The Armadillo | |
.png){kind=logo} Logo used since 2019 | |
 Main entrance to the Wales Millennium Centre onRoald Dahl Plass | |
 Interactive map of Wales Millennium Centre | |
| Location | Bute Place,Cardiff Bay,Cardiff, Wales |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°27′54.14″N3°9′48.72″W / 51.4650389°N 3.1635333°W /51.4650389; -3.1635333 |
| Owner | Phase 1: Wales Millennium Centre Phase 2: Lime Property Fund (Aviva Investors)[1] |
| Operator | Phase 1: Wales Millennium Centre Phase 2:BBC |
| Type | Company limited by guarantee |
| Capacity | Donald Gordon Theatre: 1,897 BBC Hoddinott Hall: 350 Weston Studio Theatre: 250 Cabaret: 140[3] Grace Williams Studio: 60[5] |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | February 2002 |
| Opened | Phase 1: 26–28 November 2004 Phase 2: 31 January 2009 |
| Renovated | 2022/3 (Phase 1 Refurbishment) |
| Construction cost | Phase 1: £106.2 million[2] Phase 2: £18 million[1] Phase 1 Refurbishment: £4 million[3] |
| Architect | Phase 1:Jonathan Adams (Percy Thomas Partnership) Phase 2: Tim Green and Keith Vince (Capita Percy Thomas) Phase 1 Refurbishment: Richard H Powell (interior designers)[3] |
| Structural engineer | Arup Group |
| Main contractors | Sir Robert McAlpine |
| Tenants | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
Building details | |
| Technical details | |
| Material | 4,500 tonnes of structural steel 2,000 tonnes of recycled Welsh slate (cladding) |
| Floor count | 6[6] |
| Floor area | 37,000 m2 (400,000 sq ft)[6] |
| Lifts/elevators | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Public transit access |  Cardiff Bay Baycar Cardiff Waterbus |
Wales Millennium Centre (Welsh:Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is Wales's nationalarts centre located in theCardiff Bay area ofCardiff, Wales.[7][8] The site covers a total area of 7.5 acres (3.0 ha). Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert.
The centre is Cardiff's principal receiving venue for large-scaleopera,ballet,contemporary dance andmusicals. It comprises a large theatre and a smaller hall with a shop, bars and a café. It houses the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales and opera, dance, theatre and literature companies, with a total of eight arts organisations in residence.[4]
In 2012 the Centre announced that it would also be a producing company. Its productions across the genres have been performed in London, Edinburgh and Australia. In 2021 and 2024 it was in co-production with the Royal National Theatre.[9]
The main theatre, the Donald Gordon Theatre, has 1,896 seats, and is the second-largest stage in Europe.[citation needed] The BBC Hoddinott Hall seats 350 and the Weston Studio Theatre seats 250.[10]
In 2001Lord Rowe-Beddoe was appointed chair of Wales Millennium Centre, acompany limited by guarantee. Peter Swinburn is the current chair of Wales Millennium Centre.[11]
Wales Millennium Centre replaced an earlier project for the site, the Cardiff Bay Opera House, a plan supported by theCardiff Bay Development Corporation to construct a permanent home for theWelsh National Opera.[12]
An international design competition attracted 268 international applicants,[13] and was won by Iraq-born architectZaha Hadid. Heravant-garde design was so radical that she and a selection of other applicants were asked to submit revised designs for a second round of competition[14]—which she again won[15] with "a sleek and dazzling complex of sharp lines and surfaces that she compared to an 'inverted necklace'".[16]
In December 1995 theMillennium Commission, the body which distributed funds from the UKNational Lottery, decided against lottery funding for the project.[16] It was suggested that the bid failed because of "the unpopular Conservative government's fear of controversy", favouring the funding of projects perceived as more populist, such as theMillennium Stadium.[17]
After the Cardiff Bay Opera House project was rejected, a new project was conceived that included more than opera and was felt to be a better reflection of Welsh culture. The change of name symbolised this, but the project still had to overcome many hurdles. Funding from theWelsh Assembly and Millennium Commission took years to obtain. Cardiff Council had to buy the land after the previous owner, Grosvenor Waterside (the property division ofAssociated British Ports) threatened to build a retail centre there due to the delays.[18][19] Further boosts were given by large donations from South African businessmanDonald Gordon and a loan from the international bank,HSBC. The £20 million donation from Donald Gordon was split evenly between the Royal Opera House and Wales Millennium Centre and was spread over five years. This is believed to be the largest single private donation ever made to the arts in the UK.[20]
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In addition to the two main theatres, the Donald Gordon Theatre and the Weston Studio, the 37,000-square-metre (400,000 sq ft) phase 1 of Wales Millennium Centre has several function rooms.Urdd Gobaith Cymru has a hostel with overnight accommodation for 153 people in en suite bedrooms, called the Urdd City Sleepover.[21]It also has a performance and teaching space in the Urdd Hall/Theatre, with 153 retractable seats.[22]
The building also includes rehearsal rooms, orchestral facilities for the Welsh National Opera, dance studios and the Blue Room, with seating for up to 100, for National Dance Company Wales in the Dance House.
There are three bars: the Awen Bar on level 2, the Horizons Bar on level 4, and the Stones Bar on level 5.[23] The café-bar Ffwrnais is situated in the foyer, along with the wine bar One.[23] Free performances occasionally take place in the foyer on the Glanfa stage.[24]
Wales Millennium Centre was designed byJonathan Adams of local practicePercy Thomas Architects[25] (taken over byCapita Group in 2004[26]), withArup Acoustics as the acoustic designer and building engineer. His first concept drawings were made in early 1998,[25] and by 1999 his design had started to look more like the building it is today.
Construction began on 25 February 2002. The main contractor wasSir Robert McAlpine Ltd,[27] Kelsey Roofing Industries Ltd was the roofing contractor,[28] and Carr and Angier were theatre consultants.[29] Other contractors included Stent (foundations), Swansea Institute of Higher Education, now part ofUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint David (glass), GH James Cyf (stonemasonry), Rimex (stainless steel),Alfred McAlpine (slate), Coed Cymru (wood), Ann Catrin Evans (door furniture) and Amber Hiscott (etchings on glass walls).[29]
The architect's concept was a building that expressed "Welshness" and was instantly recognisable.[29] The building was designed to reflect many different parts of Wales with local Welsh materials that dominate its history: slate, metal, wood and glass.[30] Many of the materials used come from Wales, including 1,350tonnes of Welsh slate. A million metres of electric cable and 300,000 concrete blocks were also used in construction.[31]
Slate
The exterior of the building is clad in multi-coloured slate collected from Welsh quarries. Narrow windows are built into the layers of slate to give the impression of rockstrata in sea cliffs. The purple slate came from thePenrhyn Quarry, the blue fromCwt y Bugail Quarry, the green from theNantlle Valley, the grey fromLlechwedd quarry, and the black from theCorris Quarry.[29]
I always loved going toOgmore andSoutherndown. I thought the cliffs there looked like a building anyway. A building capable of withstanding the roughest weather for hundreds of years. The older they get, the better they look. I wondered if it would be possible to make a building which had the same qualities as these magnificent cliffs. To do that I needed a lot of stone. Normal stone for buildings has to be specially cut into blocks; it takes a long time to make and costs a fortune. But innorth Wales the historic slate industry has left behind whole mountains of waste stone that no-one wants. This was stone cut from the mountainside for nearly two hundred years but which wasn't good enough to make roof slates. Over 90% was thrown away. But it was ideal for making walls like the one I had in mind...—architect Jonathan Adams[32]
Metal
Wales Millennium Centre's main feature, the bronze coloured dome which covers the Donald Gordon Theatre, is clad in stainless steel. The light bronze colour is an optical effect, rather than an applied colour, and is created by the 'Rimex' chemical process which thickens the transparent oxide coating of the metal to cause light interference, as occurs in natural iridescence. It was designed to withstand the weather conditions on the Cardiff Bay waterfront and to look increasingly better with age. The architect, Jonathan Adams, decided not to use copper and aluminium as they would both change colour with age and weather conditions.[29]
We all know that steel making has been important tosouth Wales, just as slate making has changed the landscape of the north. We have to use a special type of steel that won't go rusty near to the salt-laden, maritime air of Cardiff Bay. This stainless steel will be made near toPontypool. For the Wales Millennium Centre I thought it was important that the materials should have a "natural" texture, and that they should be instantly recognisable to anyone seeing them, even from a distance. For this reason I felt it was important that the steel of the shell should have the rough grain and the riveted pattern that we think of as more typical of old industrial structures, such as those that used to be commonplace around the landscape of the industrial south.—Jonathan Adams[33]
Wood
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Both the inside and outside of the building – including the main Donald Gordon Theatre, the balconies and the rear of the building – are dominated by bands of hardwood lining the walls.[29]
Like the exterior of the building, the principal internal spaces are designed to make the best use of natural materials in their natural state. The structure and detail of the concourse galleries echo the form of the exterior, with the curving strata formed in native hardwoods.Oak,ash,beech,sycamore,alder,birch,chestnut andcherry woods from renewable sources inmid-Wales will be used together in proportions that reflect their relative availability from the forest. The design of theconcourse galleries is intended to evoke the image of the edge of the forest, partly as a counterpoint to the coastal nature of the exterior, and partly because the edge of the forest in folklore and mythology represents a line between the real world and the magical world, a line which resembles the front edge of the theatre stage. The form of trees is created by the interweaving curvature of the gallery edges, and by the random positioning of the supporting columns.—Jonathan Adams[34]
Glass
Glass was used to incorporate into the bands of slate. It is 15-centimetre (5.9 in) thick and was cut and installed by the Architectural Glass Department at Swansea Institute of Higher Education. Glass is not used in the contemporary British architectural style of the glass curtain.[29]
Jonathan Adams said, "The glass veins in the external walls of the Wales Millennium Centre make use of conventional glass in a unique way: the sheets of glass are stacked together and fused in a kiln to form solid blocks."[35]
Calligraphy
The inscription in the front of the building in Welsh reads:
CREU GWIR
FEL GWYDR
O FFWRNAIS AWEN
(Creating Truth Like Glass From Inspiration's Furnace).[36]
The inscription in English reads:
IN THESE STONES
HORIZONS
SING
Inscribed on the front of the dome, above the main entrance are two lines written by Welsh poetGwyneth Lewis inWelsh and English. The lettering is formed by windows in the upstairs bar areas and is internally illuminated at night.[29]
The idea of this monumental inscription comes fromRoman classical architecture. The Romans brought Christianity to these islands, along with the custom of engraving stone. The form of theCeltic cross embodies the cross-fertilisation of indigenous and Roman cultures, from which the Welsh nation first emerged. The monumental inscription is a familiar feature of Roman architecture. The inscription over the entrance of the Wales Millennium Centre is a revival of this classical tradition, and also a recognition of the formative influence of Roman culture upon our nation. We're lucky to have two languages: one that we share with half the world and one which belongs just to us. Words in songs, stories and poems have helped to make Wales the proud country that it is.—Jonathan Adams[37]
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Gwyneth Lewis said of theinscription:
I wanted the words to reflect the architecture of the building. Its copper dome reminded me of thefurnaces from Wales's industrial heritage and also Ceridwen's cauldron, from which the early poet Taliesin received his inspiration ('awen').Awen suggests both poetic inspiration and the general creative vision by which people and societies form their aspirations. [...] It was important to me that the English words on the building should not simply be a translation of the Welsh, that they should have their own message. The strata of the slate frontage of the Wales Millennium Centre reminded me of the horizons just beyondPenarth Head. The sea has, traditionally, been for Cardiff the means by which the Welsh export their best to the world and the route by which the world comes to Cardiff. The stones inside the theatre literally sing with opera, musicals and orchestral music, and I wanted to convey the sense of an international space created by the art of music.—Gwyneth Lewis[38]
In These Stones Horizons Sing is also an orchestral work, composed byKarl Jenkins and commissioned by Wales Millennium Centre for the building's opening.
The building was officially opened on the weekend of 26–28 November 2004.Bryn Terfel organised the ceremony and was the creative director of the weekend.[39]
Day 1 – 26 November 2004
The day started with a speech from Wales Millennium Centre chairman Lord Rowe-Beddoe, who declared that the proceedings were underway.[39] This was followed by a speech fromRhodri Morgan, theFirst Minister, who stressed that the new arts centre belonged to the whole nation, that it was for all of the people of Wales and not just for the elite.[39]
The building was opened by Janet Thickpenny, a young mother fromBarry, who was chosen because her 40th birthday coincided with the opening day.[40] A human chain delivered the symbolic key, designed and cast by Ann Catrin Evans, to Janet. This was accompanied by a fanfare from the National Youth Brass Band of Wales to Karl Jenkins's specially commissioned workIn These Stones Horizons Sing, and Wales Millennium Centre was open.[39]
The evening celebrations began withCymru for the World, which celebrated the achievements of five leading Welsh artists:Gwyneth Jones,Shirley Bassey,Siân Phillips,Alun Hoddinott andRichard Burton, represented by his daughterKate Burton. This included tributes fromRobert Hardy,Jonathan Pryce,Derek Jacobi,Nana Mouskouri,Catrin Finch,Ruth Madoc andIan McKellen.[39][41] The concert was directed by Ken Caswell and conducted byDavid Charles Abell.
Bryn Terfel started with a short speech and introduced the Wales Millennium Centre singers and dancers, who in hard hats and donkey jackets sang and danced the story of the building's construction. They were later joined by all 322 participants in a chorus,[39] including Gwyn Hughes Jones and Bryn Terfel.Dennis O'Neill sang a duet fromPearl Fishers.Diversions performed a new ballet based on one of Alun Hoddinott's works. The Welsh National Opera performed the final scene ofBeethoven'sFidelio in their new home. The evening ranged included many types of music, from popular to classical.[39]
Day 2 – 27 November 2004
On the second day, the doors opened for the public to explore the building. A continuous stream of people filled through the building during the day, which concluded with a fireworks display in theRoald Dahl Plass.[39]
Day 3 – 28 November 2004
The final day of the opening weekend began with the arrival ofQueen Elizabeth II,Prince Philip and thePrince of Wales, who met First Minister Rhodri Morgan and Lord Rowe-Beddoe, and marked the event by unveiling a plaque. A key was presented to the Queen by Richard Burton's granddaughter, Charlotte Frances.[39]Philip Madoc, Siân Phillips,Gaby Roslin,Michael Ball,Charlotte Church,Catrin Finch andOnly Men Aloud! were among the artists that entertained the audience during the first act. The second act was opened by Welsh National Opera and later theKirov Ballet andCirque Éloize entertained the audience.[39] Bryn Terfel ended the celebrations.[39]
The 2022/23 refurbishment of Wales Millennium Centre started with the opening of animmersive theatre space calledBocs (Welsh forbox) on 27 August 2022. It has a programme of 360° films and projections, as well asextended reality experiences, includingaugmented reality,mixed reality andvirtual reality.[42] It was announced in September 2022 that a £4 million refurbishment of Wales Millennium Centre would take place and would include an area for cabaret acts, a redesigned foyer and new ticketing office, a 12 m (39 ft) long bar, a members’ bar and lounge, and bespoke seating areas.[43][44] The new 140-seat cabaret venue,[45] which replacedFfresh restaurant/bar, is simply calledCabaret. It presentsdrag, comedy,burlesque, and gig theatre performances and opened in February 2023.[46] The refurbishment was carried out by interior designers Richard H Powell trading as Powell.[3]
Phase 2 of Wales Millennium Centre is home to theBBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) and the BBC National Chorus of Wales.[4] BBC NOW moved from Studio 1 atBroadcasting House inLlandaff, which the orchestra had outgrown since the late 1960s.[52] Phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert performed by the BBC NOW and conducted byThierry Fischer.[53] Phase 2 includes the 350-seater BBC Hoddinott Hall (Welsh:Neuadd Hoddinott y BBC),[54] also known simply as Hoddinott Hall, which is named after the late Welsh classical composerAlun Hoddinott (11 August 1929 – 12 March 2008),[55] and the Grace Williams Studio, which is named after another Welsh composer,Grace Williams (19 February 1906 – 10 February 1977), and is used as a centre for education andoutreach work.[56] Phase 2 also has space for practice rooms, a music library and backstage facilities,[57] and provides a four-storey office space.[58]
The original plans for Wales Millennium Centre were that it would have a concert hall,[59] but the final design of phase 1 did not include one. Instead, space was left for a concert hall to be built after phase 1 opened in 2004, and construction on phase 2 was then due to begin early in 2005.[60] However, phase 2 construction did not actually begin until April 2007.[61] Phase 2 was designed to fit into Wales Millennium Centre's curved slate frontage, with an upper part constructed from timber.[59]
Phase 2 of Wales Millennium Centre was designed by the then newly qualified Tim Green and Keith Vince of Capita Architecture, formerly called Capita Percy Thomas and now part ofCapita Symonds, with Arup Acoustics again providing the acoustic design.[62] The main contractor was again Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd,[63] with MJN Colston Ltd responsible for the design and installation of all the mechanical, electrical and public health services in the building.[64] Other subcontractors on the project includedURS Corporation,Davis Langdon and Hulley & Kirkwood.[65]
Tim Green said that the exterior of phase 2 was designed to be in keeping with phase 1, while the interior had its own theme, that of a traditional Welsh chapel.[66] He said that "The timber treatment at low level is very reminiscent of Victorian chapels and the masonry above. The stonework you would normally get in a stone chapel has been replaced by concrete."[67]
During the design and construction period, the project name for phase 2 was C Bay.[64][65] Construction began in April 2007.[61] It ended when the keys to the building were handed over at an official ceremony in September 2008,[68] andBBC Wales began to fit out the interior of the Hoddinott Hall.[69]
Phase 2 also includes the 60 seat Grace Williams Studio, which is used by BBC NOW and Chorus for workshops and rehearsals for itsoutreach work.[5]
To commemorate the opening of BBC Hoddinott Hall, an inaugural concert took place on 22 January 2009. It was part of an opening festival which took place between 22 January and 1 February 2009.[70] The concert was performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and was conducted byThierry Fischer. It included the worldpremiere ofSt Vitus in the Kettle bySimon Holt, the orchestra's composer in association, who took over fromMichael Berkeley. BBC Hoddinott Hall was officially opened by the Prince of Wales on 31 January 2009, where he unveiled a plaque.[71]
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The third phase of the development of Wales Millennium Centre is a proposed new stand-alone 550-seater theatre and facilities for production, rehearsal and training, opposite the existing main building (phase 1 and 2).[74][75] It will be an "immersive" arts theatre and will be located next to theproposed new 15,000-seater indoor arena for Cardiff.[74][75]Cardiff Council has appointed Goldbeck Construction as the building contractor for the new development.[74][75] The new theatre will be located in the car park of the Atlantic Wharf and part of the parking area of Cardiff Council’sCounty Hall.[74][75] The building will incorporate the council's new modern headquarters, which will replace the ageing County Hall.[76]
Wales Millennium Centre is home to eight arts organisations:
The total cost of phase 1 of the project was £106.2 million. TheNational Lottery Millennium Fund provided £31.7 million, a further £37 million came from TheNational Assembly for Wales and £10.4 million was donated by theArts Council of Wales.[29] In addition, a private investor, South African businessmanDonald Gordon, donated £20 million to be shared equally between theRoyal Opera House and Wales Millennium Centre. The Wales Millennium Centre also received a £13.5 million loan from HSBC. The remaining funds for the project came from a major sponsorship deal with thePrincipality Building Society.[29] The Weston Studio is named after theGarfield Weston Foundation, and is located on Level 1 of the building.[78] Many other corporations and public bodies provide sponsorship to Wales Millennium Centre.[79]
The National Assembly for Wales announced on 6 November 2007 that it was to pay off the outstanding loan of £13.5 million from HSBC and also increase its annual funding. From April 2008, the Assembly gave an annual grant of £3.5 million to Wales Millennium Centre for 3 years.[80] This was intended only to repay the capital debt and not any ongoing operating loss as the organisation remained profitable. The money came from unallocated funds from the Assembly's previous budget and the then Minister for Heritage,Rhodri Glyn Thomas, said that it would not come at the expense of other art projects in Wales.[81]
The cost of phase 2 of the project was approximately £18 million. The BBC does not own the building, but has leased it for 25 years from the Lime Property Fund, a subsidiary ofAviva Investors.[1] Phase 2 was built by Concert Bay Ltd, a subsidiary of Sir Robert McAlpine Enterprises Ltd, which co-funded the scheme along with Lime Property Fund.[64][82]
In November 2006, Wales Millennium Centre announced that it would begin a two-phase rebranding project. The project was won by a local Cardiff company, Sweet. The first phase of the project involved a new corporate logo; the second phase included the redesign of other marketing tools, such as brochures and advertisements.[83]
Wales Millennium Centre has made numerous appearances in film and television, including inDoctor Who (modern-era episodes of which are produced locally byBBC Wales). It has appeared 7 times to date[update]:[citation needed] as itself from outside in the episode "Boom Town";[84] itsmarquee momentarily at the end of the episode "Bad Wolf"; its lobby as a hospital lobby in the far future in the episode "New Earth",[85] and again in "The Girl Who Waited";[86] and briefly in the episodes "Utopia", "The Stolen Earth" and "Last of the Time Lords".[87]
The spin-off seriesTorchwood has its headquarters, known as "The Hub", set underneath the Water Tower inRoald Dahl Plass,[88] with Wales Millennium Centre's frontage featuring heavily through the show.
On 3 November 2006, a record-breaking attempt to gather the most people with the same surname,Jones, took place at Wales Millennium Centre under the show bannerJones Jones Jones, filmed for television byS4C. The record was broken with 1,224 Joneses filling the Donald Gordon Theatre.[89] The previous record was set inSweden in 2004 when 583 people gathered who had the same surname of Norberg.[90]
The airport scene from episode 1 of the second series of the BBC TV showGavin & Stacey was filmed in Wales Millennium Centre.[91]
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