The national teams of Wales and Norway square up to meet in Cardiff on Thursday 1 October in their first matches in Group D of the group stages of the Nations League. It has the potential to be an interesting game, with Norway experiencing a slightly stronger run of form.
Join fellow fans for the build-up: The Norwegian FA is hosting a fan event at Depot Cardiff leading up to the match, with room for 1,500 fans. It promises to be a fantastic opportunity to meet fellow Norwegians and soak up some of the Norwegian football fever. Food will be available. There’ll be sing-alongs and competitions with national team jerseys as prizes. Fans of all ages are welcome. Doors open at 12:30 and close at 18:00, making this a great way to gear up whether you’re heading to Cardiff City Stadium or watching the game at a pub. Tickets cost 250 NOK (around £20) each and include a drink voucher.
Watch the match in person at Cardiff City Stadium: tickets are now on open sale, meaning you don’t have to belong to a national supporters’ club to buy them. Seats are available for as little as £35 each. Buy here: https://www.eticketing.co.uk/fawtickets-english/EDP/Event/Index/588
Watch on TV: The BBC haven’t confirmed whether they’ll be showing the game live on BBC One or Two, but will broadcast it live on the iPlayer and via the BBC Sport website. S4C will show the game with Welsh commentary, and you can also access this through S4C Clic and the iPlayer.
Listen in: BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru will carry live commentary on air and on BBC Sounds.
The return fixture will be played in Oslo on Saturday 14 November.
Gŵyl Wal Goch is the leading festival of football culture and is held in Wrexham, the spiritual home of Welsh football. On the eve of the Nations League clash between the Cymru and Norway in Cardiff, the group has arranged a screening of the film Alt For Norge in Cardiff in the company of Welsh and Norwegian fans and delegates from the Welsh and Icelandic football associations. Gŵyl Wal Goch founder Russell Todd explains more:
There is a train of thought that when Cymru broke its 58 year qualifying duck at Euro 2016 in France, it changed not just Welsh football but the whole nation. But looking back, we were not alone. A football film being screened in Cardiff suggests Norway went on a similar football-influenced journey a couple of decades earlier than Wales when the unexpected success of national team coach Egil ‘Drillo’ Olsen in the 1990s had a huge influence on Norwegian national identity.
Taking inspiration from Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia’s sports documentaries Senna and Diego Maradona, filmmaker duo Jo Vemund Svendsen and Daniel Høglund let the story from the 1990s speak for itself in their captivating film Alt for Norge.
Co-director Daniel Høglund said: “We are thrilled to be bringing Alt For Norge to Cardiff to warm up for the match between our nations. For many years Norwegian football was better known for a commentator’s unbridled on-air joy at Norway beating England than for any success on the pitch.”
The memorable quote was screamed over the radio, ‘Lord Nelson! Winston Churchill! Maggie Thatcher! Lady Diana! Your boys took one hell of a beating tonight.’
But Høglund says after that victory they were minnows no more.
“It all changed in the 1990s under Egil Olsen but his impact stretched beyond the pitch. It really did change our small nation and our self-confidence forever.”
Gŵyl Wal Goch’s Russell Todd said: “To many who remember football in the 1990s, Egil Olsen in his wellies is an indelible image. His idiosyncrasies may have made him a figure of fun but they hid an astute brain, both for football and politics. Alt For Norge is a fascinating portrayal of how football can change a small nation for the better, something we in Cymru know all too well after that wonderful summer in France a decade ago. So why not come and join us for a great night out before the big match?”
Mark Hinge from the Welsh Norwegian Society said, “How fitting that on the eve of a sporting-clash of two small nations – both equally, with big hearts – that this film will be screened in Wales as an example of Welsh ‘Hiraeth’ and Norwegian ‘Begjær’. It will be wonderful to watch the historic rise of Norway as a sporting nation and for all of Wales to share in that rise of success and their joy.”
The autumn edition of the WNS newsletter is here, containing details of our autumn programme, including our AGM in two weeks’ time with food from a new Scandinavian eatery in Newport, fascinating talks on a resistance fighter’s escape from the Nazis, international football between our two countries, and an international conference on Scandinavian history coming up at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff.
The highlights:
Sun 20 Sept, 2.30 pm: Annual General Meeting of the society, with special guest Hayley Broomfield, founder of new Newport-based Scandinavian deli ‘Kos Deg’, who will also bring samples for us to try.
Sat 26 Sept, 1 pm and 4 pm: Ellie Sømme tells the remarkable story of her father’s escape from the Nazis.
Wed 30 Sep, 6.30 pm: A screening of the film ‘Alt for Norge’ which recounts the remarkable story of the runaway success of Norway’s national football team in 1990 that changes the country forever.
Thurs 1 Oct, 7.45 pm: Wales v Norway Nations League football, Cardiff City Stadium.
Tue 6 – Wed 7 Oct: Conference: Norwegian and Scandinavian History and Heritage in the British Isles.
Sun 6 Dec: Our ever-popular Christmas event, the Festival of Light and Friendship. Save the date!
An exciting new Scandinavian-themed eatery has opened in south Wales – and we’ve asked them to provide some catering for our AGM, so if you come, you’ll get a chance to sample some Scandi delights.
Owner Hayley Broomfield set up “Kos deg” – roughly translated as “enjoy yourself” or “make yourself cosy” – in the beautifully restored Newport Market, where she’s serving freshly-baked waffles (including ones with cardamon and Norwegian brunost), cinnamon buns, croissants with Jarlsberg, and bagels with fillings of salmon, avocado, salami or cheese. Reviews are outstanding – our member Mark Hinge is already a firm fan.
Hayley told Wales 24/7: “I moved to Norway just before Covid and, because of lockdown, ended up staying for just over three years. The lifestyle was completely different – beautiful scenery, mountains and the water on your doorstep. People would finish work early on a Friday and head to family cabins for the weekend. I fell in love with the culture and started learning Norwegian baking traditions.”
Hayley is blogging about her Scandinavian food adventure on social media but she’s kindly agreed to tell us in person about her experiences in Norway, what drove her into hospitality sector, and her experiences in Wales, at the AGM. Another first-class reason to attend!
As you may know, the Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay – the charity which manages the venue – is fortunate to have the services of a dedicated heritage officer.
Thomas Alexander Husøy-Ciaccia is building quite a reputation as a historian, both in Wales and in his native Norway, helping the church to win important funding to increase knowledge and understanding of the links between the two countries.
Remarkably, he has been able to organise an important conference, to be held at the church in October, to celebrate the rich history and heritage of Norway and Scandinavia in the British Isles. Made possible through the generous support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the conference marks the culmination of the Norwegian Church Heritage Research and Outreach Project.
We are promised fascinating talks from leading academics, researchers and heritage professionals covering everything from Viking heritage and maritime history to wartime stories, public history and the enduring connections between Norway and the UK.
All events take place at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Cardiff Bay, unless otherwise stated
Sun 20 Sept, 2.30 pm
Annual General Meeting of the society, with special guest Hayley Broomfield, founder of new Newport-based Scandinavian deli ‘Kos Deg’, who will also bring samples.
Students from Norwegian School in London visit Cardiff on a school trip.
Wed 30 Sep, 6.30 pm – The Canopi, Tudor Street
A screening of the film ‘Alt for Norge’ which recounts the remarkable story of Egil ‘Drillo’ Olsen, the football fanatic who gets to coach Norway’s national team in 1990 and ends up leading them on a fairytale winning streak that changes the country forever.
Come and hear Ellie tell her father’s amazing story in person at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay on Saturday 26 September at 1 or 4 pm. She’ll bring along a selection of historical artefacts and copies of her father’s book. The event is free and open to all.
The 17th May National Day celebrations in Cardiff this year had a special visitor: Ellie Sømme, the daughter of a Norwegian resistance fighter who narrowly escaped execution by the Nazi occupation forces by walking his way cross-country to Sweden, and thence to the UK where he went on to help found the Special Operations Executive.
ITV Wales News came to film the parade – and speak to Ellie, who told her father Sven’s amazing story.
You can watch the full 8-minute film here:
One man’s struggle to resist the Nazi occupation of his beloved country. This WW2 true story is about a brother’s execution, resistance fighters, snow covered mountains and a pair of shoes.
The film came about as a result of a remarkable chain of events that began when WNS member Anne Kirsti Rosnæs Kirby handed fellow member Mark Hinge a book while both were decorating the Christmas tree at the Norwegian Church last December.
The book, Another Man’s Shoes, is a gripping first-hand account of a Norwegian scientist’s escape from German custody during the Second World War after his arrest for spying.
Professor Sven Sømme worked under cover and recruited 90 other agents for the clandestine resistance movement named XU (X for ‘unknown’ and U for ‘undercover agent’). In 1944 he was arrested as a spy, escaped his captors and over two months, walked 200 miles through deep Norwegian winter snow, traversing freezing rivers and dodging the pursuing Gestapo to gain his eventual freedom into Sweden before continuing his journey to freedom and on arrival in Britain, his work with MI6 in London.
Sven Sømme. Family collection
Sven Sømme wrote the story of his escape just after the war. Sixty years later, his daughter Ellie set out on foot with her sister to retrace their father’s flight from Nazi-occupied Norway, meeting some of the people who helped him along the way. In an introduction in the book, she recounts the emotional moment when a pair of her father’s shoes, exchanged for mountain boots, were returned to her by one family who sheltered him along the way. She pays special tribute to her uncle Iacob, who was also arrested and later executed.
Mark, whose mother’s maiden name was Sømme and who had roots in Stavanger in the late 19th century, spotted a potential family connection. He went to meet Ellie at her home in Powys and encouraged interest in her father’s story at ITV Wales.
“I’m honoured to have helped, in a modest way, to make this short seven minute film. It was wonderfully produced by Hamish Auskerry.”
Mark and Juliet Hinge meet Ellie Sømme for the first time
Ellie Sømme joined the 17th May celebrations at the Norwegian Church this year and met many members – including Anne Kirsti, who had triggered the initial investigation by sharing Ellie’s book with Mark.
Ellie Sømme with Anne Kirsti, who triggered the chain that led to Ellie’s visit – and planned future event
Ellie has kindly agreed to return to Cardiff to share her father’s story in greater detail in two, one-hour talks (in English), starting at 1pm and also 4pm on Saturday 26th September, 2026.
She will bring the real WW2 artefacts belonging to her father, including postage stamps with microfilm hidden underneath. There will be a chance to buy Sven Sømme’s book, ‘Another Man’s Shoes’.
Timings for the annual Constitution Day parade and celebration in Cardiff have been confirmed as follows:
2.30pm Gather outside the Wales Millennium Centre, Roald Dahls Plass, Cardiff
2.45 pm Procession marches past the Senedd to the Norwegian Church
3.00 pm Welcome from Martin Price, chair of trustees of the Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay
Raising of the flag and singing of the National Anthem, Ja, vi elsker
3.15 pm Move inside the church for a traditional 17th May programme led by Torill Heavens of the Welsh Norwegian Society.
Laying of the wreath of remembrance.
3:45 pm End of official programme.
Everyone is welcome.
The Norsk café bar and terrace will be open until 6 pm for the sale of refreshments and Norwegian food items.
There will also be a very last chance to see the exhibition Vikings and Wales: Past and Presentin the upstairs gallery. Discover the history of the Vikings in medieval Wales and see how people engage with this heritage today, through modern reenactments and inclusive heathenry. The exhibition also features folk art and interactive experiences, including Viking Age board games.
Romjul – pronounced “rom-yool” – is the Norwegian word for the period between Christmas and the New Year. This year it is also the title of an exciting new theatre production, developed by the Welsh drama company Theatr na n’Og in collaboration with the Norwegian Church Arts Centre and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
It tells the story of two Norwegian sisters evacuated to Cardiff during WWII, who find themselves hiding from “trolls” in the little white church in the heart of Cardiff Docks.
It features traditional Norwegian stories and folk songs, and is an educational performance aimed at schools and families. Shows will last around 45 minutes.
There are public performances in English on the following dates:
Wednesday 3 December: 6:00pm
Saturday 6 December: 11:30am
Sunday 7 December: 11:30am (part of the Festival of Light celebrations)
We hope you’re enjoying the summer and, if you’re not already on holiday, have had, or are about to get, a pleasant break.
In our summer newsletter we’ve got news of our 30th birthday celebrations on Sunday 21 September between 2 and 5 pm. There’ll be a free concert of Norwegian music played by the church’s resident string quartet, coffee and cake, and a chance to see a brand-new exhibition telling the story of the Norwegians who found themselves in Cardiff and south Wales during World War Two. We’ll also hold our Annual General Meeting.
We’d love to hear from you if you’ve memories or memorabilia to share.
Other events planned for the coming months include a specially-written family theatre piece for Christmas performed by the innovative Welsh theatre group Theatr na n’Og.
If you’d prefer to have a printed copy, please send your postal address to contact@welshnorwegian.org, and we’ll print and send you one. (Not making paper copies the default any more saves us costs and many hours of labour – but we will always do it if that is what you want or need.)
Fortsatt god sommer – keep having a lovely summer!
Welsh Norwegian Society 