Wales Week London, the biggest annual programme of occasions celebrating and selling Wales, kicks off this weekend, for its seventh successive yr.
Operating for 2 weeks till Sunday fifth March, Wales Week London will ship a schedule of practically 100 actions and occasions across the interval of St David’s Day; collectively serving to to have fun Wales’ heritage and tradition, commemorating its nationwide day, and selling a contemporary Wales to the remainder of the world.
2023’s programme contains occasions masking enterprise, social enterprise, start-ups, innovation and finance, tech, structure, artwork, music and music, display, language, authorities, sport, food and drinks, superstar interviews, leisure, theatre and extra.
It builds on the success of the final six years, throughout which a mess of Welsh celebrities, companies, sporting, arts and meals organisations, authorities and worldwide companions, have all contributed to showcasing Wales to a collective viewers of some 56,000, at round 540 occasions in over 80 completely different venues throughout London.
Chair of the Wales Week initiative, Dan Langford has been overwhelmed by the extent of curiosity acquired by the programme once more this yr, he mentioned;
“Yearly I’m all the time shocked by the unbelievable enthusiasm we proceed to see from all our companions, occasion organisers and mates – each long-standing ones, who be a part of us for Wales Week London yearly; and new sponsors, occasion organisers and supporters, who we appeal to every year. It’s genuinely humbling, and it all the time provides our preparations an actual enhance once we know there’s a lot vitality and concepts that they bring about with them. Their ongoing contribution is simply unbelievable, and it’s elementary to the initiative’s enduring success.”
Wales Week London additionally works carefully with Welsh diaspora teams in London, and each the Welsh Authorities and UK Authorities. This yr, the occasion schedule additionally contains St David’s Day receptions hosted by the Swiss, French and American governments, as they generously look to affix with their Welsh mates and companions, to mark the event of Wales’ nationwide day.
Langford continued,
“Wales Week could be very a lot about partnerships; we appeal to and coalesce the goodwill, creativeness and vitality of so many great individuals and organisations below one Wales Week banner, via which we promote them, their manufacturers, their actions, and collectively we make an enormous quantity of Welsh noise.
“This drives our goal of commemorating our nationwide day, celebrating Welsh tradition and heritage, and selling a contemporary Wales to the remainder of the world.”
New sponsors for 2023 embody Gerald Eve, Admiral, Atradius, RBC Brewin Dolphin and the Soccer Affiliation of Wales.
In recent times, the Wales Week initiative has additionally expanded to different places world wide; operating Wales Week programmes concurrently for locations resembling New York, Hungary, Berkshire, Paris, Kansas, New England, Melbourne, Osaka, Ohio, Tokyo, Dublin, Iran, British Columbia, Newcastle, Pittsburgh; and for the primary time this yr, they’ve prolonged to Detroit, Las Vegas and throughout the northeast of England.
Langford provides,
“Our worldwide locations change every year relying on the provision of our mates and volunteers, however now we have a rising variety of individuals world wide all in favour of becoming a member of us to run a Wales Week programme the place they’re – we’re reliant on their time, goodwill and vitality, which they volunteer yearly. It’s so humbling to draw such good individuals to be concerned on this method – and by doing so they’re great ambassadors for Wales world wide.
This yr, Wales Week London has additionally supported an elevated quantity of charitable exercise, resembling sponsoring the Help a College programme for Swansea-based 2B Enterprising, to ship exercise classes at Ysgol Gymraeg Llundain; sponsoring the Welsh Artwork Exhibition held on the London Welsh Centre, and with the assistance of Lexington Company Finance, has collaborated with Welsh artist Nichola hope in publishing a guide on Welsh artwork and poetry, with all proceeds from the gross sales going to Velindre. In recent times, Wales Week London has to this point helped to boost practically £125,000 for its designated charity, Veindre.
Wales Week London was first held in 2017, and was based by advertising and marketing and communications marketing consultant, Dan Langford, and Mike Jordan, Managing Director of main branding company Bluegg.
