2016 in Wales

← 2015 2014 2013 2016 in Wales → 2017 2018 2019
Centuries:	19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	List of years in Wales 2016 in The United Kingdom England Ireland Scotland

This article is about the particular significance of the year 2016 to Wales and its people.

Incumbents

• Prince of Wales – The Prince Charles
• Princess of Wales – The Duchess of Cornwall (does not use title)
• First Minister – Carwyn Jones
• Secretary of State for Wales – Alun Cairns
• Archbishop of Wales – Barry Morgan, Bishop of Llandaff
• Archdruid of the National Eisteddfod of Wales – Christine James

Events

January

• 5 January - First Minister Carwyn Jones visits areas of Wales that have been badly affected by flooding, and promises that a further £2.3 million will be made available to be spent on flood protection.^[1]
• 18 January - Tata Steel announces 750 job losses at Port Talbot steelworks.^[2]

February

• 8 February - Wales is badly affected by Storm Imogen: 80 mph winds result in waves high enough to hit first-floor windows along Aberystwyth's seafront.^[3]
• 24 February - Aston Martin announces that their new DBX model will be built at a site in St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, creating 750 new jobs.^[4]

March

Alun Cairns is made Secretary of State for Wales in March.

• 9 March - Little Haven beach becomes the first in Britain to be declared smoke free.^[5]
• 16 March - In the 2016 Budget chancellor George Osborne announces the halving of tolls across both Severn Bridges from 2018.^[6]
• 17 March - The review of the Macur Report, a government inquiry into the abuse of children in care in the former county council areas of Gwynedd and Clwyd in North Wales is published.^[7] It finds "no evidence" of historical abuse by establishment figures.^[8]
• 19 March - Following the resignation of Iain Duncan Smith, Stephen Crabb is appointed as the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, while his position as Secretary of State for Wales is filled by Alun Cairns, MP for the Vale of Glamorgan.^[9]
• 30 March - Tata Steel announces that it is looking for a buyer for its entire British steel making operations, putting at risk all 5,500 jobs at Port Talbot Steelworks.^[10]

April

• 1 April - As part of a three-day celebration of arts, culture and creativity in Wales, artist Marc Rees unveils a 20ft tall statue of singer Shirley Bassey on a balcony of Caernarfon Castle.^[11]

May

• 5 May - National Assembly for Wales election, 2016. New constituency members elected include Hannah Blythyn (Labour), Siân Gwenllian (Plaid Cymru), Huw Irranca-Davies (Labour) and Lee Waters (Labour). New regional members include UKIP members Neil Hamilton and Mark Reckless. Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood takes the Rhondda seat from Labour's Leighton Andrews.^[12]

Arts and literature

Welsh Awards

• Glyndŵr Award
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Chair – TBD
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Crown – TBD
• National Eisteddfod of Wales: Prose Medal – TBD
• Gwobr Goffa Daniel Owen: TBD
• Wales Book of the Year:
  • English language: TBD
  • Welsh language: TBD

New books

Welsh language

• Tony Bianchi - Sol a Lara

Music

Albums

• John Cale - M:FANS

Sport

• Association Football
  • 20 March - Gareth Bale becomes the British leading goalscorer in La Liga history, with a tally of 43 goals, surpassing Gary Linekar's record.^[13]
• Athletics
  • 26 March - Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor wins the Cardiff half-marathon despite slipping and falling at the start of he race.^[14]
• Boxing
  • 9 April - Lee Selby successfully defends his IBF World Featherweight title, beating American Eric Hunter on unanimous points decision.
• Horse racing
  • 9 January - The Welsh Grand National 2015 is run, having been postponed from 27 December because of continuous heavy rain affecting the Chepstow course.^[15] It is won by Mountainous, ridden by jockey Jamie Moore.^[16]
• Rugby union
  • 8 February - Ireland and Wales draw 16-16 in their first match of the 2016 Six Nations Championship.^[17]
• Snooker
  • 21 February - Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Neil Robertson to win the Welsh Open. This was O'Sullivan's fourth Open win bringing him level with John Higgins as the tournament's most successful player.^[18]

Broadcasting

Welsh-language television

• Byw Celwydd^[19]

Deaths

• 4 January - John Roberts, footballer, 69^[20]
• 8 January - Ida Gaskin, Welsh-born New Zealand teacher and quiz show contestant, 96^[21]
• 18 January - Terence Cook, dual-code international rugby player, 88
• 21 January - Gerald Williams, journalist and tennis commentator, 86^[22]
• 23 January - Grahame Hodgson, rugby union international, 79^[23]
• 8 February - John Disley, steeplechase runner, Olympic bronze medallist (1952) and co-founder of the London Marathon, 87^[24]
• 9 February - Graham Moore, footballer, 74
• 16 February - Jim Pleass, Cricketer (Glamorgan), 92^[25]
• 4 March - John Brooks, Baron Brooks of Tremorfa, politician and boxing executive, President of the British Boxing Board of Control and Welsh Sports Hall of Fame, 88^[26]
• 19 March - David Green, cricketer, 76^[27]
• 10 April
  • Howard Marks, cannabis smuggler, writer and legalisation campaigner, 70 (cancer)^[28]
  • Lady Woodward (Melinda Rose Woodward), wife of Sir Tom Jones, 75^[29]
• 13 April
  • Gareth Thomas, actor (Blake's 7), 71 (heart failure)^[30]
  • Gwyn Thomas, poet and academic, National Poet (2006–2008), 79^[31]

References

1. ITV News, "First Minister pledges £2.3 million for flood protection across Wales", 5 January 2016
2. BBC News - "Tata steel: Port Talbot faces bulk of 1,050 job losses", 18 January 2016. Accessed 24 January 2016
3. "Storm Imogen: Record breaking winds amid news an RSPCA worker may have been swept out to sea", The Telegraph, 9 February 2016
4. Dickins, Sarah (24 February 2016). "Aston Martin creates 750 jobs in St Athan". Retrieved 12 March 2016.
5. "Little Haven becomes UK's first smoke-free beach". BBC News. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
6. "Budget 2016: Severn bridge tolls to be halved". BBC News. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
7. "The Report of the Macur Review". gov.uk. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
8. "Macur review: 'No reason' to undermine abuse inquiry findings". BBC News. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
9. "Stephen Crabb replaces Iain Duncan Smith". BBC News. 19 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
10. "Tata Steel: 'All options' considered for Port Talbot". BBC News. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
11. "Giant Shirley Bassey statue unveiled at Caernarfon Castle". BBC. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
12. "Welsh Election 2016: Labour just short as UKIP wins seats". BBC News. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
13. Jurejko, Jonathan (20 March 2016). "Real Madrid 4 - 0 Sevilla". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
14. "Mo Farah's rival Kamworor falls at start of World Half Marathon in Cardiff". BBC Sport. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
15. Racing Better - Coral Welsh National 2015. Accessed 6 January 2016
16. "Welsh National: Mountainous wins for second time at Chepstow". BBC News. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
17. "Ireland vs Wales, Six Nations 2016: Jonny Sexton seals draw after fierce battle", Daily Telegraph, 7 February 2016. Accessed 8 February 2016
18. "Ronnie O'Sullivan beats Neil Robertson to win Welsh Open". BBC News. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
19. "Welsh-language drama Byw Celwydd (Living A Lie) set to add new pep to politics with intrigue and corruption", The Independent, 28 December 2015. Accessed 6 January 2016
20. Former Arsenal Defender John Roberts Dies at 69
21. Shakespeare Mastermind Ida Gaskin dies, aged 96
22. Gerald Williams: Former BBC tennis commentator dies
23. Grahame Hodgson: Ex-Wales and Neath full-back dies aged 79
24. John Disley dies aged 87
25. Glamorgan 1948 county championship winning legend Jim Pleass dies aged 92
26. Lord Jack Brooks, who laid the foundations for Cardiff's transformation, has died aged 88
27. County stalwart David Green dies aged 76
28. 'Mr Nice' Howard Marks dies aged 70
29. Sir Tom Jones's wife of 59 years who he described as 'the love of my life' dies with the singer by her bedside after a 'short but fierce battle with cancer'
30. Gareth Thomas 1945 - 2016
31. Wales' former national poet Gwyn Thomas dies