’ controversial Dic Siôn Dafydd character.
Iwan said of his song in an interview with ITV Wales: “I think this has helped to bring people together and a lot of non-Welsh speakers have told me ‘it’s so great to be a part of this’.”
Highlights of the event are due to be broadcast on S4C’s Stwnsh Sadwrn on November 19 at 8am.
Elsewhere in Cardiff
Local creative collective Unify were out in the town centre on Monday completing work on a mural promoting this month’s Gŵyl Cymru festival.
The FAW-backed festival is a 10-day creative event, designed to bring communities across Wales together in support of Wales’ Qatar campaign.
Due to start on November, festival highlights include footballroom; a dance/theatre show exploring football and LGBTQ rights, live music and comedy across the country, literary events and more.
FAW chief Noel Mooney described his hopes for the festival on the FAW website, saying “the amazing Gŵyl Cymru Festival events and venues will truly showcase and celebrate our incredible Welsh culture”.
