Latest news with #AleighciaScott
Pembrokeshire Herald
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Pembrokeshire Herald
Urdd Launches New Projects to Celebrate Wales's Women at Euro 2025
Six new projects including a Jambori, a new anthem for the Euros and presence in Switzerland WALES' largest national youth movement, Urdd Gobaith Cymru has announced the details of six new projects to celebrate and support the Cymru women's national football team at the UEFA Women's Euro 2025. The Urdd has received funding through the Welsh Government's Euro 2025 fund to host six projects. The Urdd's campaign will inspire, support, and empower young women and girls to keep active and break down the barriers that prevent them from participating in sport. One of the main projects is the Euros Jambori; a national, virtual singalong event held in partnership with the Football Association of Wales, S4C, Boom Plant and BBC Cymru Wales, giving children across Wales an opportunity to show their support for the women's national team and join in the Euro celebrations. This follows the success of the Urdd's 'Jambori Cwpan y Byd' (Wales's World Cup Singalong) which brought together over 250,000 children to sing and celebrate together in support of the men's team back in 2022. The Euros Anthem will also feature in the Jambori as composer Caryl Parry Jones is tasked with composing a brand-new anthem to support the national football team. The popular band Eden, along with singers Aleighcia Scott and Rose Datta, winner of S4C's Y Llais competition, will also join the Jambori to perform the anthem live. The Gwerin #FelMerch project, in partnership with TwmpDaith project, will enable Urdd members to travel to Switzerland to showcase contemporary folk talent from Wales. Gŵyl Chwaraeon Ewros – the Euros Sports Festival has already taken place at Aberystwyth, and the #FelMerch Campaign Ambassadors will visit Switzerland during the campaign. As a legacy to the Euros, a #FelMerch One-day Conference will be held this autumn, ensuring the Euros legacy and continue the Urdd's aim to empower women and girls through sports. During Eisteddfod yr Urdd, the Urdd's sports area will offer a range of various activities for children throughout the week, focusing on empowering through sports. Golf activities will be held daily to celebrate the AIG Women's Open which is being held at Porthcawl this year – the largest women's sporting event of its kind to be held in Wales. Siân Lewis, the Urdd's Chief Executive said: 'The fact that the Welsh women's team is competing in the UEFA Women's Euro for the first time ever presented us with a fantastic opportunity to deliver new projects that align perfectly with our #FelMerch campaign. We're looking forward to seeing these projects inspire children and young people across Wales, giving them the opportunity to support the team, to feel proud of their Welsh heritage, and to take part in special sporting and arts events in Wales and Switzerland. 'We are very grateful to the Welsh Government for funding all this activity, and to the Football Association of Wales and all our partners for being so willing to working with us. These projects will allow us to reach our goals of Welsh-language community activities throughout Wales that will inspire children and young people to feel part of this special football campaign.' Culture and Sports Minister, Jack Sargeant, said: 'We're taking a collaborative 'Gorau chwarae, cyd chwarae' approach to create a lasting legacy from Cymru Women's historic Euro 2025 qualification. Our £1m fund will use the invaluable expertise of a range of organisations like the Urdd to enhance our tournament presence and build a legacy that will benefit communities long after the final whistle. 'The six new Urdd projects – announced today – will not only boost participation in sport across our communities but will also showcase Wales and our culture on the international stage.' A Football Association of Wales (FAW) spokesperson said: 'The FAW is incredibly excited and proud to see so many organisations and initiatives embracing and celebrating Cymru's first-ever appearance at a women's tournament this summer. 'The Urdd's projects, supported by Welsh Government's EURO 2025 fund, are a powerful example of how football, creativity, and culture can unite to inspire a nation. 'These initiatives will not only ignite support for Cymru during the tournament but also empower girls and women across Wales to get involved in football at every level of the game. Together, we're building a legacy that will inspire the next generation of players, coaches, referees, and fans.'
BBC News
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Aleighcia Scott: 'I'm told my songs aren't Welsh due to my race'
Singer Aleighcia Scott has described how people have told her that her Welsh-language songs "are not Welsh" - which she believes is due to her race. Scott, a BBC Radio Wales DJ from Rumney, Cardiff, said she was "ecstatic" after her song Dod o'r Galon became the first Welsh-language song to hit number one on the iTunes Reggae chart earlier this month. Speaking to Lucy Owen on her Radio Wales show, she said "90% of people are always positive" but "you always get that small percentage of people who are just quite ignorant"."I know the undertone is that the reason they are saying it's not Welsh is because there is a brown lady singing the song," she said. "I almost had to laugh because how can a whole song fluent in the Welsh language, not be Welsh," she added."For me, part of the reason why I'm doing this is because of that, so we can stop this happening and people can see a normal Wales and what Wales looks like." The Welsh-Jamaican artist said it was "so important" for her to represent both of her cultures – Jamaican and Welsh."I feel like everywhere I go outside of Wales, they are also shocked that there are Jamaicans in Wales. But our history here is massive. "So for me, it was important to basically incorporate both of my cultures together in my first Welsh track," she said. Scott added that the online abuse she receives drives her to make a change. "For me, I didn't really see a lot of Welsh media and British media that looked like me as a child growing up. "If I can be like that for some of the children, they'll never feel like they don't belong somewhere."
The Guardian
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I didn't think I'd be able to sing in Welsh': artists' pride on show for music day
When it was launched a decade ago, Dydd Miwsig Cymru – Welsh-language music day – tended to be dominated by artists for whom Welsh (Cymraeg) was their first language. But the 10th birthday celebrations this week highlight how many Welsh learners are now using Cymraeg in their work. Aleighcia Scott, a reggae artist from Cardiff, has only been learning Welsh for three years but performs Bob Marley and Dawn Penn covers in Welsh and is about to release the first song of her own in the language – Dod O'r Galon, From the Heart. 'I worry I might maybe miss a couple of words but I'm also really proud while I'm singing in Welsh,' Scott told the Guardian. 'I've always been interested in the Welsh language and wanted to speak it, but I didn't think that I'd be able to. And then I had some not very nice comments: people told me that I was too black to be Welsh; I wasn't allowed to be Welsh. 'I realised there was obviously a gap in representation in the Welsh language for people of colour like myself. I started learning Welsh and found out a lot more about Wales and Welshness. I'm just really proud to be Welsh.' Scott is about to be a coach on the Welsh-language television channel S4C's version of the show The Voice, (Y Llais). 'I'm excited to be part of what seems like to me a new wave of Welsh language music, which is really cool,' she said. The soul singer Dionne Bennett, who sings the theme song for Y Lais, started learning Cymraeg in a virtual classroom. She said: 'Welsh is a beautiful language and the cadence and rhythm of it reminds me of Jamaica, putting my mouth into different shapes and bringing out a different texture in my voice. As a black Welsh woman I wasn't sure how I'd be accepted, but I've been embraced.' Over the past decade, the reach and influence of the Welsh language music scene has grown with artists and acts racking up millions of listens on streaming platforms and playing festivals across the world, becoming a gateway to the language. Adwaith, from Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales, who were due to release a double album, Solas, on Friday, are emblematic of a new breed of young Welsh artists proud to perform in their language. This year, Dydd Miwsig Cymru includes bands such as the Aberystwyth group Mellt heading to The Old Blue Last pub at Shoreditch, east London, for a gig while the Welsh record label, Sain Records, is releasing albums from its golden era of the 1970s and 80s on the day as part of the label's digitisation drive. An interactive gig map, Awni (we will go), has been launched. Sign up to Sleeve Notes Get music news, bold reviews and unexpected extras. Every genre, every era, every week after newsletter promotion The Welsh government's cabinet secretary with responsibility for the Welsh language, Mark Drakeford, said: 'It's great to hear about the artists who have learned Welsh and are now creating music in the language. It's an inspiration to us all.' The rapper Dom James, the first generation of his family to speak Welsh, said the rise of the learners was positive. 'We've had a lot of people come up to us who are not fluent Welsh speakers, who are learning, and they've said that listening to our music has made them feel like there's a place for them. 'I feel like in a lot of the history of the Welsh language there has been elitism. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being prideful, but it also feels like it's been hard to feel included sometimes. We want people to be able to feel like no matter what level they are, they are involved in the Welsh-speaking community. That's what we strive for.'
