126-580: The Millennium Stadium ( Welsh : Stadiwm y Mileniwm ), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( Welsh : Stadiwm Principality ) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales . Located in Cardiff , it is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and has also held Wales national football team games. Initially built to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup and replacing
252-605: A rugby union stadium, Murrayfield hosted the Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals of 2000 and 2002 . The stadium hosted rugby league's Super League Magic Weekend in 2009. The record for a rugby league attendance at the stadium is 67,247 for the 2000 Challenge Cup Final. Murrayfield has also hosted association football matches. In December 2003, the SRU board agreed to let local Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian F.C. (Hearts) lease
378-499: A 2–0 win over Manchester United in the final at the stadium. Liverpool also won the last FA Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium in 2006, beating West Ham United 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out that followed a 3–3 draw after extra time in what was billed as 'the best cup final of the modern era'. The Football League Third Division play-offs in 2003 saw AFC Bournemouth beat Lincoln City 5–2. In this game, Bournemouth set
504-792: A Rest of the World team for the Pertemps Power Cricket Cup, which took place on 4 and 5 October 2002. The stadium is the home of the Welsh rugby union team , who play all of their home fixtures at the venue. These games include those during the Six Nations , as well as the Autumn Internationals against nations from the Southern Hemisphere . Apart from the national team, the stadium has also hosted
630-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
756-594: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
882-663: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
1008-563: A change of logo for the Millennium Stadium. There were three designs shortlisted, and a panel, which included the former Wales international captain Ryan Jones and staff and members of the WRU and Principality Building Society, chose the final design. A spokesperson for the WRU said: "The new stadium logo takes its inspiration from the venue's iconic architecture; four spires, curved frontage and fully retractable roof." The all-seater stadium has
1134-727: A crowd of 17,612. It was again used as Wales' home ground during the 2002 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France when they again hosted the Kiwis this time attracting 8,746 spectators. The Stadium has hosted three Challenge Cup Finals, which are usually played at Wembley, from 2003 to 2005. In 2003 the Bradford Bulls defeated the Leeds Rhinos 22–20 in front of 71,212 fans. St. Helens defeated Wigan 36–16 in 2004 in front of 73,734 fans, while Hull F.C. defeated Leeds 25–24 in 2005 in front of 74,213 fans,
1260-405: A fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase the number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered
1386-809: A few months later. This was the last time Oasis would play a concert in Scotland and the second time they had played the stadium, the first being on their Standing on the Shoulder of Giants Tour in 2000. Bon Jovi performed at the stadium on 22 June 2011 as part of their tour. Madonna performed to a sell-out crowd of 52,160 on 21 July 2012 as part of her MDNA Tour . On 3 June 2014, One Direction performed to over 64,000 fans at Murrayfield as part of their Where We Are Stadium Tour . Foo Fighters performed at Murrayfield Stadium as part of their Sonic Highways World Tour on 8 September 2015. The band were originally supposed to play Murrayfield on 23 June 2015 but this
SECTION 10
#17327654811251512-751: A five-star stadium by UEFA , making it one of the favorites to host the match, but the final was eventually awarded to Old Trafford , the home of Manchester United . Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It
1638-441: A game at Twickenham . The stadium has a resident hawk named "Dad", who is employed to drive seagulls and pigeons out of the stadium. In 2005 the stadium installed an "Arena Partition Drape System" – a 1,100 kg (2,400 lb) black curtain made up of 12 drapes measuring 9 m × 35 m (30 ft × 115 ft) – to vary the audience from a capacity of over 73,000 down to between 12,000 and 46,000, depending on
1764-559: A game between Scotland and England . The game was won by Scotland who came out victorious following a Grand Slam . The stadium hosts most of Scotland's home test matches and the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup final, as well as URC and European Rugby Champions Cup matches. Although primarily a rugby union stadium, Murrayfield has in the past hosted American football , rugby league and association football matches, as well as numerous music concerts. Currently,
1890-476: A museum, but this was not replaced and plans for a new visitor centre were shelved when the game turned professional. The first phase was completed in January 1993 with the new north and south stands opening. In February 1994 the centre section of the new West Stand opened. The work was carried out by Tilbury Douglas . In 1994, Murrayfield completed a £50-million renovation where floodlights were installed for
2016-399: A new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded,
2142-617: A new record for the most goals scored by one team in a single match at the stadium. This record has since been matched but not beaten. The last domestic cup match played was when Doncaster Rovers beat Bristol Rovers 3–2 after extra time in the Football League Trophy Final on 1 April 2007. In 2001, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) confirmed that they had bid to host the 2003 UEFA Champions League Final . The stadium had recently been rated as
2268-548: A screen that was brought in for the occasion. The same was done for the Bronze Final between Wales and Australia which saw Wales defeated and take fourth place. The stadium hosted six pool matches, including two featuring Wales, and two quarter-final matches during the 2015 Rugby World Cup . The stadium first hosted rugby league football during the 2000 World Cup : a double header featuring Cook Islands versus Lebanon and Wales versus New Zealand that attracted
2394-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
2520-406: A then-record home crowd for Welsh football of over 66,000. This has since been beaten on several occasions. However, since 2010, the majority of home games have been played at the smaller Cardiff City Stadium , the home of Cardiff City . Wales have only played at the stadium twice since 2009; in 2011 against England and in 2018 against Spain . While the Millennium Stadium was under construction,
2646-505: A vast car parking facility, and that would have put severe short-term pressures on the local transport infrastructure, creating traffic jams and pollution. The committee eventually chose a new stadium on the same site but with considerable increase in its capacity. It would also involve moving the alignment of the stadium from west–east to north–south. This was the option supported by the Millennium Commission . It would become
SECTION 20
#17327654811252772-772: Is a rugby union stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh , Scotland. The stadium is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) who has its headquarters based at the stadium, and is the national stadium of the Scotland national rugby union team . With a seating capacity of 67,144, it is the largest stadium in Scotland, the fifth largest in the United Kingdom , and the twenty–second largest in Europe . It officially opened on 21 April 1925 with
2898-507: Is an international rugby league record at the stadium. From 2000 to 2009, the stadium was the almost-permanent home of Welsh football. The national team played the vast majority of home matches at the Millennium Stadium, with a handful of friendly matches once or twice a year at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham or Liberty Stadium, Swansea . The first Welsh football game at the stadium was played against Finland in 2000, and drew
3024-619: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium ( Scottish Gaelic : Stadium Murrayfield )
3150-602: Is common along this route. Despite the line running adjacent to the stadium, the closest railway station to the stadium is Haymarket , which lies a mile to the East. Interchange with the Edinburgh Trams is available at Haymarket, Edinburgh Park and Edinburgh Gateway stations. Edinburgh Waverley is a short walk from the St Andrew Square tram stop. Murrayfield Stadium tram stop is located adjacent to
3276-420: Is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for the creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as
3402-638: Is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of
3528-401: The 1989 Scottish Cup Final . On 19 July 2023, Manchester United faced Olympique Lyonnais at Murrayfield in front of a crowd of 48,484. On 20 March 2024, it was announced that Manchester United would return for the second successive year to play a pre-season match at Murrayfield, taking on Rangers on 20 July 2024. in front of 56,574 Murrayfield has played host to American football and
3654-418: The 2007 Rugby World Cup . On 15 October 2011, the stadium was open to Welsh Rugby Union fans free of charge, providing that they wear red so that they could watch a live screening of the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-final between Wales and France that was played at Eden Park , Auckland , New Zealand. The match was screened on the stadium's existing large screens, on all of their television screens and on
3780-590: The 2012 Summer Olympics . The stadium is owned by Millennium Stadium plc, a subsidiary company of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU). The architects were Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture . The structural engineers were WS Atkins and the building contractor was Laing . The total construction cost of the stadium was £ 121 million, of which the Millennium Commission funded £46 million. The Millennium Stadium opened in June 1999 and its first major event
3906-500: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
Millennium Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-534: The 2018–19 Scottish League Cup semi-finals, played between Hearts and Celtic, in October 2018. That match attracted an attendance of 61,161, the second-largest ever recorded for a football match in Edinburgh. In July 2019, Murrayfield hosted a pre-season friendly between Liverpool and Napoli , that attracted a crowd of 65,442 which was the highest attendance of fans at a football match in Scotland since
4158-410: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
4284-537: The Anthony Joshua v Carlos Takam fight, on 28 October 2017, in which Joshua successfully retained his WBA, IBF and IBO titles. The natural grass turf was made up of a modular system installed by GreenTech ITM . It features built in irrigation and drainage. The pitch itself was laid on top of some 7,412 pallets that could be moved so the stadium could be used for concerts, exhibitions and other events. In May 2014, after much trouble with disease and stability,
4410-683: The Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in the history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by
4536-538: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
4662-700: The European Rugby Champions Cup finals on five occasions. In total, the site, including the National Stadium , has hosted the final of the European Rugby Champions Cup on seven occasions. The stadium has also been used for Celtic League games, and the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2006 and 2007 . Since 2013, the Millennium Stadium has hosted Judgement Day , a double-header between
4788-642: The National Stadium , it has gone on to host many other large-scale events, such as the Tsunami Relief Cardiff concert, the Super Special Stage of Wales Rally Great Britain , the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain and various concerts . It also hosted FA Cup , League Cup and Football League play-off finals while Wembley Stadium was being redeveloped between 2001 and 2006, as well as football matches during
4914-519: The Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of
5040-523: The Principality Building Society that saw the stadium renamed as the "Principality Stadium" from early 2016. Until 1969, Cardiff RFC and Wales both played their home matches on the same pitch at Cardiff Arms Park , but all this changed in the 1969–70 season. As a result of an agreement between Cardiff Athletic Club and the WRU, the National Stadium project established that a new stadium for international matches and events
5166-529: The Principality Building Society . Some fans expressed opposition on social media. On 22 January 2016, the Millennium Stadium was officially renamed as the Principality Stadium. The new name, written bilingually ("Stadiwm Principality Stadium") and covering 114 square metres (1,230 sq ft) of the upper stadium, was lit up at a special evening ceremony, to be followed by a festival to encourage grassroots rugby. The change of name also meant
Millennium Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
5292-686: The Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to the people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into
5418-533: The Stade de France and Twickenham . It is also the second-largest stadium in the world with a fully retractable roof and was the second stadium in Europe to have this feature. Listed as a category four stadium by UEFA , the stadium was chosen as the venue for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final , which took place on 3 June 2017. In 2015, the Welsh Rugby Union announced a 10-year sponsorship deal with
5544-736: The Taylor Report . 11,000 of 53,000 capacity was on the East Terrace and the conversion to an all-seater stadium would have reduced the stadium capacity still further to just 47,500. In addition to the problems of capacity, the National Stadium was also very well hidden by the neighbouring buildings to the south in Park Street, Wood Street and to the east in Westgate Street, and also by Cardiff Rugby Ground in
5670-640: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
5796-578: The "hoodoo", after Paul Darby carried out a feng shui blessing. Liverpool were the first team to win the FA Cup at the Millennium Stadium in 2001 after beating Arsenal 2–1. They were also the first team to win the League Cup at the Stadium, defeating Birmingham City in a penalty shoot-out earlier that year. In 2003, Liverpool won the League Cup for the seventh time in their history thanks to
5922-542: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
6048-473: The 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
6174-596: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
6300-536: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
6426-526: The 2009 and 2010 events were held at Murrayfield Stadium and were renamed Magic Weekend. In 2011, Magic Weekend moved back to Cardiff with the opening round of Super League being played. On 26 October 2013, the Millennium Stadium hosted the opening ceremony and the first two fixtures of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup : a double-header featuring Wales against Italy and England against title favourites and eventual tournament champions Australia . This double header produced an overall attendance of 45,052, which
SECTION 50
#17327654811256552-545: The Arms Park site, additional space had to be found to allow safe access and to provide room for the increased capacity and improved facilities. This was achieved by the purchase of adjacent buildings to the south and east and by the construction of a new £6 million River Walk by the River Taff on the western side of the stadium. By 1999, the Millennium Stadium had replaced the National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park, as
6678-486: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
6804-545: The BT Murrayfield Stadium. Scottish Rugby and Scottish Gas agreed a new five-year partnership deal starting in July 2023. This will result in the creation of a Club & Community Net Zero Fund worth £2 million to ensure Scottish clubs can save on energy bills and carbon emissions. Scottish Gas will also invest in the women's game through shirt and stadium sponsorship, resulting in an official name change for
6930-411: The Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol ) is the label attached to the Welsh of
7056-399: The Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and
7182-434: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
7308-431: The Millennium Commission's contribution to the building. The stadium was first used for a major event on 26 June 1999, when Wales played South Africa in a rugby union test match before a crowd of 29,000. Wales won 29–19: the first time they had ever beaten the Springboks. On 8 September 2015 it was announced that the Millennium Stadium would be renamed Principality Stadium as the result of a 10-year naming rights deal with
7434-437: The Millennium Stadium has hosted a variety of sports, including, rugby league (including the Challenge Cup Final on three occasions between 2003 and 2005, the opening ceremony of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and Welsh Rugby League internationals ), speedway , boxing , the Wales Rally Great Britain stage of the World Rally Championship , Monster Jam and indoor cricket . The indoor cricket match between The Brits and
7560-429: The SRU was actively seeking a site for a completely new stadium with a capacity of 10,000 to 15,000 as a future home for Edinburgh Rugby. The pitch was damaged by nematodes in the lead up to the 2013 autumn internationals. This led the SRU to replace the grass with a Desso surface from the start of the 2014 season. A naming rights deal with BT was agreed in May 2014, resulting in the stadium being officially named as
7686-420: The WRU and now a former president. The superstructure of the stadium is based around four 90.3-metre (296 ft) masts. The stadium was built from 56,000 tonnes of concrete and steel, and has 124 hospitality suites and 7 hospitality lounges, 22 bars, 7 restaurants, 17 first aid points, 12 escalators and 7 lifts. The stadium has 7 gates for access to the site; Gate 1 is from the River Walk via Castle Street (to
SECTION 60
#17327654811257812-432: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
7938-436: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
8064-597: The Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak
8190-445: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
8316-426: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
8442-429: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
8568-451: The amateur club Murrayfield Wanderers RFC . Wanderers and their predecessors had played there since 1902 but were asked to vacate in 2018 as the governing body had plans to develop the land. Wanderers moved their training base to Roseburn but continued to hire the Murrayfield pitches for some matches. The stadium is served by Lothian Bus services 12, 22, 26, 31 and the Airlink 100 along Corstorphine Road. Post-match traffic congestion
8694-403: The ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of
8820-405: The capacity for 74,500 supporters and features a retractable roof, only the second stadium of its type in Europe, and the largest football stadium in the world with this feature, by capacity. Additional seating is sometimes added for special events such as a rugby Test against the New Zealand All Blacks , or for the FA Cup Final . The current record attendance is set at just over 78,000, recorded at
8946-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
9072-413: The concrete has not been deteriorating in recent years meaning the cost of replacing Glanmor's Gap would not justify the limited increase in capacity it would provide. In each of the stadium's bars, so-called "joy machines" can pour 12 pints in less than 20 seconds. During a Wales versus France match, 63,000 fans drank 77,184 pints of beer, almost double the 44,000 pints drunk by a similar number of fans at
9198-542: The construction of a new stadium for Cardiff RFC. The WRU held talks with Cardiff RFC to see if it would be possible for the club to either move or secure funding for the Cardiff Arms Park to be re-developed, but these were unsuccessful. The stadium thus had to be completed with a break in its bowl structure in the North Stand, known colloquially as Glanmor's Gap, after Glanmor Griffiths , then chairman of
9324-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
9450-479: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
9576-579: The first time in the history of the match between the senior teams of Cardiff University and Swansea University . The stadium is used alternating years with Liberty Stadium in Swansea. The Welsh Varsity event celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2016. Rugby World Cup The Welsh Rugby Union hosted the 1999 Rugby World Cup with the Final being played at the stadium. The stadium also hosted 3 pool matches and 1 quarter-final match (New Zealand 18–20 France) of
9702-483: The first time. In October 2012, SRU chief executive Mark Dodson told the BBC that it was actively seeking a name sponsor for Murrayfield: The single biggest piece of our inventory is our national stadium. We would like to see if we can monetise that. It would be crazy for us not to look at using our single biggest piece of inventory to drive revenue. We want to get the right price for it. In addition, Dodson indicated that
9828-491: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
9954-440: The former WRU president between 1993 and 2004, was commissioned to stand outside Gate 3 of the stadium. The bronze statue, 9 feet (2.7 m) tall, was sculpted by Llantwit Major based sculptor Roger Andrews. The Welsh Government contributed £50,000, as did Cardiff Council . It was officially unveiled on 15 November 2009 by his daughter, Lady Mair Griffith-Williams. As well as international rugby union and association football,
10080-463: The four Welsh United Rugby Championship teams. The 2016 edition had 68,262 spectators, the highest in the history of the league. The stadium hosted the first match in the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand when they drew 25–25 against Argentina in a warm-up test match. Welsh Varsity rugby matches On 30 March 2011, the stadium hosted the Welsh Varsity rugby match for
10206-421: The four different positions that it can be hung. The curtains can be stored in the roof of the stadium when not in use. The £1 million cost of the curtain was funded by the stadium, the Millennium Commission , its caterers Letherby and Christopher ( Compass Group ) and by the then Wales Tourist Board . The curtain was supplied by Blackout. In May 2015, the chairman of the WRU, Gareth Davies , announced that
10332-624: The fourth redevelopment of the Cardiff Arms Park site. It was also decided that the new stadium should have a sliding roof to accommodate a multi-use venue, with a grass pitch for rugby and football. The only other sliding roofs in Europe at the time were at two Dutch stadia – the Amsterdam Arena , completed in 1996 with a capacity of 50,000; and Gelredome in Arnhem , a 30,000-capacity ground built from 1996 to 1998. To remain on
10458-422: The full venue of 67,000, on her first ever show in Scotland . In July 2005, Murrayfield hosted the final Live 8 concert, Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push , with performances including James Brown , Texas and The Proclaimers . Oasis played a sold-out show on 17 June 2009, as part of their world tour. Some antisocial behaviour at this event affected the stadium's licensing arrangements when they were reviewed
10584-522: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
10710-476: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
10836-465: The increasing number of spectators. Arthur Sellers was the stadium's first groundsman, having previously prepared the pitches at Inverleith. On 21 March 1925 England were the first team to visit Murrayfield, with 70,000 people watching Scotland beat them to win their first Five Nations Championship Grand Slam . During the Second World War the ground at Murrayfield was offered to
10962-506: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
11088-443: The largest crowd at an association football match in Edinburgh for 51 years. In 2014, Glasgow club Celtic played two qualifying matches at the stadium due to Celtic Park being unavailable because of Glasgow's hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games . Hearts again used the stadium for home games during the 2017–18 Scottish Premiership , due to the delays in construction of a new main stand at Tynecastle. Murrayfield hosted one of
11214-620: The largest rugby league crowd at the stadium. Also, in 2007 the stadium hosted the inaugural Millennium Magic weekend. This was a two-day event in May when an entire round of Super League matches were played, three games on the Saturday and three games on the Sunday. The event was deemed a success by the sport's governing body, the RFL , and second Millennium Magic event took place in May 2008, although
11340-402: The least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead, the shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson ,
11466-569: The lower tier of the East Stand is typically used.) Since February 2018 all Edinburgh matches are once again held at Murrayfield; with work now finished on the construction of a new 7,800 capacity stadium on the back pitches to host Edinburgh Rugby from the start of the 2021/22 season. From 2007 to 2011 , Murrayfield hosted the Edinburgh 7s , then the final event in the annual IRB Sevens World Series in rugby sevens , but that tournament
11592-673: The material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This
11718-412: The middle tier holding 15,626 and the upper tier holding 35,151 spectators. The stadium was slightly restricted in size due to its proximity to Cardiff Rugby Club's home in the adjacent smaller stadium within Cardiff Arms Park. The WRU were unable to secure enough funding to include the North Stand in the new stadium and the Millennium Commission would not allow any of its funds to be used in any way for
11844-622: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
11970-609: The name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi , the Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic ,
12096-521: The nation and was taken over by the Royal Army Service Corps and used as a supply depot. During the war years the armed forces sports authorities managed to arrange two Scotland v. England services internationals each year, on a home-and-away basis. Scotland's home matches were played at Inverleith for the first two years with a return to Murrayfield in 1944 after that ground's derequisition. Murrayfield's record attendance of 104,000
12222-468: The national stadium of Wales for rugby union and association football international matches. Cardiff RFC continued as before to play at Cardiff Arms Park rugby ground, which had replaced the cricket ground in 1969. The stadium was designed by a team led by Rod Sheard at Lobb Sport Architecture, who later merged with HOK Sport to become Populous . The building contractor was Laing and the structural engineers were WS Atkins. Mike Otlet of WS Atkins designed
12348-479: The newly built Territorial Auxiliary & Volunteer Reserve building in Park Street, and the Social Security offices in Westgate Street. The stadium was built by Laing in 1999 on the site of the National Stadium, with the head of construction being Steve Ager. It was built for the 1999 Rugby World Cup , for which Wales was the main host, with seven of the 41 matches, including the final, being played at
12474-495: The north), Gates 2 and 3 are via Westgate Street (to the east), Gate 4 which was renamed Gatland's Gate ( Welsh : Gât Gatland ) in honour of Warren Gatland in November 2019, is for team-coaches, celebrity limousines and other uses via Westgate Street, Gate 5 is via Park Street (to the south) and Gates 6 and 7 are via the Millennium Plaza (also to the south). Any future renovation to the stadium will involve replacing
12600-442: The north. It was only fully visible from across the River Taff in the west. Access to the ground was also very restricted with the main entrance being a narrow opening in Westgate Street to the east which was shared by both vehicles and spectators alike. The options for the new stadium included adding a third tier to the existing National Stadium, or moving to a new site. This last option was discounted because it would have required
12726-420: The old North Stand of the former National Stadium with a new one similar to the three existing stands of the new Millennium Stadium. This will make the stadium bowl-shaped and will increase its capacity to around 80,000. It will resolve the existing problems of deteriorating concrete quality on the old structure in the north stand. However the WRU has been more resistant to the proposal in recent years, stating that
12852-872: The only other grounds in Britain to host NFL matches. David Bowie played to a capacity crowd of 47,000 people on 28 June 1983. Simple Minds were scheduled to play at the stadium in 1989, but pulled out because of Jim Kerr 's objections to the venue's administrators allowing Scottish rugby players to attend the sport's centenary celebrations in South Africa, which was then still under apartheid. On 30 June 1996, Tina Turner played at Murrayfield as part of her Wildest Dreams Tour . In September 1997 U2 played at Murrayfield as part of their Popmart Tour . On 3 June 1999, The Rolling Stones played to 51,000 on their No Security Tour . On 8 July 1999 Celine Dion performed her Let's Talk About Love World Tour as she sold out
12978-474: The original Wembley Stadium had hosted the Welsh rugby team during the building of the new ground. The favour was returned from 2001 while the new Wembley Stadium was being built, with the Millennium hosting: The stadium became notorious for an apparent "away team hoodoo"; the first 11 major cup finals were all won by the teams occupying the home dressing room. Stoke City beat Brentford 2–0 in 2002 to end
13104-627: The other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been
13230-473: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
13356-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
13482-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
13608-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
13734-542: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
13860-493: The stadium entrance turnstiles on Roseburn Street. Access to the platform is by a flight of stairs or lift. As part of crowd-management measures, ticketing machines are situated at the bottom of the staircase and not the platform. Murrayfield is used for most Scottish international rugby union matches, with all Scotland's Six Nations home games being played in the stadium. The stadium also hosted all of Edinburgh's matches between 1996 and January 2017. (For Pro14 matches, only
13986-583: The stadium for match days. Later that month, UEFA confirmed that Hearts' own ground, Tynecastle did not meet the minimum criteria for European matches from the 2004–05 season. Hearts used Murrayfield as their home venue for European matches for three years until Hearts made adjustments to Tynecastle that made it compliant with UEFA regulations. Additionally, both Hearts and Edinburgh neighbours Hibernian have played preseason friendlies against FC Barcelona at Murrayfield. Almost 58,000 people attended to watch Hearts play Barcelona in July 2007, recording
14112-406: The stadium is known as Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons. The SRU identified 19 acres of land at Murrayfield, purchasing this from Edinburgh Polo Club at Murrayfield, having raised money through debentures . A stand and three embankments were constructed, which took two years. Previous internationals had been played at Inverleith but it was not large enough to cope with
14238-406: The stadium to Scottish Gas Murrayfield. Murrayfield is located next to Murrayfield Ice Rink , Murrayfield Curling Rink, and is close to Edinburgh Zoo . It is named after the area of Edinburgh it is located in, Murrayfield . There are two cricket pitches in the immediate vicinity at Roseburn Park used by Murrayfield DAFS CC and four rugby pitches owned by the SRU which were used by teams including
14364-469: The stadium would be fitted with new seats, replacing the original seats from 1999 at a cost of £4 million to £5 million, which would be completed by 2018. In addition a new £3.1 million Desso hybrid pitch will be installed. In February 2019, the stadium increased its disabled capacity from 168 to 214 at a cost of around £100,000. As a result, the overall capacity of the stadium was reduced from 74,500 to 73,931. A statue of Sir Tasker Watkins ,
14490-528: The stadium's retractable roof, which was constructed by Kelsey Roofing Industries. Cimolai S.p.A. from Italy fabricated and erected the 72 steel plane frames for the stands and all the 4,500 components of the roof. Construction involved the demolition of a number of buildings, primarily the existing National Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park), Wales Empire Pool (swimming pool) in Wood Street, Cardiff Empire Telephone Exchange building (owned by BT ) in Park Street,
14616-491: The stadium. The total construction cost of the stadium was £121 million, which was funded by private investment and £46 million of public funds from the Millennium Commission, the sale of debentures to supporters (which offered guaranteed tickets in exchange for an interest-free loan) and loans. The development left the WRU heavily in debt. The Millennium Stadium was named as such in recognition of
14742-665: The surface was removed and replaced with a more resilient interwoven sand based Desso pitch. The four ends of the ground are called the North Stand, the West Stand, the South Stand and the BT Stand (east). The South Stand was previously known as the Hyder Stand, until Hyder was sold. The stadium has three tiers of seating with the exception of the North Stand, which has two tiers. The lower tier holds 23,154 spectators,
14868-526: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
14994-487: Was an international rugby union match on 26 June 1999, when Wales beat South Africa in a test match by 29–19 before a crowd of 29,000. With a total seating capacity of 73,931, it is the largest stadium in Wales and the fourth largest (and second largest outside London ) in the United Kingdom by total capacity. In addition, it is the third-largest stadium in the Six Nations Championship behind
15120-473: Was cancelled and rescheduled after Dave Grohl broke his foot at European Festival that same month. The Spice Girls performed to over 55,000 fans on 8 June 2019 as part of their Spice World tour , it was their first Scottish concert in 21 years. Taylor Swift broke the all time Scottish concert attendance record 3 times when The Eras Tour came to Murrayfield for 3 nights on June 7, 8, 9, 2024, playing to 73,000 people each night, and nearly 220,000 people over
15246-450: Was designed in 1962, only had a capacity of 53,000; other nations' stadia, such as Twickenham (England) with a capacity of 75,000, and Murrayfield Stadium (Scotland) with a capacity of 67,000, had overtaken it. France was also about to build the Stade de France , which would have a capacity of more than 80,000 for the 1998 FIFA World Cup . The original capacity of the National Stadium was 65,000, but this had been reduced to 53,000, due to
15372-527: Was moved to Glasgow starting in 2012 due to low attendance. Murrayfield hosted select matches from the 2007 Rugby World Cup . The stadium also hosted the Heineken Cup Final in 2005 , when Toulouse beat Stade Français 18–12, again in 2009 , with Leinster defeating Leicester 19–16 and finally in 2017 with Saracens defeating Clermont 28–17. Murrayfield hosted matches of the 1991 , 1999 and 2007 Rugby World Cups . Although primarily
15498-835: Was one of two home venues for the now defunct Scottish Claymores in the NFL Europa between 1995 and 2004, the other being Hampden Park in Glasgow . Additionally, it hosted World Bowl '96 on 23 June 1996. It has been mentioned as a potential future host site for the NFL International Series , should the National Football League add future games outside the series' current permanent home, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London . Two other London stadiums, Wembley Stadium and Twickenham Stadium , are
15624-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
15750-410: Was required, with Cardiff RFC moving to a new, purpose-built stadium on the original cricket ground at the site of the former Cardiff Arms Park stadium. By 7 April 1984 the National Stadium was officially opened. However, in 1994, a committee was set up to consider redeveloping the National Stadium, and by 1995 the WRU had been chosen to host the 1999 Rugby World Cup. In 1995, the National Stadium, which
15876-440: Was set on 1 March 1975 when Scotland defeated Wales 12–10 during the 1975 Five Nations Championship . This attendance stood as a world record until 1999, and remains a European record. The East stand was built in 1983. In October 1991 another debenture scheme was launched, to finance a more comprehensive redevelopment of the West Stand. The new West Stand was designed with a 48-metre cantilever roof. The old West Stand housed
#124875