BBC Cymru Wales Opens its Doors

Being able to welcome the public into Central Square is a special moment in a hugely significant year for the BBC – and we’re thrilled that The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall could mark the occasion with us. I’m really excited that, from today, audiences will be able to experience this fantastic new broadcast centre and see for themselves the extraordinary capacity and potential it has to deliver for audiences in Wales and elsewhere.

• The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visit Central Square to launch tours of the broadcast centre, now open to the public
• Their Royal Highnesses are joined by BBC staff along with pupils from Mount Stuart School, Cardiff, Ysgol Cefn Coch and Ysgol Talsarnau, Gwynedd.

As the BBC approaches its centenary, BBC Cymru Wales today showcased its new headquarters as it begins a programme of public tours. To mark the opening, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited the site and were given a tour of the broadcasting facilities. They were joined by the Director General of the BBC, Tim Davie and the Chairman, Richard Sharp.

Tim Davie, Director-General of the BBC says: “Being able to welcome the public into Central Square is a special moment in a hugely significant year for the BBC – and we’re thrilled that The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall could mark the occasion with us. I’m really excited that, from today, audiences will be able to experience this fantastic new broadcast centre and see for themselves the extraordinary capacity and potential it has to deliver for audiences in Wales and elsewhere.”

Director of BBC Cymru Wales, Rhuanedd Richards welcomed the guests to Central Square. She says: “Audiences across Wales are the lifeblood of what we do here at BBC Wales and as the BBC approaches its centenary, I can’t think of a better way to mark this significant milestone than by opening the doors of Central Square to our audiences from across Wales and beyond. It’s one of a number of ways we’re making broadcasting more accessible and the ambition is to showcase our programmes and services not only to entertain but also to inspire the broadcasters of the future.”

The Prince and The Duchess were joined by pupils from Mount Stuart School in Cardiff with whom the broadcaster has a particular link; its TV studio is named after Betty Campbell, Mount Stuart School’s headteacher and Wales’s first black headteacher. Betty Campbell’s statue, unveiled last year is located opposite Central Square.

And later, children from Ysgol Talsarnau and Ysgol Cefn Coch in Gwynedd were the first group to embark on the official tour. The schools are guests at the Urdd Centre in Cardiff Bay. The Urdd and BBC Wales formalised their partnership which will see children and young people staying at the Centre build in a visit to Central Square as part of their stay at the Urdd Eisteddfod in Denbigh last month.

The primary school children, began their journey shortly after The Prince of Wales had officially launched the visits with a nod to broadcasting past; a clapperboard.

On 13 February 1923 at 5pm, BBC broadcasting in Wales began when the British Broadcasting Company – as it then was – opened its Cardiff station. That first broadcast took place in Castle Street, Cardiff when Mostyn Thomas sang the famous ballad Dafydd y Garreg Wen. BBC Cymru Wales relocated to Central Square during 2020 from Broadcasting House in Llandaff.

While on their tour of Central Square The Prince of Wales met sports presenter Catrin Heledd on the set of Scrum V, some of the presenters of BBC Wales Today including weather presenters Derek Brockway and Sabrina Lee before recording an extract from Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood from the Dylan Thomas radio studio with actors Owen Teale and Alexandra Riley.

Meanwhile The Duchess of Cornwall met children and families from Caerphilly as part of the BBC’s Tiny Happy People programme which works closely with the Early Years Communication leads and the Flying Start team in the Caerphilly area. She later joined staff and alumni from the National Film and Television School, who are based at Central Square before meeting the presenters of Crimewatch Live and campaigner against domestic abuse, Rachel Williams.

Tours of Central Square are available between Thursday and Saturday with tickets available at bbc.co.uk/tours.