Bruce Springsteen made me feel special, says fan

Ffion Gwyther was thrilled when Bruce Springsteen shook her hand and gave her a guitar plectrum

A woman who was picked out of the crowd by Bruce Springsteen at his concert in Cardiff has thanked The Boss for making her feel special.

Ffion Gwyther, 28, an actor with Down's Syndrome, has spoken out about being ignored because of her disability.

But she was thrilled when Springsteen stopped right in front of her at the end of his concert at the Principality Stadium on Sunday, shook her hand and gave her a guitar plectrum as a souvenir.

“It was a fabulous moment,” she said.

“It made me feel so special”.

It was Ffion Gwyther's first ever large concert.

Ffion, from Furnace in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, queued for three hours with her mum to watch the gig as Springsteen opened the European leg of his world tour.

Afterwards she posted a video on Youtube thanking the Boss for picking her out.

In the video she said: “Something special happened.

"He walked down in front of me, he stood there, deep down in his pocket he brought up his own guitar pluck, he gave it to me by hand, it was such a special moment.”

Springsteen took a plectrum out of his pocket, and handed it to Ffion

Springsteen regularly gives gifts to his fans at concerts.

Last year, at a concert in Ireland, he stopped to give his mouth organ to another fan with Down's Syndrome.

Ffion, who is a member of the Hijinx Theatre Academy, started making videos during the Covid lockdown.

She has also posted about how people like her are often ignored.

In one video she talks about how people will not engage with her, but instead talk to her mother or someone else with her.

“I have a voice and I want people to see what people like me can do and how I feel inside,” she said.

“My friends all feel the same.”

Ffion is a member of the Hijinx Theatre Academy

Ffion’s mum Susie Hamill said she also wanted to thank staff at the stadium for the way they treated her daughter.

“When we were lined up outside, it started to rain,” she said.

“The stewards saw Ffion and escorted her in so she didn’t get soaked. At the end they took us out so we didn’t have to be in the crush.

“The staff really looked out for her, one even remembered meeting her before.”

She said Springsteen's gesture had made Ffion’s day.