Thousands hit Swansea on the third Thursday of November to celebrate Beaujolais Day(Image: John Myers)

Beaujolais Day 2024 best pictures: The outfits, glamour, and fun as thousands party into the night in Swansea

by · Wales Online

Thousands of revellers descended on Swansea on Thursday for the annual Beaujolais Day celebration, which takes place each year on the third Thursday in November. Partygoers left work early, braved the cold weather, and donned their best outfits for the event which has grown by the year.

Beaujolais Day isn’t commonly celebrated outside of France where it marks the arrival of the first Beaujolais Nouveau of the season. But in Swansea some celebrate it just as much as Christmas or new year and it’s all a bit random.

It all started in Swansea in the 1960s at what is now known as the No Sign Bar in Wind Street where then-owner and Wales rugby player Clem Thomas, who spent much of the year in France and loved wine, saw the celebration as a great way to make some extra cash as he could source the bottles cheaply from near his home in Burgundy. Other cities have tried to take on the celebration but it just hasn’t gathered attention in the way it has in Swansea. Ask people in the city why they love the day so much and the words they keep coming back with are friends, culture, and just getting drunk.

Beth Watkins, 21, was not holding back. She's getting feral this year, she said. "Absolutely feral. I’ve been coming to the Beaujolais Day in Swansea for three years. "Every year I come down, I have a bottomless brunch, and get absolutely feral and really, really drunk. I’ve just had my bottomless brunch and now I’m getting really, really drunk."

Aalia Tucker, 20, said getting drunk for Beaujolais is all part of the culture. "I come to Beaujolais every year and get drunk. It’s a Swansea cultural thing. I’ve been coming down for two years and get just absolutely w*******."

It's tradition to dress to the nines for the big day but accountant James decided to come as Donald Trump. He said: "Swansea does Beaujolais Day better than anyone. It's huge here. We do it better than Cardiff, Bristol, better than anyone in the UK."

Scroll through the gallery below to see if you can spot yourself in the celebrations.

Accountant James decided to come as Donald Trump. It's all a bit random on Beaujolais Day but this is really, really random(Image: John Myers)
It's tradition to dress to the nines for the big day(Image: John Myers)
People got together to mark the day(Image: John Myers)
It's the most random celebration of the year and Swansea folk absolutely love it(Image: John Myers)