All of us at Wales Millennium Centre are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Lord Rowe-Beddoe, the Life President of Wales Millennium Centre.
Lord Rowe-Beddoe 1937 - 2023
Lord Rowe-Beddoe is synonymous with the early history of Wales Millennium Centre, serving with distinction as Chair from March 2001 through to May 2010. Since 2010, he retained his support and service to all things WMC as he continued to serve as Life President. Lord Rowe-Beddoe played a significant role in the fundraising for the WMC, securing the private and public support for the initial capital phase, and continued to raise funds through his years of service as Chair and Life President. He was a passionate supporter and advocate for the arts in Wales, stemming from his childhood love of theatre, and was pivotal in establishing the WMC as a cultural asset for Wales. His ambitious founding vision of "Bringing the best of the World to Wales, and Showcasing the best of Wales to the World" set the new bar for Welsh theatre and culture.
Mathew Milsom, Managing Director Wales Millennium Centre said, "David Rowe-Beddoe was a founding pioneer of Wales Millennium Centre, and quite simply without him WMC would not exist. Through sheer force of will and astute business acumen, he managed to get WMC built and guided it through its challenging early years. His passion for theatre and Wales put WMC on the global stage and the current team and future generations owe David a huge debt of gratitude. David loved the WMC, he was an immensely proud Welshman and our most passionate ambassador. We will always be eternally grateful for his vision, commitment and unrelenting energy. We shared lots of great times together and had a lot of fun. David was an integral part of our family and he will be greatly missed. Our deepest condolences to Lady Madeleine and his family."