The centrepiece of the Cardiff skyline dominates the capital, a symbol of the sporting passion of the Welsh nation. On Six Nations’ match days 74,500 people flock to the Welsh Mecca and thousands more congregate in the pubs and bars on its doorstep.
.jpg)
Affectionately known as “the Millennium”, it was built for the 1999 Rugby World Cup in place of the old Cardiff Arms Park and towers seven stories with fans seated over three tiers. The stanchions holding the roof spear far higher into the sky.
Its imposing structure comprises 40,000 tonnes of concrete, 12,000 tonnes of structural steel and 4,000 tonnes of reinforcement steel, a veritable cauldron with a bowl volume of 1.5 million cubic metres – equivalent to 36,000 domestic swimming pools.
The Welsh fans fill this space with noise and are famed for their vocal support. But match-day singsong is kick-started by a 100-strong choir conducted by Haydn James.
The 65-year-old conductor has selected, prepared and conducted every choir to grace the Millennium since he was first called upon before the stadium was built.
While the stadium rose from the ground, Wales played their fixtures across the Severn Bridge at Wembley. Mr James (pictured below), conductor of the London Welsh Choir, was invited to provide the pre-match entertainment.
When the Millennium opened, Mr James was asked to continue and was placed in charge of selecting a different choir for each fixture. The Maesteg-born musician usually chooses the winners of the previous year’s National Eisteddfod to perform but youth choirs have also won the honour.
The choirs, backed by the ever-present Regimental Band of the Royal Welsh, with their ceremonial goat, warm up two hours before kick-off in the tunnels underneath the stands.
Against Scotland their rehearsal had to be silenced quickly when the Welsh team bus arrived halfway through a booming rendition of Flower of Scotland.
This year five choirs (400 voices) will be competing before kick-off for the right to sing the anthems as part of S4C’s Codi Canu (Rise up and sing) program. The show has created and followed five choirs, one for each of the regional rugby teams and one from North Wales. While the judges decide the winner there will be a mass medley of Cwm Rhondda, We’ll keep a welcome and Tom Jones’s Delilah.
“What we are all trying to achieve is a great atmosphere,” said Mr James. “Cardiff is unique because the crowd can sing.
“If you go to Twickenham the only song they will sing is Swing Low Sweet Chariot, at Murrayfield it’s just Flower of Scotland. Whereas if you come to Cardiff I will get them singing five or six pieces of music.”
“Delilah is the one which flicks the crowd’s switch. We did it back at Wembley and managed to get Tom Jones out. The atmosphere was electric. Wales beat England [32-31], when Neil Jenkins kicked the winner, and Delilah has taken off ever since then.”
Mr James, who turns his back on the band to conduct the fans when they join in, savours every moment of his time on the pitch.
“It is an immense privilege. There are conductors who would give their top tenors to do what I do. It is an honour. I get goose-pimples.
“When Wales won the Grand Slam in 2005 it was magic and I think it is going to be the same on Saturday. The whole aim of what we do is to lift the crowd and get the crowd behind the team. When it works there is no better feeling like it. I have been fortunate to do lots of things but this takes some beating.
“I have had people like Alan Phillips (Wales team manager) come on to me and say: ‘get this crowd going today’. The atmosphere and the singing will give Wales that edge.”
Another feature which adds to the atmosphere is the fully retractable roof, the only one of its kind in the UK. Some 20 shiploads of steel were imported via Cardiff Docks to create the cover for the stadium along with 212,520km of tendons and 200,000 nuts and bolts.
The roof takes 20 minutes to open or close and, contrary to popular belief, the decision to protect the pitch and the players from the elements costs only £2.54.
The problem with an open roof in a city by the sea is the huge number of seagulls and pigeons in search of a roost.
With a surname like Hawkins it was inevitable Phillipa and her husband Phillip would run a falconry business and they have been keeping the stadium clear of unwelcome residents since it was built.
The pride of their birds, a 20-year-old Harris hawk called Dad, patrols the Millennium for up to 40 hours a week. He is possibly the least demanding employee of the Welsh Rugby Union. His wage is his daily diet - two chicks - and a rat on the weekend.
Dad (pictured with Ospreys' forward Duncan Jones), so-called for fathering all of the couple’s other birds, is now a grandfather but is still the scourge of Cardiff seagulls at the capital’s iconic landmark while his offspring patrol other sites such as the castle.
“The pigeons know he’s there,” said Phillipa. “They used to flock in overnight as they knew when the hawk was going so we had to start mixing up the times he went in there. If we took him out it would build up to thousands of pigeons.”
Dad is not allowed to watch the match but his owners say he would be delighted to spend the day with the fans. “He would love it. It wouldn’t phase him at all,” said Phillipa who counts Shane Williams as her favourite player.
“We have got some eggs this year. If Wales win then one of them might have to be called Shane.” It would be apt given the wing’s nickname – the Welsh flyer.
The fans will fuel their song with 6,500 pies, pasties and sausage rolls and there are 19 public bars to wash down the food. Many of them are fitted with “joy machines” capable of serving 12 pints in 20 seconds.
A full house at the Millennium will drink more in one day than many pubs sell in a year. 760 toilets cope with the consequential demand.
Around a thousand catering staff will serve the likes of President Sarkozy and Prince William on Saturday while 700 stewards will police the punters in the stands. There are only 25 police officers on duty in the ground and arrests are rare at rugby matches.
The changing rooms are kitted out with ice baths for the players to recover in. But after 80 minutes on Saturday they may just be joining their loved ones in the friends and families room with free booze and maybe, just maybe, a Grand Slam title.
If Wales triumph, the 220 journalists and 90 BBC production staff may have to put their drinks on hold and concentrate on chronicling another spectacular event at the Millennium.
Stats:
74,500 seats
40,000 sq metre footprint
25,000 match-day programs sold
1,650 fire alarms
1,131 doors
760 toilets
128 hospitality boxes
17 First Aid rooms
15 bars
6 restaurants
£2.54 to close roof
1 Grand Slam winner
No comments:
Post a Comment