Festivities all set as Queen in city today for Sixth Senedd opening
THE Queen will visit Cardiff today as part of her first visit to Wales for five years.
She will attend the Welsh Parliament building in Cardiff Bay to officially open the Sixth Senedd, along with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
The event usually takes place shortly after an election, held in May 2021, but has been delayed due to the pandemic.
It will include creative performances by participants from all over Wales, but, due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions, for the first time it will involve a mixture of in-person and pre-recorded performances.
During the official opening of the Senedd, the Queen will make a speech in the Senedd’s chamber, as will the Llywydd of the Senedd, Elin Jones MS, and First Minister, Mark Drakeford.
At the end of 2020, people from all over Wales were nominated by their local Senedd member for their work helping their communities in the pandemic. Some of those will also attend the event to meet the royal party, including Ian Turner, from Aberconwy, who is a figurehead in the community as a volunteer for Childline and many cancer charities. He has recently completed his 13th London Marathon for charity. Alison Round, who headed up a sewing group in Flint who turned donated materials into scrub bags, scrubs, hats and masks for NHS and healthcare workers, will also attend, and Llanelli YouTuber Ffion Gwyther will present a posy to the Queen.
Eleri Griffiths, from Cynon Valley, and Oliver Edwards Davies, who were members of the first Welsh Youth Parliament, will read a poem written by children from 24 primary schools across Wales, while Tan Cerdd, a not-for-profit organisation set up to raise the profile of Black voices in Wales, will perform a song they composed for the opening, Ymuno.
The WNO Youth Opera will perform a rendition of Ar Lan y Mor – it will be the first time the choir have performed live in 18 months due to Covid restrictions.
Also present at the event will be a family who recently arrived in Wales after fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan.