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Shirl buys Own Welsh Flag Dress By Joanne Harris, Western Mail, 20 Sep 2003

Fifty of Shirley Bassey's dazzling gowns raised almost a quarter-of-a-million pounds for charity in an auction in London - including one she "bought back" herself.

As reported in The Western Mail yesterday, the gowns, which have dazzled audiences around the world for half a century, were auctioned at Christie's on Thursday night in aid of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama to establish an annual scholarship in her name, and the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales Appeal.

Our Shirl purchased the Welsh flag gown she wore at the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup at the Millennium Stadium in 1999 as a gift for the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama for £7,000.

Timed to celebrate Dame Shirley's 50 years in show business, the sale far exceeded expectations, raising £244,300.

Edmond Fivet , principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama said, "We had the most wonderful evening at Christie's, watching the auction proceed and seeing the enthusiasm and excitement of Dame Shirley's fans.

"The result is extraordinary and means that we will be able to award annual scholarships to young people of outstanding talent who seek to train at the College.

"This is such a generous and thoughtful gesture by Dame Shirley who shows great awareness of the need to nurture and support young talent."

Lyn Jones, chairman of the Noah's Ark Appeal said, "We are extremely grateful that such a wonderful ambassador for Wales has been so generous to the Noah's Ark Appeal.

"The first phase of the new hospital is going to be finished by the end of next year and Dame Shirley's contribution has given us a real boost as we raise the additional £1.5m to provide state of the art equipment for the new building."

Dame Shirley attended the sale, and prior to the start of the auction made an emotional speech before treating the packed saleroom to renditions of many of her big hits including Big Spender, Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever.

Although it had been expected that Dame Shirley would leave once the auction began, she continued to entertain the assembled crowd throughout the auction, regularly bursting into song, and climaxing in a grand finale from the rostrum of The Party's Over.

A delighted Dame Shirley said after the sale, "When I walked into the room at Christie's tonight and saw all the gowns together it brought back wonderful memories of 50 years.

"It's been an incredibly exciting evening and I've had the most fabulous time."

Dame Shirley's preferred designer Douglas Darnell created the majority of the exquisite gowns, and she personally thanked and applauded him during the Christie's auction.

The highlight of the sale was the astounding price paid for the Diamond Dress, which fetched a staggering £35,000. The star lot was bought by Swarovski, who purchased a number of significant lots and plans to display them at Crystal Worlds Museum in Austria.

© Western Mail 2003

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