2002 in Wales
This article is about the particular significance of the year 2002 to Wales and its people.
Incumbents
Events
- In the BBC's 100 Greatest Britons poll, those with a Welsh connection who finished in the top 100 were:
- April - Welsh Assembly Government concessionary travel scheme (‘Cerdyn Cymru’) entitles over-60s and registered disabled people to uniform free off-peak travel on all stage carriage bus services.
- 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.
- Donald Wales sets a UK electric land speed record of 220 km/h at Pendine Sands in Bluebird Electric 2.
- 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.
- Ebbw Vale Steelworks shut down.
- 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 Ty'nddôl 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.
- Menna Elfyn is named Poet Laureate for the Children of Wales.
Awards
New books
English language
Welsh language
Drama
Film
Welsh-language films
- Gwyfyn.[1]
- Oedd yr Addewid
Music
Broadcasting
English-language television
Welsh-language television
Sport
- 25 July-4 August - At the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, the Wales team wins a total of 31 medals: 6 gold, 13 silver and 13 bronze.
Cycling
Football
Horse racing
- 27 December - The Welsh National is won by Mini Sensation, ridden by Jonjo O'Neill.[2]
Rugby union
Snooker
Deaths
- 2 January
- 7 January - Jon Lee, rock musician, 33
- 12 January - Moss Evans, trade union leader, 76
- 3 February - Edward Thomas Chapman, Victoria Cross recipient, 82
- 22 February - David James, cricketer, 80
- March - Geoff Charles, photojournalist, 93
- 2 March - Mary Grant Price, costume designer, 85
- 3 March - Bill Hopkin, rugby player, 87
- 6 March - David Jenkins, Librarian of the National Library of Wales 1969-79, 89
- 12 March - Cyril P. Cule, author, 99
- 7 May - Ewart Jones, organic chemist and academic administrator, 91
- 26 September - Willie Davies, Wales international rugby union and league player, 86
- 6 October - Nick Whitehead, athlete, 69
- November - Ernie Jones, footballer, 81/82
- 3 November - Sir John Habakkuk, economic historian, 87
- 20 November - George Guest, organist and choirmaster of St John's College, Cambridge, 78
- December - Brian Morgan Edwards, businessman, 68
- 10 December - Steve Llewellyn, rugby league player, 78
- 24 December - Jake Thackray, singer-songwriter, 64
- 31 December - Billy Morris, footballer, 84
See also
References
2002 in Wales