02 September 2017
Wales' football supporters' band The Barry Horns gave north-Wales fans a warm welcome to the Capital this afternoon, with a surprise performance on the platform at Cardiff Central Station.
A party atmosphere greeted the traveling army of fans as their chartered train arrived in the capital ahead of the Wales v Austria match played tonight at the Cardiff City Stadium.
As proud live broadcasters of all Wales' World Cup Qualifying matches, S4C teamed up with The Barry Horns to arrange the surprise, with the help of Arriva Trains Wales.
The surprise added to the build-up to the crucial match against Austria, with the games available free-to-air for all fans across the UK on S4C, says Gwyn Williams, S4C Director of Communications;
"For football fans, it doesn't get much bigger than a home international and we wanted to add a little something special to the traveling fans' day. The Barry Horns know how to get a party started, even on a station platform. We hope it put the fans in the mood for the match, and we hope the result gives cause for celebration for tonight's return journey back to Holyhead."
Known for their bouncing football chants, which never fail to get the crowd going, The Barry Horns says; “The Horns couldn’t wait to greet the Gog train upon its arrival to Caerdydd. Next stop - 3 points!”
This is the first time a specially chartered train has been arranged to provide travel for north-Wales fans to the capital for the match. It came in response to talks between the Football Association of Wales and the Football Supporters’ Federation Cymru.
Lewis Brencher, Head of Communications for Arriva Trains Wales said; “We’ve been delighted to be able to put the special train down to Cardiff for fans from north Wales. The atmosphere on board was amazing with everyone in great spirits all the way down and for The Barry Horns to be welcoming the train and fans into Cardiff was the icing on the cake, so we’d like to say a massive thank you to the band and S4C for arranging it. Cymru am byth!”
Ends
S4C has live coverage of all Wales' World Cup 2018 qualifying matches including Wales v Austria on Saturday 2 September at 7.15. Also, the away game against Moldova on Tuesday 5 September.
S4C is available on all platforms in Wales; Freeview 104, Sky 104, Freesat 120, Virgin 166.
And across the UK on Sky 134; Freesat 120, Virgin 166.
Also online live and on demand at s4c.cymru, BBC iPlayer, YouView and other platforms.
This is not the first time for S4C and The Barry Horns to come together to celebrate Welsh football. They previously collaborated to create a remixed version of the band's Euro 2016 hit 'This is Wales'. The song was re-worked to include all 12 Welsh Premiere League teams, and used in a video on TV and across social media to promote S4C's comprehensive coverage of the league.
More information about the chartered Train: https://arrivatrainswales-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/all-aboard-the-football-special-north-wales-fans-train-confirmed-for-wales-world-cup-qualifiers
