The Great Centenary Chase
is now LIVE!
Get Chasing!
The prize draw will take place on Centenary Day, 29th April at 12pm.
In 2020 Welwyn Garden City was 100 years old!
We are delighted that we managed to deliver many highly successful events and projects to celebrate our wonderful town in its centenary year. Our enthusiastic team of volunteers have worked since 2014 on our Signature Projects and we have plenty to be proud of.
Our official souvenir guide celebrates all that we have achieved in celebration of what makes our community so special.
Our Great Centenary Chase is now live for you and your family to enjoy – 5 new treasure trails through town and country and some excellent prizes!
The prize draw will take place on Centenary Day – 29 April 2021. As the town’s 101st birthday this will the finale of our celebrations.
We hope that our much anticipated Carnival will take place on Saturday 18 June 2022 as part of the Welwyn Garden City Centenary Foundation’s legacy to the town.
Our 100th birthday film
Our 20.20km Centenary Walk through villages and beautiful countryside has proven to be very popular, already enjoyed by thousands of people. You can download our leaflet from our Centenary Walk page.
Explore our website to find out more about our signature projects and see photos of some of our events which have which have already taken place.
We would like to extend sincere thanks to all our sponsors, partners and volunteers, and community without whom our fantastic year of celebrations would not have been possible.
Nick Faldo
Professional Golfer
Woody & Kleiny
YouTubers
Alesha Dixon
TV personality
Events to look forward to...
Carnival!
Parkway, WGC
We have taken great care to ensure the accuracy of every event listed here, but suggest you check details of events nearer the time just in case there have been changes.
Explore our Signature Events by clicking on the icons below
News
Magnificent new statue of Ebenezer Howard on Howardsgate
The magnificent statue of Ebenezer Howard created by talented sculptor Ben Twiston-Davies has now been unveiled on Howardsgate. Creating a new commemorative sculpture to the town’s founder was one of the most popular requests from the community for the town’s centenary celebrations, and we ensured we found the right sculptor to do justice to the visionary founder of our town.
Celebrating 100 years of Music & Performing Arts in Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City has a long and proud history of amateur music and theatre groups since construction of the town began in 1920. The original founders of the town were passionate about music, theatre and sport which formed a vital part of Ebenezer Howard’s vision of building a town and community for healthy living.
Ebenezer Howard memorial makes way for new sculpture of our town’s founder
Eagle eyed residents may have noticed that the Ebenezer Howard memorial roundel has been lifted from its home on Howardsgate – a herculean task which took three hours!
Goodbye 2020, hello 2021
What a year 2020 was. Welwyn Harmony started the year on a high having just won the “Most Improved Chorus” award at a national ladies’ singing competition.
EBENEZER HOWARD: A Birthday Tribute.
Sir Ebenezer Howard OBE was born 171 years ago on 29 January 1850. This tribute outlines his life and how he founded Welwyn Garden City.
Commemorating Our Centenary
The last year has been exceptionally challenging for us all, for our work, our family and our friends. Our much anticipated year of celebrations for Welwyn Garden City’s cententary could not take place as planned, which has been incredibly disappointing for everyone involved.
Our enthusiastic team of volunteers have worked since 2014 on our Signature Projects. Now we have reached the end of 2020 we have plenty to be proud of having achieved in celebration of what makes our town and community so special.
The Story of a Barn and a Theatre
This is the story of a barn and how it became a theatre in Welwyn Garden City. The theatre at the centre of the story is the Barn Theatre situated in Handside Lane and is today a renowned and respected place for amateur drama providing some 10 shows a year as well as other aspects of drama, giving the community quality alternatives to the big professional theatres in London and surrounding district.
Schools’ Photographic Competition 2020
The WGC Centenary Schools Photographic Competition was the first event launched in 2017 to celebrate the centenary, organised by the WGC Photographic Club.
100 years of Welwyn Garden City…and what the next 100 years hold in store
Discover Hertfordshire magazine, published by Archant, has published a lovely four page article in this quarter’s edition. Read the introduction here and view the digital version online. Words by Ellie Fells.
Celebrating our City of Trees this autumn in our centenary year
One of the greatest pleasures of the town is the beauty and variety of the 19,000 trees in its streets and public places. Our City of Trees project is part of the centenary celebrations with four areas of the town chosen for their beauty and variety, some of which are seldom seen outside botanic gardens. What better time to explore and enjoy their beauty than autumn?
