The body of water was converted into a 500-acre (2.0 km2) lake as part of a pre-devolution UK Government regeneration project, involving the damming of the rivers by the Cardiff Bay Barrage in 1999.

The barrage impounds the rivers from the Severn Estuary, providing flood defence and the creation of a permanent non-tidal high water lake with limited access to the sea, serving as a core feature of the redevelopment of the area in the 1990s.

[6][7] On 15 June 1910 the Terra Nova Expedition left the Roath Basin in Cardiff's docklands and headed south to Antarctica.

On board were Captain Robert Falcon Scott and members of his British Antarctic Expedition, who aimed to be the first to reach the South Pole.

As Cardiff exports grew, so did its population; dockworkers and sailors from across the world settled in neighbourhoods close to the docks, known as Tiger Bay, and communities from up to 50 different nationalities, including Norwegian, Somali, Yemeni, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Caribbean and Irish helped create the unique multicultural character of the area.

[2] After the Second World War most of the industry closed down and the area became a neglected part of Cardiff, a wasteland of derelict docks and mudflats.

[8] The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation (CBDC) was created in 1987 to stimulate the redevelopment of 1,100 hectares (2,700 acres) of derelict land.

Original plans included a grand boulevard (similar to where Lloyd George Avenue is located now) with high-density commercial and residential units straddling both sides.

On 30 January 2013 the planning consultant, Adrian Jones, stated that Cardiff Bay was a contender for the "worst example of waterside regeneration in Britain".

It is managed by Cardiff Harbour Authority and is as a venue for small concerts, art exhibitions, conferences, meetings and celebrations.

Roald Dahl Plass is a large open amphitheatre style plaza frequently used as a venue for carnivals and festivals all year round.

The Pont y Werin pedestrian and cycle bridge opened in July 2010, completing a six and a half-mile circular route around Cardiff Bay and Penarth.