Cardiff by night

Jodi Bieber

Bieber cardiff fan NB Rugby

Un mot sur l'oeuvre

JBIE001
22nd February 2003, a fan in the streets of Cardiff, after Wales vs England
Michel Birot wanted to look at the legendary Cardiff nights after a Six Nations’ match. He commissioned Jodi Beiber, a renowned South African photojournalist whose work he appreciated and who was passing through Paris, to do the feature on impulse and at the last minute. She jumped on a train and arrived there when the crowds were starting to leave the Millennium Stadium, the immense ground that was built in the centre of Cardiff for the 1999 World Cup, on the site of Cardiff Arms Park, which hosted the national team’s matches. She wandered the streets all night collecting powerful images of this heathen and friendly party.

Le témoignage de Jodi Bieber

I got off the train from Paris just as a significant rugby match was finishing. My assignment was to photograph Women celebrating after a Rugby match played in Cardiff for Attitude Rugby, a large format french magazine. The streets were blocked off for the celebration, it was the depth of Winter and it was freezing cold. However, men and women of all ages and sizes were flocking into the streets to celebrate. The women did not seem to feel the cold and were wearing skimpy, tight revealing summer dresses of all colours and high heel shoes. Bars, clubs and the streets were filled with revellers, both male and female, very drunk.

The consumption of alcohol , the loud, rowdy laughter and flirtation was as brash amongst both men and women. As the night started turning into day and the streets started to empty out I landed sleeping in the police station on a hard bench in the reception . No hotel accomodation had been booked for me and there was no accomodation available. I explained to the police I was on assignment and had only my cameras, so they agreed I could stay. What amazed me was that there were no reports of crime, stabbings, fights etc and people in Cardiff that night were really drunk!

Only one taxi driver came into the station to hand in a purse he had found in the back of his taxi. I couldn't believe it.

Le choix de Jean-Denis

England had just beaten Wales at the Millennium Stadium, an absolute nightmare. And yet nothing can stop Cardiff’s nightlife from being in full swing. It is more than a rendez-vous, a ritual. With a determined step, this young woman sets out in search of adventure. Welsh princesses of the night do not fear the cold. Beyond rugby, it is cultural. It is a bit like the Rio or even Dunkirk carnival. You have to have been there. Going from pub to pub and back to your hotel on all fours. If you can remember your previous evening too clearly, you didn’t go far enough.