The largest annual programme of events promoting and celebrating Wales is under way.
Wales Week London will see 90 different activities and events taking place in London up to March 6th.
Held for a fortnight around St David’s Day, it will includes events from business and sport to celebrity interviews and entertainment.
Following a wholly online programme of events last year due to Covid, this year Wales Week London returns to face to face events.
In 2020 some 145 events, held at 60 different venues across London, attracted a total audience of 14,000.
Wales Week London was first held in 2017 having been co-founded by marketing and communications consultant Dan Langford and Mike Jordan, managing director branding agency Bluegg.
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Chair of Wales Week London Mr Langford said: We were delighted that during lockdown last year our partners and event organisers were still determined to run events and keep the Wales Week momentum building, albeit online only.
“Their enthusiasm for continuing to be a part of Wales Week and their ongoing contribution is just incredible and fundamental to the initiative’s enduring success in showcasing the best of Wales.
“We had nearly 70 events and this year the programme has grown again to some 90 events.”
As well as collaborating with many business, arts and sports organisations, the event programme, Wales Week also works closely with Welsh diaspora groups in London and both the UK and Welsh government.
Mr Langford said: “Wales Week is very much about partnerships; we attract and coalesce the goodwill, imagination and energy of so many wonderful people and organisations under one Wales Week banner, through which we promote them, their brands, their activities, and together generate a huge amount of Welsh noise.
“This drives our purpose of commemorating our national day, celebrating Welsh culture and heritage, and promoting a modern Wales to the rest of the world.”
Alongside events in London, Wales Week will take place around the world in locations including the USA, Japan, Canada, France, Hungry and Australia. And for the first time this year there will be an online programme for Wales Week Iran.
Mr Langford said “We have a growing number of people around the world interested in joining us to run a Wales Week programme where they are – as with the amazing people already running our Wales Week programmes internationally, we’re reliant on their energy, time and enthusiasm, which they volunteer every year.
“It’s so humbling to attract such good people to be involved in this way – and by doing so they prove to be tremendous ambassadors for Wales around the world. We are currently in discussion with the UK Government about scaling the Wales Week Worldwide initiative over the next few years, which we’re really excited about. Together we aim to take the best of Wales to the world, and make the most incredible noise as we do so.”
Mr Jordan said: “We are delighted this year, to once again thank those sponsors who continue to support us, and also to welcome new sponsors such as Call of the Wild, Invest Cardiff, Cardiff Parkway Developments, Wolfberry Cyber Security and British Business Bank.
“And it’s great that Velindre Cancer Centre continues to be our official charity. Over the last few years Wales Week has helped to raise some £100,000 for Velindre, and their contribution to the events programme has just been fantastic.”
Wales Week London’s founding partners are Acorn Recruitment, Bluegg, UK Government, and the Welsh Government. The programme of events can be found here.
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