Call for Match day to be more Welsh – 'not a disco'

Retiring announcer says technology has replaced tradition at Principality Stadium, reports Robert Harries

- Robert Harries

THE stadium announcer at the Principality Stadium believes that rugby match days in Cardiff need to be “more Welsh” and not “some kind of disco”.

Iestyn Garlick, who is 73, retired after Saturday's match between Wales and world champions South Africa at the stadium in Cardiff.

His career has spanned 35 years and seen him cover hundreds of matches, initially at the old National Stadium, and then at the newly built Millennium Stadium, which replaced it in 1999.

However, he has observed many changes and feels that many traditions, such as a live band and hymns, have been lost from the matchday experience.

"The atmosphere has changed significantly since the old Arms Park, where you just had a band and the leader conducting the crowd," he told the BBC.