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

Sport

• 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
• 20 November - George Guest, organist and choirmaster of St John's College, Cambridge, 78