C2 (Welsh pronunciation: [ɛk daɨ]) was a Welsh language music and youth strand on BBC Radio Cymru, broadcast each weeknight from BBC Cymru's studios in Cardiff and Bangor.
First broadcast in 2001, C2 broadcast a mix of popular music in both Welsh and English, tending towards rock and pop rock with a distinctive focus on exclusive sessions and interviews with artists alongside regular features on the Welsh music scene, showbiz news, online reviews and sport. The strand's slogan was Y Flaenoriaeth i Gerddoriaeth (The Priority to Music).
C2 also held an annual nationwide Battle of the Bands competition, supported by Menter Iaith Cymru, with regional rounds broadcast leading up to the final. It has since been supplanted by a similar competition held in conjunction with the National Eisteddfod's Maes B event, with the winning band performing on the final night of the festival. The competition is open to any Welsh-medium popular music performers.
Initially broadcast for five hours each weekday night, its flagship 8-10pm slot was hosted by various presenters such as Dafydd Du, Magi Dodd and Lisa Gwilym with the remaining hours given over to feature series, documentaries, weekly shows and latterly, repeats of an online-only show, Dodd Com. Cutbacks in October 2012 led to C2 being reduced to a single three-hour programme each weeknight from 7-10pm.
In March 2016, the C2 strand was discontinued and replaced by a new, broader line-up of specialist music programming in the 7-10pm slot:
- Recordiau Rhys Mwyn - music history, presented by Rhys Mwyn on Mondays
- Hwyrnos/Gwerin Georgia Ruth - folk and alternative music, presented by Georgia Ruth on Tuesdays
- Lisa Gwilym yn Cyflwyno - new and live music, presented by Lisa Gwilym on Wednesdays
- Byd Huw Stephens - new music from Wales and around the world, presented by Huw Stephens on Thursdays
- Penwythnos Geth a Ger - music and comedy, presented by Geraint Iwan and Gethin Evans on Fridays
C2 presenters (2001-2016)
See also
- Anocht FM - Similar youth strand on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
- Raidió Rí-Rá - Irish-Gaelic youth station