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2021 in Wales

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2021
in
Wales
Centuries:
Decades:
See also:List of years in Wales
Timeline of Welsh history
2021 in
The United Kingdom
England
Scotland
Elsewhere

Events from the year 2021 in Wales.

Incumbents

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Events

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January

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  • 2 JanuarySouth Wales Police report that they received 240 reports of COVID-19 breaches on New Year's Eve and fined 43 people. During December as a whole, 430 fixed penalty notices were issued to people in breach of the restrictions.[4]
  • 7 January – A mountain rescue team is called out after police become stuck in snow while attending a car accident caused by a vehicle driving through road blocks on Moel Famau, Flintshire.[5]
  • 8 January – The Welsh government announces that COVID restrictions will be extended and strengthened, whilst a decision has been made not to reopen Welsh schools before half-term unless there is a significant fall in COVID cases.[6]
  • 20 January
    • Storm Christoph leads to severe flooding in North Wales, particularly at Bangor-on-Dee and Ruthin. In Denbighshire, a bridge over the River Clwyd collapses.[7]
    • An investigation is launched into an incident that took place on 8 December 2020, when several Senedd members consumed alcohol on the premises whilst a ban on the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol in licensed premises was in force throughout Wales.[8]
  • 23 JanuaryPaul Davies resigns as Leader of the Opposition in the Welsh Parliament, following an incident involving possible breaches of Welsh COVID-19 regulations.[9] He is replaced by Andrew R. T. Davies.

February

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  • 6 February – Wales passes England's progress record for COVID-19 vaccinations as 17.7% of the population are reported to have received their first vaccinations.[10]
  • 7 FebruaryTransport for Wales Rail begins operations within the Wales & Borders franchise.[11]
  • 10 February – Hollywood celebrities Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney complete a takeover of Wrexham F.C., with fans' approval.[12]
  • 12 February
    • Wales becomes the first of the home countries to meet the target of offering COVID-19 vaccinations to all residents and staff in adult care homes, frontline health and social care workers, people aged 70 and over, and clinically vulnerable individuals.[13] Mark Drakeford comments: "I'm just anxious to avoid the narrative that it is somehow a competition between UK nations... the contest is between the injection and the infection... We are the first nation in the UK to have reached this milestone, other nations will follow in the next couple of days. We're not in competition with one another. Every part of the UK is working as hard as it can to get to these milestones."
    • Archaeologists announce that they have identified the Waun Mawn stone circle as the possible original location of some of the bluestones now standing at Stonehenge.[14]

March

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  • 5 March – A street in Treorchy is cordoned off by police, following a stabbing incident in which one person is killed and two others injured.[15]
  • 8 March – A recording is shown on S4C of Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford describing UK prime minister Boris Johnson as "really, really awful" during a meeting in December 2020.[16] Later in the TV programme he says: "The world through Boris Johnson's eyes is so different to the world that people in Wales see. It's difficult sometimes to understand where he's coming from and why he's doing what he's doing."
  • 21 March – A riot involving over 100 people takes place on a traveller site at Shirenewton in Cardiff. Several people are stabbed.[17]

April

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May

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  • 6 May
  • 9 MayPlaid Cymru and Welsh Labour are confirmed as having held the PCC positions in Dyfed-Powys Police and Gwent Police respectively, whilst Labour take the North Wales Police commissioner position from Plaid Cymru.[26]
  • 20 May – Violence breaks out in an area of Swansea, involving about 100 people, triggered during a vigil for a local teenager who died suddenly two days earlier.[27]
  • 25 MayRob Roberts, MP for Delyn, has the Conservative whip withdrawn and is suspended from the House of Commons after an independent expert panel endorses claims of sexual harassment against him.[28]
  • 30 MayPublic Health Wales reveal the results of a study showing that, despite Wales having the lowest COVID infection rate of any of the four countries of the United Kingdom, an increasing number of people are not complying with COVID guidelines.[29]

June

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July

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August

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  • 2 August
    • Three people are arrested after the discovery of a child's body in a river in the Bridgend area.[39]
    • A reduced National Eisteddfod of Wales (Eisteddfod Amgen) begins, promoted by the BBC.[40]
  • 7 August – COVID-19 restrictions in Wales are scheduled to revert to "level zero".[41]
  • 10 AugustStephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, whilst stating his approval for the principle of devolution, suggests that Wales and Scotland should sing "God Save The Queen" before sports matches as well as their own anthems.[42]

September

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October

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November

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December

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Arts and literature

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National Eisteddfod of Wales

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Awards

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New books

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English language

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Welsh language

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Music

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New albums

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New compositions

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Film

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Broadcasting

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English language

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Welsh language television

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Welsh language radio

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  • Cefn y Rhwyd (radio)[82]
  • Pod Rhod on Radio Aber (Welsh and English)[83]

Awards

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Sport

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Deaths

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References

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