2009 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 2009 to Wales and its people.

← 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2009 in Wales → 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Centuries:	19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	List of years in Wales Timeline of Welsh history 2009 in The United Kingdom England Scotland Elsewhere Welsh football: 2008–09 • 2009–10

Incumbents

• First Minister
  • Rhodri Morgan (until 9 December)
  • Carwyn Jones
• Secretary of State for Wales
  • Paul Murphy (until 5 June)^[1]
  • Peter Hain^[2]
• Archbishop of Wales – Barry Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales
  • Dic Jones (outgoing)
  • Jim Parc Nest (incoming)

Events

• 1 January
  • The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, broadcasts a New Year message on BBC television. He warns against losing sight of our "real treasure" and says: "Our hearts will be in a very bad way if they're focused only on the state of our finances."^[3]
  • Record numbers of swimmers participate in New Year's Day charity swims at Amroth, Saundersfoot and Abersoch.^[4]
• 2 January - Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson denies having criticised the failure to include all UK Paralympic gold medal-winners in the UK New Year Honours List.^[5]
• 9 January - The UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, visits south Wales as part of a 3-day tour of the regions.^[6]
• 11 January - Eight rescuers are injured as four mountain rescue teams help bring two climbers to safety from the summit of Snowdon.^[7]
• 15 January - Welsh Conservative Assembly Members issue an announcement saying that they give their unanimous support to Nick Bourne as leader of the Assembly group.^[8]
• 19 January - The Cardiff International Sports Stadium opens, replacing the old Cardiff Athletics Stadium
• 22 January - After having been the only police force in the UK to record an increase in crime during 2007-2008, South Wales Police witnesses a 4% drop in crime in its area, according to the latest British Crime Survey.^[9]
• 26 January - Corus announces the loss of up to 1,100 jobs at its plants in Wales and the mothballing of the Llanwern hot strip mill.^[10]
• 2 February - After a 24-hour search, the Llanberis mountain rescue team recovers the bodies of two brothers from south-west England who went missing on Snowdon on 31 January.^[11]
• 8 February - At the 51st Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Best Pop Vocal Album goes to Duffy for Rockferry.
• 11 February - Four people are killed in a mid-air collision between two light aircraft near Kenfig. They are two female air cadets from Rhondda, aged 13 and 14, and two RAF instructors.^[12]
• 18 February
  • Duffy wins the Best Female and British Breakthrough Act awards at the 2009 BRIT Awards; her album Rockferry wins Best Album.
  • The inquest opens into the Kenfig air crash of 11 February.^[13]
• 21 February - Rescuers have to abseil 500 feet (150 m) down a sheer rock face in the dark to rescue a team of three climbers stuck on Snowdon.^[14]
• 6 March - Boxer Joe Calzaghe wins a court action against his former manager Frank Warren, claiming £2 million in unpaid fees.^[15]
• 13 March - The Hoover Company ceases washing machine production at Merthyr Tydfil.^[16]
• 1 June - ftrmetro Swansea bus rapid transit system begins operation.^[17]
• 12 June - Hafod Eryri at the summit of Snowdon is opened.^[18]
• 27 June - An 11-mile stretch of the Llangollen Canal, including the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[19]
• 21 July - The first race meeting is held at Ffos Las racecourse, the first new National Hunt racecourse to be built in the United Kingdom for 80 years.^[20]
• 22 July - Official opening of the new Cardiff City Stadium, Wales' 2nd largest stadium, when Cardiff City F.C. drew against Glasgow's Celtic F.C.
• 31 July - Indesit ceases washing machine production at Kinmel Park, Bodelwyddan.^[21]
• 1 August - The National Eisteddfod of Wales opens at Bala.
• 8 August - The first test of the Ashes 2009 series, seeing England against Australia in Cricket, begins at Cardiff's SWALEC Stadium.
• 12 August - Wales begins the process of digital switchover with the turning off of parts of the analogue signal from the Kilvey Hill transmitter.^[22]
• 29 September - On his 70th birthday, Rhodri Morgan announces that he will stand down as First Minister in December.
• 22 October - The St David's Centre in Cardiff re-opens as one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom after its multimillion-pound extension and the reconstruction of the surrounding area.
• November - Mererid Hopwood, the first woman to be nominated for the position of Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod, withdraws her name from consideration, leaving T. James Jones as the only candidate.
• 12 November - Health & Social Services Minister Edwina Hart declines a request by Liberal Democrat Kirsty Williams to review how £1 billion has been spent on NHS services in Wales.
• 13 November - The agreement A New Understanding is signed by representatives of the Welsh Assembly Government and the Welsh Local Government Association.^[23]
• 18 November - A report by the All Wales Convention finds that public opinion is narrowly in favour of increasing the powers of the Welsh Assembly.^[24]
• 21 November
  • Dannie Abse receives the Wilfred Owen Poetry Award.
  • Pride In Barry announces the planned placement of a Blue Plaque on 19 Porth Y Castell, Barry, in memory of boxer Jack Petersen.
• 9 December - Carwyn Jones takes office as First Minister for Wales.^[25]
• 16 December - The Afan Lido leisure complex in Port Talbot is badly damaged by fire.^[26]
• 29 December - A crater approximately 10 feet (3.0 m) wide and 12 feet (3.7 m) deep appears in Brynmair Close, Aberaman, Rhondda Cynon Taf. Nearby residents are evacuated as the cause is investigated.^[27]

Arts and literature

Awards

• Glyndŵr Award – Llŷr Williams
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – withheld
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – Ceri Wyn Jones
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Drama Medal – Dyfed Edwards
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Fine Art Medal – Elfyn Lewis
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – Siân Melangell Dafydd
• Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen – Fflur Dafydd
• Wales Book of the Year:
  • English language: Deborah Kay Davies – Grace, Tamar and Laszlo the Beautiful
  • Welsh language: William Owen Roberts – Petrograd
• Kyffin Art Prize: Louisa Theunissen^[28]
• Cân i Gymru: Elfed Morgan Morris – "Gofidiau"
• BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition:^[29]
  • Main Prize – Ekaterina Scherbachenko
  • Song Prize – Jan Martinik

New books

Welsh language

• Robat Gruffudd - A Gymri Di Gymru?
• Lloyd Jones - Y Dŵr

English language

• Emyr Humphreys - The Woman at the Window
• Siân James - Return to Hendre Ddu
• Nigel Owens - Half Time
• Malcolm Pryce - From Aberystwyth with Love
• John Powell Ward - The Last Green Year

Music

Classical

• Catrin Finch - Goldberg Variations (transcribed for harp)^[30]
• Rhydian - O Fortuna^[31]

Albums

• Derwyddon Dr Gonzo - Stonk!^[32]
• Only Men Aloud! - Band of Brothers^[33]
• Super Furry Animals - Dark Days/Light Years^[34]

Singles

• Vanessa Jenkins and Bryn West - "Barry Islands in the Stream" featuring Sir Tom Jones and Robin Gibb^[35]

Theatre

• May - National Theatre Wales, an English-language theatre company, is established with a grant of £3 million.^[36]

Film

• Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, starring Michael Sheen

Broadcasting

Welsh-language TV

• Caerdydd
• S4C launches a new bilingual rugby website^[37]

English-language TV

• Coal House^[38]
• Doctor Who - David Tennant films his final scenes as The Doctor in Cardiff.
• Gavin & Stacey - series 3

Sport

• January - Simon Lawson of Cardiff wins the 28th annual Richard Burton 10 km run^[39] in a time of 31 minutes.
• 21 March - Wales are narrowly defeated by Ireland to finish third overall in the 2009 Six Nations Championship (rugby union).
• June - The first race meeting is held at the newly constructed Ffos Las racecourse.
• 28 December - Blackwood-reared Dream Alliance wins the Welsh Grand National.
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year - Ryan Giggs^[40]

Births

• 11 January - Dexter Lloyd Henson, son of Charlotte Church and Gavin Henson

Deaths

• 9 January - T. Llew Jones, writer, 93^[41]
• 10 January - Eluned Phillips, writer, 94^[42]
• 13 January - Dai Llewellyn, socialite, 62^[43]
• 22 January - Vic Crowe, footballer, 76^[44]
• 9 February
  • Gareth Alban Davies, academic, 82
  • Reg Davies, footballer, 79
• 10 February - Gerwyn Williams, rugby union footballer, 84
• 14 February - Sir Bernard Ashley, entrepreneur, 82^[45]
• 19 February - Ian L. Jenkins, former Surgeon General of the British Armed Forces, 64
• 26 February - Jackie Bowen, Welsh rugby union and rugby league footballer, 93
• 2 March - Gerard Morgan-Grenville, environmentalist, 77
• 12 March - Huw Thomas, broadcaster, lawyer and politician, 81
• 22 March - Emyr Price, historian, 64
• 23 March - Geoff Holmes, cricketer, 50^[46]
• 12 April - John Maddox, biologist, 83
• 22 April - Cliff Curvis, British and Commonwealth boxing champion, 81
• May - Ralph Morgan, Welsh rugby union and rugby league footballer, 88?
• 14 May - Ken Hollyman, footballer, 86
• 16 May - Einion Evans, poet, 82
• 31 May - Brian Edrich, former Glamorgan cricket coach, 86
• 5 June - Haydn Tanner, Wales international rugby union footballer, 92
• 19 June - Major Sean Birchall, soldier, 33 (killed on active service)^[47]
• 6 July - Bleddyn Williams, rugby union footballer, 86
• 11 July - Geraint Owen, actor and politician, 43
• 27 July - Aeronwy Thomas, writer and daughter of Dylan Thomas, 66^[48]
• 18 August - Dic Jones, poet and archdruid, 75^[49]
• 28 August - Noel Jones, Anglican bishop, 76^[50]
• 6 September - Sir David Glyndwr Tudor Williams, barrister and academic, 78^[51]
• 9 September - Stanley Cornwell Lewis, artist, 103^[52]
• 7 October - Helen Watts, operatic contralto, 81^[53]
• 10 October - Sir Bryan Hopkin, economist, 94^[54]
• 11 October - Patrick Hannan, radio and TV journalist, 68^[55]
• 17 October - Douglas Blackwell, actor, 85
• 20 October - Hubert Rees, actor
• 12 November - Orig Williams, wrestler and TV presenter, 78^[56]
• 16 December - T. G. H. James, Egyptologist, 86^[57]
• 30 December - Maldwyn Evans, bowls champion, 72^[58]

See also

• 2009 in Northern Ireland