2002 in Wales

This article is about the particular significance of the year 2002 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

*Prince of Wales - Charles, Prince of Wales
*Princess of Wales - "vacant"
*First Minister - Rhodri Morgan
*Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales - Dafydd Elis-Thomas
*Secretary of State for Wales - Peter Hain
*Archbishop of Wales - Rowan Williams

Events

*In the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons poll, those with a Welsh connection who finished in the top 100 were:
**Diana, Princess of Wales - 3
**Elizabeth I of England - 7
**Owain Glyndŵr - 23
**Henry VIII of England - 40
**Aneurin Bevan - 45
**Henry V of England - 72
**J. K. Rowling - 83
**Richard Burton - 96
*May - H & Claire release their debut single.
*May 25 - Jessica Garlick represents the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Estonia.
*June
**Archaeologists discover the Newport ship.
**DNA from the exhumed body of Joe Kappen proves beyond reasonable doubt that he was responsible for the murders of three teenage girls in 1973.
*June 18 - Cowbridge businessman Peter Shaw is kidnapped while working in Tbilisi, Georgia. He is held in brutal conditions until he escapes in November.
*June 28 - David Morris receives four life sentences for the Clydach murders of June 1999. Despite his having been a suspect days after the murder was committed, it had taken police 21 months to arrest and charge him.
*July - Research reveals that Wales has the highest figures for company failures of any region of the UK.
*August - "Barney" saves his owners' lives by warning them of a fire at their home in Wrexham.
*August 5 - Rowan Williams is admitted to the Gorsedd of bards.
*October - Archaeological excavations on a Bronze Age site recover the Banc Tynddol "sun-disc", one of the earliest gold objects found in Wales.
*October 24 - Paul Murphy is appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Arts and literature

*Teenage actor Gethin Rhys Williams is killed in an accident in Spain.
*Connie Fisher wins the Wilbert Lloyd Roberts Scholarship in the National Eisteddfod "Songs from the Shows" competition.

Awards

*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair - Myrddin ap Dafydd
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown - Aled Jones Lewis
*National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal - "O! Tyn y Gorchudd - Hunangofiant Rebecca Jones" by Angharad Price
*Wales Book of the Year:
**English language: Stevie Davies, "The Element of Water"
**Welsh language:
*Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen - Eurig Wyn
*John Tripp Prize for Spoken Poetry - Cliff Forshaw

New books

*Richard J. Evans - "Telling Lies About Hitler"
*Ken Follett - "Hornet Flight"
*Steve Jones - "The Descent of Men"
*Jo Mazelis - "Diving Girls"
*Jan Morris - "A Writer's House in Wales"
*Steve Strange - "Blitzed! The Autobiography of Steve Strange"
*Rachel Trezise - "In and Out of the Goldfish Bowl"
*Eirug Wyn - "Bitsh"

Film

* Christian Bale stars in "Laurel Canyon".
*Craig Handley writes "On All Floors".
*Anthony Hopkins plays Hannibal Lecter for the third time, in "Red Dragon".

Welsh-language films

*"Oedd yr Addewid"

Music

*3SL - "Take it Easy" (single)
*Carreg Lafar - "Profiad" (album)
*Feeder - "Comfort In Sound" (album)
*Bonnie Tyler - "Heart & Soul/Heart Strings" (album)

Broadcasting

*

English-language television

*"Cable TV" (chat show with Stuart Cable)

Welsh-language television

port

*John Fashanu becomes Chairman of Barry Town.
*Barry Town are Welsh Cup winners after beating Bangor City 4-1.
*Barry Town win a sixth League of Wales title.
*Winners of the three division's in the Welsh Football League are: Ton Pentre (Division 1), Garden Village (Division 2) & Newport YMCA (Division 3).
*Welshpool Town are champions of the Cymru Alliance.

Births

*

Deaths

*2 January - Ian Grist, politician, 63
*7 January - Jon Lee, rock musician, 33 (suicide)
*12 January - Moss Evans, trade union leader, 76
*3 February - Edward Thomas Chapman, Victoria Cross recipient, 82
*26 September - Willie Davies, Wales international rugby union and league player
*20 November - George Guest, organist and choirmaster of St John's College, Cambridge, 78