The creation of the competition was overseen by Geraint Stanley Jones, who was the controller at BBC Wales at the time.

[6] Auditions are held throughout the world in the autumn before the competition, with singers being selected to take part in Cardiff the following June.

A Lieder Prize was introduced in 1989, as art song and opera are both important forms of singing, but very different.

However, after the 2009 competition, its name was changed to BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize.

[8] Finnish baritone Tommi Hakala won in 2003, with the Song Prize going to Irish soprano Ailish Tynan.

The 2011 winner was Moldovan soprano Valentina Naforniță, who also won the newly renamed "Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize".

The "Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize" was won by English tenor Ben Johnson.

The 2025 edition of the competition has been postponed until 2027 due to the host venue, St David's Hall, being closed to allow for essential work to be carried out to replace the roof.

The competition will instead stage a televised gala concert, featuring previous winners and competitors, in October 2025 as part of the Wales Millennium Centre's Llais international music festival.

On the day between the two competition finals, some of the jury members give master classes to some of the non-finalists, which are open to the public.