Chris Peters-Bond

Runners were going for gold at this year’s Admiral Swansea Bay 10k. The event fully embraced the anniversary celebrations and gold was the predominant colour scheme for this year’s race with special commemorative race shirts and medals.

Mark Kennedy and Gayle Hughes from Bishopston were the lucky winners of our Swansea50 Golden Tickets draw.

As well as winning free entry to the race, Mark and Gayle also sported our special 1969 and 2019 numbered race bibs to commemorate the dates of the city’s 50th anniversary.

They joined thousands of runners for what is one of the top events of its kind in the UK, attracting fans and competitors from across the UK. The event was voted Best 10k in Wales in the 2019 Running Awards.

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Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said: “It was great to see our city host so many running enthusiasts at the weekend; another special way for Swansea to celebrate its first 50 years of city status.

“The Admiral Swansea Bay 10k has been recognised as one of the most runner-friendly courses with some of the most spectacular views anywhere in the UK - it’s is a celebration of our sporting culture.

“As well as the adult 10K race, the event hosts a junior 1K and 3K race and it is fantastic to see some young fun runners taking part in physical activity as well as identifying more competitive young runners of the future.”

Taking home the gold medals this year were Kieran Clements of north London’s Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers in the main 10k race. 

Natasha Cockram, of the Micky Morris Racing Team was the first Welsh female 10k winner since the early 1980s.

Wheelchair race winner for the fourth year in a row was Richie Powell, of Disability Sport Wales.

Swansea College of Art and Elysium Gallery are hosting a week-long exhibition, previewing Friday, October 4, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Swansea becoming a city and the role its artists have played during this time.

50Fifty showcases 50 artists who either studied or taught at Swansea College of Art from the last half century. Curated by two current students of Swansea College of Art, Alicia Hughes and Alice Oliver, 50Fifty will be spread across three venues in Swansea’s City Centre, all of which are hugely important to the Swansea Art scene.

The chosen artists and artworks explore the impact that Swansea has had on them, whether the artists were born and raised in Swansea, or moved to the city to be a part of Swansea College of Art. 50Fifty helps to celebrate this exciting mixture of artists who have been inspired by our city.

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Alicia Hughes who is studying BA Photojournalism and Alice Oliver who’s studying BA Photography in the Arts were awarded an internship from Swansea College of Art and Elysium Gallery to curate this special exhibition to celebrate Swansea’s 50th Anniversary. Together they have carefully selected fifty artists who have either studied or taught at SCA in the past 50 years. Alumni from 1969 to 2019.

Alicia said: “I am grateful to have been offered this internship, it has been a great opportunity to broaden my skills. I feel privileged to work with Elysium Gallery & Jonathan Powell to curate an exhibition that celebrates the last 50 years of my University. Being able to bring all of these artists together is really nice, it’s great to see how individual each piece is.”

Alice said: “Being awarded this internship has been a great honour and I am extremely grateful to be able to celebrate SCA and Swansea as a city whilst working with Elysium Gallery. Curating 50Fifty, alongside Alicia, has taught me invaluable lessons and given me great experience of working beyond my degree.”

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Jonathan Powell, Director elysium gallery said: “I moved to Swansea in 2001 to study at SCA without a clue what I was going to do. Swansea has this wonderful chaotic nature of constantly changing, aspiring to be better with a can-do attitude. It is this that has contributed to what I think is the most vibrant arts community in Wales. I’m proud to be a part of it….and it is still evolving!”

Caroline Thraves, Swansea College of Art Academic Director, Art and Media said: “Swansea College of Art is proud to be celebrating 50 years of Swansea becoming a City. Our graduates are highly creative individuals who help to make Swansea the cultural and creative hotbed it is where grass roots art is thriving. The 50Fifty exhibition showcases the exceptional talents of 50 artists from 50 years of Swansea College of Art.”

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Locations:

• College Street Art Gallery, 16 College St, Swansea, SA1 5BH
• Swansea College of Art, Dynevor Pl, De-La Beche St, Swansea SA1 3EU
• Elysium Gallery, Gallery 3, 210 High Street, Swansea, SA1 1PE.

Preview: Friday 4th October

• 4pm at Swansea College of Art, Dynevor Campus 6-8pm at 16 College St Gallery
• 6pm – late at elysium gallery, 210 High St

Exhibition continues until Saturday 12th October (except elysium gallery, continues until 9th Nov)

Galleries open: Tues – Sat 12 – 5pm (except elysium gallery, open until 7pm)

Young people from across Swansea have the chance to be at the heart of this year’s Christmas parade and lights switch-on.

Local drama and dance groups are among those being urged to dress up and entertain thousands of spectators in the parade.

They will join a wide range of other participants, including local bands, organisations with eye-catching floats, professional entertainers – and Santa.

Swansea Council’s Special Events team – behind major successes such as the annual Wales Airshow - is organising the free event in mid-November to usher in a great festive season for shoppers, businesses, residents and visitors.

Robert Francis-Davies, the council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said: “We’re aiming for this year’s parade to be magical. It will be a special event to commemorate the city’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

“A huge amount of planning has already been done and we’ll be announcing some more key elements of the parade in due course.

“However, we want this to be an event that everyone can be part of so local groups are being given the chance to participate and add their own magic to the parade.”

Swansea’s 2019 Christmas Parade and Lights Switch-on is due to take place from 5-7pm on Sunday, November 17.

The parade route will be from the Dylan Thomas centre, up Wind Street, Castle Street and High Street, into Alexandra Road, down Orchard Street and along The Kingsway. Council officers are continuing to plan the event – and more detail will be published in the coming weeks.

They are looking for those groups specialising in drama and dance who will be able to help deliver a strong Christmas theme and a focus on entertaining the crowds.

There’s a wide range of festive themes that groups could adopt, ranging from films and books to festive characters. All members of the groups must be in costume and will be walking as part of the parade. In keeping with the concept of the parade, all displays will need to have an emphasis on lights and illumination. Details will be discussed and agreed with parade organisers before the event.

Applications from these groups close at noon on Monday, September 30. Groups that would like to be involved should email the council for further information –[email protected].

More than 150 Swansea people celebrating 50^th birthdays and wedding anniversaries enjoyed a special garden party.

The events, held at the historic Mansion House in Ffynone, are part of celebrations commemorating the key dates back in 1969 that turned Swansea from a town to a city.

On July 3, 1969 HRH the Prince of Wales came to Swansea to announce Swansea had been awarded city status. And on December 10, 1969 the Royal Charter conferring city status on Swansea was issued.

Lord Mayor of Swansea, Peter Black said: “I wanted to mark both occasions by inviting people living in Swansea celebrating their 50^th birthdays or 50^th wedding anniversaries between those two dates to come and enjoy some hospitality at the Mansion House.

“Around 70 people attended on Saturday, and a further 60 people on Sunday.

“As Lord Mayor I’ve been proud to be involved in a large number of celebrations so far this year.  These garden parties are just the latest way our communities can come together to enjoy what is a special year for our city.”

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The Swansea public is about to have a ball with a piece of art that hasn’t been exhibited for around 30 years.

In the mid-1980s more than 100 pupils of the former Penlan Comprehensive School created a near-life-size sculpture of Diego Maradona in chicken wire and papier-mâché.

He was presented in his vibrant blue, white and black Argentina football kit and became part of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery’s permanent collection.

Later that summer, the real Maradona inspired his country to win football’s World Cup.

Now the sculpture is about to go on show once again – and the hunt is on for the teenagers behind it.

Staff at the Swansea Council gallery want to reacquaint as many of the artists as possible with their sporting work of art, titled simply Maradona.

Robert Francis-Davies, the council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said: “This will be a fun, unique and sociable way to help celebrate Swansea’s first 50 years as a city.

“I urge all those who remember helping to create this eye catching work to get in touch with the gallery.

“Those who do will be invited to the launch of the gallery’s Swansea Stories exhibition at which Maradona will be on show.”

The model, which stands 1.45m tall – around 20cm shorter than the real, thing – was created in summer 1986 when the player was at the height of his powers.

Weeks later the world fame of one of the greatest ever footballers become yet more pronounced when his country won the Fifa World Cup in Mexico. The tournament included a quarter-final win over England in which he scored twice - one from an unpenalised handball now known as the Hand of God goal, the other after a dazzling 60m run with the ball.

The model was displayed at the gallery until the late 1980s. It then went into storage there as its materials are fragile and there was a danger of it suffering damage. Maradona has not been shown publicly since - and staff are excited to have him on display again from late September.

The Glynn Vivian collection, with more than 2,000 artworks, dates back to the gallery’s pre-Great War founding collection and includes works from the 18th century to contemporary acquisitions.

Gallery curator Karen Mackinnon said: “This is Swansea’s collection – it’s art work that belongs to the people of Swansea and we want to celebrate it in all its forms in this special 50^th anniversary year. Everyone is welcome to come and join us!

“Swansea Stories will exhibit an eclectic range of more than 300 artworks including fine art, favourite portraits, landscapes, films and sculpture. It will include portraits of the famous such as opera singer Adelina Patti and poet Vernon Watkins, workers, the coastline, industry, agriculture and war ravaged streets.

“World renowned artists such as Gwen John and Lucien Pissarro will be among those on show. It will be the largest selection of our permanent collection ever displayed in the gallery’s history.

“Maradona will be included because - alongside many other historical and contemporary works - it is one of those items which local people regularly ask about. Of course, they’re also always curious about our more traditional artworks such as those by Claude Monet, other impressionists and Barbara Hepworth.

“Our Swansea Stories exhibition will show many memorable pieces from our collection. There are items we can’t show for space reasons but there will be other opportunities to exhibit such works.

“The exhibition presents a unique portrait of the city including its changing landscape that has inspired artists for centuries.

“We’re excited about it because it celebrates art and culture in all its forms. We hope it will be a catalyst for people to tell us their own stories and I’m sure the papier-mâché Diego Maradona will be one of the stimuli. The story of Swansea should be told by the people from our own community.”

Swansea Stories, at the Glynn Vivian, is due to run from September 26 to March 15. Entry is free. If you were one of the Maradona artists please email Laura Gill at the gallery - [email protected]

A special coin has been minted for six birthday boys and girls born in Swansea on the 50^th anniversary day of the announcement the famous old town was to become a city.

Working with the local registrar service, the council identified half-a-dozen babies born in Swansea on July 3, 2019.

Each of their families were awarded a coin specially minted by Fattorini, specialists in bespoke commemorative items.

Lord Mayor Cllr Peter Black CBE, said: “July 3 was a special day for our city in many ways and we were very pleased to host a visit by HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH the Duchess of Cornwall to help celebrate.

“But we know that parents of six children now have their own special reasons to celebrate July 3, 2019.

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“That’s why we’ve worked with Fattorini to come up with a very limited edition coin which will be a rare memento of an incredibly special occasion for the families.

“It was a lovely occasion to meet the families who came for a special celebration event at the Mansion House.”

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Swansea communities have been celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the announcement by the Prince of Wales in 1969 that Swansea town was to become a city. The Royal Charter was published on December 10 that year and delivered to the city by the prince the following day.

Cllr Black said: “The celebrations have been coming thick and fast and many local groups and organisations have been commemorating the event. Residents are also getting involved by bidding for golden tickets for amazing events like the Jess Glynne concert, Catherine Zeta Jones’ freedom ceremony and tickets to top shows at the Grand Theatre.

“There’s plenty more to come and we’d encourage everyone to take part.”

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of Swansea gaining city status, the Dylan Thomas Centre organised two specially themed Young Writers Squad workshops for our secondary age groups this July.

Led by the award winning writer Rebecca F John, the sessions began by looking at what life was like 50 years ago. A variety of props - including handmade clothes from 1969, an LP and games such as dominoes - were used as writing prompts, as we began by imagining what it would have been like to watch the moon landing in July 1969 from your own living room.

As Jacob, age 13, wrote in his piece: ‘I’ve star-gazed into the infinite, immersive galaxy, pondering the possibilities of life beyond earth, wondering whether or not we’ll figure that out. And yet, here I am, fully immersed in a screen, savouring every second of every frame.’

In the second half of the workshop, the young writers imagined what Swansea might be like in 50 years’ time, and their stories all featured some pretty dystopian elements.

Visions of the future ranged from a city covered in solar panels to a Swansea relocated to Mars because the Jacks now rule the red planet. We had mutant hamster boys, a community ruled by slugs, and another where moving sofas transport us everywhere.

Another Swansea had sheep roaming the streets as everyone is vegan and there are no livestock farms, in comparison to one where global warming has caused sea levels to rise to the extent that Swansea has become flooded and residents live in specially designed domes built on a giant hover pad.

In another story, the protagonist hears a sound that he speculates has been caused by his Robo-Cat scrabbling around for leftover mooncheese pizza topped with Martian ham (that’s ham made by Martians, not made of Martians). Meanwhile, majestic floating pirate ships can be seen through VR headsets.

Rebecca led a couple of truly inspiring sessions, and whatever the future holds, one thing is certain: Swansea’s reputation for producing and nurturing some brilliant creative writing talent will continue. The next generation of exceptional Swansea writers will be on hand to tell and interpret the stories of the next 50 years, whatever it holds.

The Dylan Thomas Centre also runs a Squad for 8-11 year olds as well as our secondary age groups. The Squads meet twice a term for a free workshop with a specialist writer. The only qualification to join is a love of writing! Please see dylanthomas.com for more information, or ring them on 01792 463980.

All of Swansea Council’s libraries are joining in the summer of celebrations for Swansea’s 50th anniversary as a city.

Every library will be hosting events featuring games, craft, reading challenges, displays and Sixties-themed parties for all ages.

Robert Francis-Davies, Cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said thousands of people had already joined in many of the events organised to celebrate Swansea’s golden year and there is more to come.

He added: “Our libraries are staging a whole range of events and activities dedicated to their own areas of the city and many are on a street party-style theme. All of them are free and all are welcome to come along.  “

Cllr Francis-Davies said: “The 50^th anniversary of our city adds yet another reason for families to check out what’s going on at their local library.

“Throughout the summer break our libraries are always a hive of holiday activity with free events for parents and carers to bring the children such as rhyme times and craft events and in particular the Summer Reading Challenge, Space Chase, which is a nod to the 50^th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

“For adults there is the popular August is for Authors author talks, scrabble clubs and even yoga sessions in some places for those looking for a bit of rest and relaxation.”

It was on July 3, 1969, that Prince Charles came to Swansea to announce that it was to be given city status. The formal announcement took place on December 10 that year.

Among the highlights of the celebrations so far has been the Wales Airshow which broke attendance records again this year as it also included a special Swansea 50 Airshow After Dark evening event

Added attractions this summer have also included gigs in Singleton Park by the Stereophonics, DJ Pete Tong and Jess Glynne as well as Freedom of the City celebrations for Catherine Zeta Jones, Alun Wyn Jones and the 157 (Welsh) Regiment.

Cllr Francis-Davies said: “It’s been a great celebration so far and there’s more to come.”

To find out more about library events, take a look at the Events pages.

The 157 (Welsh) Regiment of the Royal Logistic Corp (RLC) celebrated being granted the freedom of Swansea with a parade and march in the city centre on July 27.

Lord Mayor of Swansea, Cllr Peter Black CBE said: “It is with great pleasure that we are honoured to be able to grant 157 (Welsh) Regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) Honorary Freedom of the City & County of Swansea in our 50th year as a city.

“The Royal Logistic Corps’ (RLC) 157 (Welsh) Regiment RLC, known colloquially as The Welsh Transport Regiment, has a special friendship with the people of the city and county of Swansea.

“Swansea is proud of its relationship with the Armed Forces and welcomes every opportunity to show our support.

“It was my pleasure to be able to give permission to exercise their right of Honorary Freedom to march through our streets with drums beating and bayonets fixed. The people of Swansea gave a very warm welcome as they passed through the city.”

Following the Ceremonial Meeting of Swansea Council in the Guildhall Chamber, there was an Inspection outside the Guildhall, followed by a march from Guildhall to the National Waterfront Museum via St Helen’s Road, West Way, Oxford Street and Princess Way.

The search is on to find Swansea’s greatest icon as the city celebrates its 50^th birthday.

The Swansea Icon initiative has been devised in a bid to resolve an issue that’s divided the city for generations – who or what is our city’s greatest icon.

A list of 50 people, places and events – there’s even a dog involved – has been drawn up for people to vote on ahead of the announcement of the winner in October.

On the list are people who’d be expected to make it like Dylan Thomas, Bonnie Tyler and Catherine Zeta Jones.

But also there are moments in time like Gary Sobers’ six sixes in an over at St Helen’s, the Swans’ epic rise to the Premier League and the legendary life-saving exploits of two Swansea women more than 150 years ago.

There are places too like Rhossili Beach and the St Helen’s ground – the only British venue where every Southern Hemisphere rugby and cricket nation has been defeated by the local team.

And, naturally, there’s Swansea Jack, the black labrador who achieved international fame saving the lives of people who’d fallen into the city’s docks.

Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said the search for Swansea’s greatest icon will generate great debate across the city.

He said: “When you come up with a shortlist of names, places and events you start to realise what an amazing place our city really is.

“Swansea has been home to pioneers of business and the creative arts, to incredible achievements in fields like music, sport and photography. The people of our city have participated in or witnessed barely-believable acts of bravery and breath-taking moments of greatness or commitment.

“In their different ways, the list of 50 are already Swansea icons. The truth is that we could probably have come up with many more iconic people, moments and places.

“But we are hoping the public will vote for their favourite icon from the list and perhaps settle the argument about the greatest Swansea icon for the next 50 years at least.”

He added: “Swansea Icons is part of the Swansea 50 festivities – an opportunity for residents to get involved in celebrating our city status announced by the Prince of Wales on July 3, 1969.

“We’ve seen street parties, Golden Tickets to money-can’t-buy events and, of course, a royal visit from the Prince of Wales on the 50^th anniversary of his announcement.

“But there’s lots more to come and it’s easy for people to be part of it.”

50 iconic people, places, events and more. But who or what is Swansea’s greatest icon? You decide.