Aberfan at 60: Events, Exhibitions and How Wales Is Remembering
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The 60th anniversary of Aberfan will not be marked by one national event alone. This guide to Aberfan 60th anniversary events brings together a new Book of Remembrance, theatre made with coalfield communities, Welsh-language programmes, music, exhibitions and a concert, each creating a different route into the same act of memory.
That matters because Aberfan is not simply a historical subject. It is a living community, and 21 October 2026 is the day on which families and neighbours will mark 60 years since 144 people, including 116 children, were killed. This guide brings together the events and projects that have been confirmed by their organisers, while being clear about what has not yet been announced.
The CELF open call: what the £300 commission actually means
The time-sensitive opportunity comes from CELF, Amgueddfa Cymru's contemporary art programme. Its open call, Aberfan 60: Life in our Coalfields, is wider than a conventional art competition. A proposed contribution can be an article, creative writing, a video, images or artwork inspired by objects in the museum collection and by life in Welsh coalfield communities.
You do not send a fully finished work and wait to see whether the museum buys it. The process is:
- Send a proposal by 5pm on 1 September 2026. This can be up to 200 words, or a sketch, moodboard, short video or a few images.
- Include the practical details. CELF asks for your name, pronouns, address, contact information and a short biography with the proposal.
- The curatorial team reviews the ideas. The call says applicants should hear within 20 working days.
- Four proposals are selected. Each selected contributor receives a £300 commission fee, described as roughly one day's work.
- The selected person makes the final contribution. CELF provides curatorial support, but it does not take your story and create the work on your behalf.
You do not need to identify as a professional artist or writer. The call particularly welcomes people from former Welsh coalmining communities. Read the full eligibility and submission details on the official CELF open-call page before emailing anything, because the final format and rights need to follow its terms.
A new Book of Remembrance and a National Library exhibition
The National Library of Wales has produced three new Books of Remembrance with the Aberfan community, specialist craftspeople and its own conservation staff. The volumes record the names of the 116 children and 28 adults who died. A community copy will be displayed under glass, with its pages turned each month so that different names and birth dates can be seen.
One of the new volumes will also appear in a dedicated Aberfan exhibition at the National Library in Aberystwyth. The Library has confirmed an autumn 2026 opening, but it had not published a precise opening date when this guide was checked. That is an important distinction: the exhibition is confirmed, while the day and visitor arrangements still need to be checked nearer the time.
The Library and Glamorgan Archives have also created an online Aberfan research resource. It gives people who cannot travel a route into records and community history without making the anniversary dependent on attendance at a physical event.
Aberfan 60th anniversary events: the confirmed autumn calendar
23 September to 21 October: The Silent Volunteer tours Wales
Avant Cymru's The Silent Volunteer, written by Sue Bevan, focuses on volunteers and the way memory has travelled through coalfield communities. The producer describes a trauma-informed project developed through conversations with people affected by Aberfan and more recent landslides. Performances are paired with an exhibition and a question-and-answer session in partnership with Coalfield Regeneration.
The producer's current English listing includes Milford Haven on 23 September, Ammanford on 9 October, Aberystwyth on 14 October, Pwllheli on 15 October, Wrexham on 16 October, Pontardawe on 20 October and Tylorstown on 21 October. Venue arrangements, age advice and access support differ, so use the links on the official Avant Cymru tour page rather than assuming every performance works in the same way.
Throughout October: exhibition and events at St Elvan's, Aberdare
St Elvan's has listed an October exhibition called Cofion Aberfan. Its calendar also includes a service of remembrance led by the Bishop of Llandaff on Wednesday 21 October, followed on Thursday 22 October by Aberfan Requiem | The Silent Volunteer with Avant Cymru and Lewis Merthyr Band. Opening hours, tickets and any access notes should be checked on the St Elvan's events page.
Sunday 18 October: Aberfan Memorial Run, now full
Phoenix Running South Wales has organised a seven-hour event from Aberfan Community Centre, using 5.3km laps on the Taff Trail. A contribution from every entry goes to the Aberfan Memorial Charity. The listing covers distances from one lap to an ultra distance and welcomes walkers as well as runners, but participants must be at least 18.
As of 12 August, the official listing says the event is full. That means this is not a recommendation to turn up without a place. Registered participants should use the organiser's live event page for any changes to registration, parking, start arrangements or the course.
Welsh-language programmes, 144 musical memorials and a major concert
Two S4C programmes are commissioned, but dates are still to come
S4C's current commissions list includes two programmes presented by Alex Jones. Alex Jones ac Aberfan - Yr Arwyr Tawel is a one-hour factual programme about some of Aberfan's quiet heroes. Aberfan - Arwyr ein Cwm is a 30-minute factual programme for children, also made to mark the 60th anniversary.
No transmission dates were listed in the commission documents when this article was checked. They are confirmed productions, not confirmed October broadcast slots. Look for the programmes in the S4C commissions list, then check S4C's schedule nearer the anniversary.
A 144-day sound project
Artist and Aberystwyth University professor John Harvey began releasing 144 Variations on a Theme by Joseph Parry for the Victims of Aberfan on 30 May. The project assigns one composition to each person who died, with a new piece released during the 144-day approach to 21 October. Harvey's own diary records the first release and the intention behind the sequence. The artist's project diary is the clearest place to follow its progress.
Sunday 25 October: Aberfan 60 at BBC Hoddinott Hall
Wales Millennium Centre has confirmed a 3pm concert at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff. Paul Mealor's commissioned Aberfan: From Darkness to Light is the centrepiece, narrated by Mark Lewis Jones and performed with the combined choirs of Ynysowen Primary School and Ysgol Gymraeg Rhyd y Grug, Ynysowen Male Voice Choir and the BBC National Chorus of Wales. Tim Redmond conducts.
The programme also includes music by Anna Clyne, Haydn, Mozart and Vaughan Williams. The venue says there are four wheelchair and companion seats in Row O, and that the Hynt scheme provides free tickets for eligible carers and companions, subject to availability. There are no under-twos, and under-16s must sit with an adult aged 18 or over. Check the official Aberfan 60 concert page before booking.
The Welsh language of remembrance
Official Welsh sources use Trychineb Aberfan for the Aberfan disaster. The verb cofio means to remember, while coffáu means to commemorate. The National Library calls the new volume a Llyfr Cofio, or Book of Remembrance.
These are not interchangeable decorations. Cofio can be personal and everyday, while coffáu carries the more formal idea of marking a person or event. The language helps explain why the anniversary programme ranges from private names in a book to public performance.
It also connects to cynefin: the relationship between people, memory and place. Aberfan cannot be understood as a backdrop detached from the community that lives there. Readers learning Welsh for a visit can use our respectful Welsh phrases for visiting Wales, while following the language and access guidance of each organiser.
The Crown brought attention, but it is only one lens
Season 3, episode 3 of The Crown dramatised Aberfan and placed strong emphasis on the monarchy's response and the timing of the Queen's visit. It brought the disaster before a large international audience, but it remains a television drama with a royal viewpoint. It is not the community's complete history, and watching it is not the same as reading records or listening to people connected with Aberfan.
The scale of the attention is visible in a public-interest proxy. The English Wikipedia article about the disaster received about 11.7 million pageviews across the ten complete years from 2016 to 2025. Around 2.84 million came in 2019, with the largest month in November, when the third season of The Crown was released. That timing suggests the drama helped prompt further reading, but it does not prove why each person visited the page.
How to choose an event and take part respectfully
There is no requirement to attend everything. Someone who needs quiet research may prefer the Book of Remembrance or online archive. A family may wait for the children's S4C programme. Others may connect through theatre, worship, walking, music or the open call. Different forms do not compete if they keep the people and community at the centre.
- Check the live listing. Access, tickets and timings can change, and several projects do not yet have final dates.
- Read content guidance. A performance about Aberfan may be unsuitable for some children or difficult for people with a personal connection.
- Respect ordinary community space. Aberfan is home, not an anniversary attraction. Follow any local guidance and do not enter private land or photograph people without consent.
- Choose primary records after drama. If a film or television episode starts your interest, continue with community, archive and museum sources.
- Allow the anniversary to be Welsh as well as international. Notice Welsh titles and terminology, even if you are reading or attending in English.
The strongest parts of the 60th-anniversary programme do not ask one event to carry the whole story. They make room for names, testimony, language, art and the continuing life of Welsh coalfield communities. We will update this guide as the National Library and S4C publish firm dates.
Sources, further reading and image credits
Feature image: Aberfan viewed from Mynydd y Capel, photographed by Gareth James, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Dates and status come from the organiser, venue and broadcaster links in the article. Because event details can change, use those live pages before booking or travelling.
