| Alt Name: | Cân Disc a Dawn (1969–1972) |
| Genre: | Song competition |
| Based On: | |
| Presenter: | Elin Fflur (2011 - present) Trystan Ellis-Morris (2015 - present) |
| Judges: | Varies each year |
| Country: | Wales |
| Language: | Welsh |
| Num Episodes: | 54 editions |
| Channel: | BBC One (1969) BBC One Wales (1970–1978, 1982) HTV (1979, 1981) BBC Radio Cymru (1980) S4C (1983–present) |
| Runtime: | 120 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Location: | Swansea Arena (2024) |
| Company: | Avanti (2006–present) |
| Last Aired: | present |
Cân i Gymru (English: A Song for Wales, in Welsh pronounced as /ˈkaːn i ˈɡəmrɨ/) 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 (which varies from year to year).
Cân i Gymru was presented to Wales under the name Cân Disc a Dawn, a competition based around the Welsh language pop music show (as seen on Victor Lewis Smith's TV Offal), 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.[1]
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.[2] A panel then chose the winning song on the night.[3] 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. The winning song is now chosen by a vote where members of the public phone for their favorite song. 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.[4] This was followed by individual compilation albums for the 2006 and 2007 competitions, both of which were released by TPF Records.
| Year | Singer | Song[5] | English translation | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Margaret Williams | "Y Cwilt Cymreig" | The Welsh Quilt | Llifon Hughes-Jones and Megan Lloyd Ellis |
| 1970 | Y Canolwyr | "Dydd o haf" | A Summer's Day | Hawys James |
| 1971 | Eleri Llwyd | "Nwy yn y Nen" | Gas in the Air | Dewi 'Pws' Morris |
| 1972 | Heather Jones | "Pan ddaw'r Dydd" | When the Day Comes | Geraint Jarman |
| colspan=8 | ||||
| 1974 | Iris Williams | "I gael Cymru'n Gymru Rhydd" | To make Wales a Free Wales | Rod Thomas and Rod Gruffydd |
| 1975 | Brân | "Caledfwlch" | Excalibur | Gwyndaf Roberts |
| 1976 | Rhian Rowe | "Y Llanc Glas Lygad" | The Blue-eyed Boy | Douglas Roberts |
| 1977 | Cawl Sefin | "Dafydd ap Gwilym" | Dafydd ap Gwilym | Peter Hughes Griffiths and Meinir Lloyd |
| 1978 | Delwyn Sion and Brân | "Angel ble wyt ti?" | Angel, Where are you? | John Gwyn and Ronw Protheroe |
| 1979 | Pererin | "Ni Welaf yr Haul" | I don't see the Sun | Arfon Wyn |
| 1980 | Plethyn | "Golau Tan Gwmwl" | A Light under a Cloud | Geraint Løvgreen and Myrddin ap Dafydd |
| 1981 | Beca | "Dechrau'r Dyfodol" | The Beginning of the Future | Gareth Glyn and Eleri Cwyfan |
| 1982 | Caryl Parry Jones and Bando | "Nid Llwynog Oedd yr Haul" | The Sun wasn't a Fox | Geraint Løvgreen and Myrddin ap Dafydd |
| 1983 | Siân Wheway and Robin Gwyn | "Popeth ond y Gwir" | Everything but the Truth | Siân Wheway and Robin Gwyn |
| 1984 | Geraint Griffiths | "Y Cwm" | The Valley | Huw Chiswell |
| 1985 | Bwchadanas | "Ceiliog y Gwynt" | The Weathervane | Euros Rhys Evans |
| 1986 | Eirlys Parri | "Be ddylwn i Ddweud" | What Should I Say? | Mari Emlyn |
| 1987 | Eryr Wen | "Gloria Tyrd Adre" | Gloria, Come Home | Euros Elis Jones and Llion Jones |
| 1988 | Manon Llwyd | "Can Wini" | Winnie's Song | Manon Llwyd and Eurig Wyn |
| 1989 | Hefin Huws | "Twll Triongl" | Triangular Hole | Hefin Huws and Les Morrison |
| 1990 | Sobin a'r Smaeliaid | "Gwlad y Rasta Gwyn" | Land of the White Rasta | Rhys Wyn Parry and Bryn Fôn |
| 1991 | Neil Williams a'r Band | "Yr Un Hen Le" | The Same Old Place | Richard Marks |
| 1992 | Eifion Williams | "Dal i Gredu" | Still Believing | Gwennant Pyrs, Meleri Roberts and Alwen Derbyshire |
| 1993 | Paul Gregory | "Y Cam Nesa" | The Next Step | Paul Gregory |
| 1994 | Geraint Griffiths | "Rhyw Ddydd" | Some Day | Paul Gregory, Lorraine King, Tim Hamill and Dave Parsons |
| 1995 | Gwenda Owen | "Yr Ynys Werdd" | The Emerald Isle | Richard Jones and Arwel John |
| 1996 | Iwcs a Doyle | "Cerrig yr Afon" | Stones of the River | Iwan Roberts and John Doyle |
| 1997 | Bryn Fôn | "Un Funud Fach" | One Short Minute | Barry Jones |
| 1998 | Arwel Wyn Roberts | "Rho Dy Law" | Place Your Hand | Rhodri Tomos |
| 1999 | Steffan Rhys Williams | "Torri'n Rhydd" | Breaking Free | Matthew McAvoy and Steffan Rhys Williams |
| 2000 | Martin Beattie | "Cae o Yd" | A Field of Corn | Arfon Wyn |
| 2001 | Geinor Haf | "Dagrau Ddoe" | Yesterday's Tears | Emlyn Dole |
| 2002 | Elin Fflur | "Harbwr Diogel" | A Safe Harbour | Arfon Wyn and Richard Synnott |
| 2003 | Non Parry and Steffan Rhys Williams | "Oes Lle i Mi" | Is there a Place for me? | Emma Walford and Mererid Hopwood |
| 2004 | Rhian Mair Lewis | "Dagrau Tawel" | Quiet Tears | Meinir Richards and Tudur Dylan |
| 2005 | Rhydian Bowen Phillips | "Mi Glywais" | I Heard | Dafydd Jones and Guto Vaughan |
| 2006 | Ryland Teifi | "Lili'r nos" | Lily of the Night | Ryland Teifi |
| 2007 | Einir Dafydd and Ceri Wyn Jones | "Blwyddyn Mas"[6] | A Year Out | Einir Dafydd and Ceri Wyn Jones |
| 2008 | Aled Myrddin | "Atgofion"[7] | Memories | Aled Myrddin |
| 2009 | Elfed Morgan Morris | "Gofidiau" | Worries | Lowri Watcyn Roberts and Elfed Morgan Morris |
| 2010 | Tomos Wyn Williams | "Bws i'r Lleuad" | A Bus to the Moon | Alun Evans |
| 2011 | Tesni Jones | "Rhywun yn Rhywle" | Somebody Somewhere | Steve Balsamo and Ynyr Gruffydd |
| 2012 | Gai Toms | "Braf yw Cael Byw" | Living's Fine | Gai Toms and Philip Jones |
| 2013 | Jessop a'r Sgweiri | "Mynd i Gorwen Hefo Alys" | Going to Corwen with Alys | Rhys Gwynfor and Osian Huw Williams |
| 2014 | Mirain Evans[8] | "Galw Amdanat Ti" | Calling for You | Barry Evans and Mirain Evans |
| 2015 | Elin Angharad | "Y Lleuad a'r Sêr" | The Moon and the Stars | Elin Angharad and Arfon Wyn |
| 2016 | Cordia | "Dim ond Un" | Only One | Ffion Elin and Rhys Jones |
| 2017 | Cadi Gwyn Edwards | "Rhydd" | Free | Cadi Gwyn Edwards |
| 2018 | Ceidwad y Gân | "Cofio Hedd Wyn" | Remembering Hedd Wyn | Erfyl Owen |
| 2019 | Elidyr Glyn | "Fel Hyn 'da Ni Fod" | This is How we Should Be | Elidyr Glyn |
| 2020 | Gruffydd Wyn | "Cyn i’r Llenni Gau" | Before the Curtain Falls | Stuart Roslyn and T Jay |
| 2021 | Morgan Elwy Williams | "Bach o Hwne" | A Bit of That | Morgan Elwy Williams |
| 2022 | Ryland Teifi | "Mae yna Le" | There is a Place | Rhydian Meilir |
| 2023 | Dylan Morris | "Patagonia" | Alistair James | |
| 2024 | Sara Davies [9] | "Ti" | You | Sara Davies |
| Year | Location | Presenter(s) | Production company | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Newport | Ronnie Williams | BBC Cymru Wales | BBC1 |
| 1970 | Cardiff | BBC1 Wales | ||
| 1971 | Cardiff | |||
| 1972 | Cardiff | |||
| 1974 | Cardiff | Dewi Morris | ||
| 1975 | Cardiff | Hywel Gwynfryn | ||
| 1976 | Cardiff | |||
| 1977 | Cardiff | |||
| 1978 | Cardiff | |||
| 1979 | Cardiff | Arfon Haines Davies | HTV Productions | HTV |
| 1980 | Aberystwyth | and | BBC Cymru Wales | BBC Radio Cymru |
| 1981 | Mold | Gwyn Erfyl | HTV Productions | HTV |
| 1982 | Cardiff | and Emyr Wyn | BBC Cymru Wales | BBC1 Wales |
| 1983 | Cardiff | Emyr Wyn | S4C | |
| 1984 | Cardiff | |||
| 1985 | Cardiff | |||
| 1986 | Cardiff | Margaret Williams | ||
| 1987 | Llandudno | Caryl Parry Jones | ||
| 1988 | Llandudno | Geraint Griffiths | ||
| 1989 | Llandudno | Nia Roberts | ||
| 1990 | Caernarfon | Alaw Bennett Jones and Owain Gwilym | ||
| 1991 | Caernarfon | Nia Roberts | ||
| 1992 | Caernarfon | |||
| 1993 | Caernarfon | |||
| 1994 | Cardiff | Nia Roberts and Stifyn Parri | HTV Productions | |
| 1995 | Pontrhydfendigaid | Nia Roberts | Apollo | |
| 1996 | Pontrhydfendigaid | |||
| 1997 | Pontrhydfendigaid | |||
| 1998 | Cardiff | |||
| 1999 | Corwen | Nia Roberts and Dafydd Meredydd | ||
| 2000 | Llangollen | |||
| 2001 | Llangollen | |||
| 2002 | Port Talbot | Lisa Gwilym, and Angharad Llwyd | ||
| 2003 | Port Talbot | |||
| 2004 | Newport | Sarra Elgan | ||
| 2005 | Newport | Sarra Elgan and Alun Williams | ||
| 2006 | Port Talbot | Sarra Elgan and Hefin Thomas | Avanti | |
| 2007 | Port Talbot | Eleri Siôn and Dafydd Meredydd | ||
| 2008 | Port Talbot | Sarra Elgan and Rhydian Bowen Phillips | ||
| 2009 | Llandudno | Rhodri Owen and Sarra Elgan | ||
| 2010 | Llandudno | |||
| 2011 | Pontrhydfendigaid | Elin Fflur and Dafydd Meredydd | ||
| 2012 | Pontrhydfendigaid | |||
| 2013 | Cardiff | |||
| 2014 | Gwalchmai | Elin Fflur and Gethin Evans | ||
| 2015 | Gwalchmai | Elin Fflur and Trystan Ellis-Morris | ||
| 2016 | Cardiff | |||
| 2017 | Cardiff | |||
| 2018 | Bangor | |||
| 2019 | Aberystwyth | |||
| 2020 | Aberystwyth | |||
| 2021 | Cardiff | |||
| 2022 | Aberystwyth | |||
| 2023 | Aberystwyth | |||
| 2024 | Swansea | |||