‘THE BEST NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD EVER’
THE National Eisteddfod should be held in Cardiff every five years, city council leader Huw Thomas has said.
The annual Welsh language festival concluded on Saturday after a week-long event in Cardiff Bay that has been hailed a triumph by many visitors.
Unusually, it was not held in a closed area but used several landmark venues across Cardiff Bay and entry to the Maes was free.
Cllr Thomas said: “It has been a remarkable week at the Cardiff Eisteddfod. I would like to place on record my thanks and admiration for all the Eisteddfod team, supported by council officers, who helped deliver the event. It simply could not have happened without their hard work and dedication.
“Truthfully, it’s probably the best Eisteddfod I can remember attending, although I may be biased.
“What is certainly true is that this year’s Eisteddfod reached out to a new audience, drawing in a hugely diverse crowd.
“I think it’s right that we now take this opportunity to discuss the possibility of the Eisteddfod returning to Cardiff on a more regular basis, say every five years.”
His call echoes the view of the chair of the organising committee for this year’s National Esteddfod, Ashok Ahir, who said Cardiff should hold the event on a regular basis.
It was last held in Wales’ capital in 2008 when it was staged on Pontcanna Fields and caused damage to sports pitches that took several years to resolve. This year only a smaller area of Pontcanna Fields was successfully used as a caravan park for Eisteddfod visitors.
The open nature of this year’s Maes means that organisers have said they will not be able to release visitor numbers as there was no way to track the number of visitors.
Cllr Thomas added: “Making this year’s Eisteddfod a ‘fence-free festival’ helped create an open, inclusive and welcoming festival for all, very much like Cardiff itself. It was fantastic to be involved with it and I hope we can go on to build on what has been an outstanding event.
“This year gives us a platform to build on, and I am keen to ensure that we do so, working with our partners at the Eisteddfod.”
Last week, a delighted Ashok Ahir first suggested the Eisteddfod could visit the capital every five years, telling the Western Mail: “On a personal level, it has been about changing relationships and attitudes. I think we have started that massively, but it could be a massive mistake, not just for the Eisteddfod, but for Wales to lose that.
“If that means we try and do this style every five years I would say ‘absolutely’. The challenge with this event [as it doesn’t generate as much via ticket sales] is money.
“I don’t think it would be fair on a lot of people who have fundraised for this to ask them to do that every year. There would have to be significant involvement from the authorities for financing of this style of Eisteddfod. It couldn’t just be down to the committee”.
Mr Ahir said he has not had a single negative comment since the event began. He said a year ago he was facing questions about how the event would work and trying to ease worries.
“A year ago I was on Anglesey having to deal with questions about whether this was going to work. People were worried it wouldn’t work in different buildings, and wouldn’t have the same feeling of an Eisteddfod. So many people have come up to me and said they were worried about the Eisteddfod and they were concerned but that they have changed their minds entirely. I am so thrilled and proud to be part of this celebration.”
Next year’s Eisteddfod is to be held in Llanrwst, Conwy – 30 years after the festival was last held in the Conwy Valley.
THIS year’s National Eisteddfod has drawn to a close. The tents are being dismantled and booming red letters being put away for another year.
This year’s Eisteddfod has been completely different to usual.
The pink tent of the pavilion was gone, and the whole of Cardiff Bay was taken over in a colourful festival with a distinctly Welsh twist.
Here’s some of the things I liked most about it:
1. It opened it up to everyone
Some were cynical beforehand but few were by the end.
People may still be concerned about whether a free Eisteddfod will be financially sustainable in the long run but no-one can be concerned about whether it will be a success.
It was incredibly easy to get to and people came from all walks of life.
Nextbikes piled up day after day and the streams of people piling out of the railway station or waiting at the bus stop told their own story.
The Eisteddfod has always moved round, and does so with good reason. But there are now calls for it to get a home in Cardiff Bay on a regular basis.
If that’s too rigid, what about billing it as an Eisteddfod yn y Ddinas (Eisteddfod in the City)? Swansea, Newport and Wrexham are all places which could copy this year’s model.
Someone wondered if this year’s event has changed expectations. If you were a visitor who goes to Llanrwst or Tregaron would you be left confused by a very different Eisteddfod?
Surely even the most cynical Eisteddfod-goer would struggle to argue with the contention that this year’s event opened a very traditional event to a whole new audience.
For both the Eisteddfod itself, as well as the Welsh language, surely that’s a must.
2. It was genuinely multi-cultural
Lots of people said it was by far the most multi-cultural Eisteddfod they’d ever been to.
There were people of all backgrounds, religions and races walking the Maes.
I’ve not seen that to such an extent at the Eisteddfodau I’ve been to, and asking people of different generations, they said the same.
Obviously, partly that’s because it was hosted in a city but also the part of the city it was in, an area known for being a melting pot even long after the docks shut.
On Monday night we got a taxi home from the Eisteddfod and were chatting to our driver, who was from Somaliland.
He told us he’d never heard of the Eisteddfod before but as it was on his doorstep he’d been along.
His children, who were at school, had taken him around and used the little bit of Welsh they were learning at school to say hello. But it’s this tweet, from Manon Edwards-Ahir which sums it up. MARRIED to Ashok – this year’s chair – she says in previous years as a Welsh speaking, multi-cultural couple, they “drew attention”, but this year they didn’t.
3. There was a LGBT presence
This year Stonewall teamed up with others to hold “Mas ar y Maes” (out on the Maes).
There were special events and plenty going on. On Monday, the first ever LGBT twmpath took place on Monday, and one of the organisers Adam Price said that of the 70
people there, half Welsh speakers, half not, and men dancing with men and women with women.
“This is a celebration of Welsh culture, the gay community is a part of that Welsh community and one of the lovely things this year is we’re there, throughout the Eisteddfod, throughout the community.
“It’s part of the reality of this community,” he said.
I was chatting to a woman on Monday, she was probably in her 60s, who said despite having no links to the gay community, she was delighted there was “finally” a very public acceptance even if it would have ruffled a few feathers.
She told me it was about time there was such an event – a sentiment echoed by many.
When I found myself in the after party on Friday night (long story) it was brilliant to see two worlds I never thought would collide sharing a dancefloor.
4. It brought the Bay to life
I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Bay. The regeneration is obviously brilliant but as someone who isn’t a massive fan of chain restaurants, it’s never high on my list of places to visit.
But having such a large event spread across the Bay made the best of it - and it meant that for Geraint Thomas’ homecoming a crowd of thousands gathered. The Eisteddfod stretched from the basin right over to the far side.
Every venue was used for something, the Doctor Who Exhibition which has been empty since it closed was brought back to life, there were gigs in the Norwegian Church, pop up tipis, huts, tents and a gin bar caravan. One choirmaster told me for his choir to get to perform on one of the world’s top stages was nothing short of an honour.
And personally, I can now say I’ve been to a press conference in a tipi.
5. ‘Ti’n dysgu Cymraeg?’
As a Welsh learner, it can be incredibly daunting to go to an Eisteddfod. Yes, lots of people are very supportive that you’re even trying but it’s hard not to feel totally on the spot and like you have to be fluent to even try.
This year, probably because I knew there were lots of people with such different levels of Welsh there, I didn’t feel on the spot and probably tried to use more than normal.
There was a long conversation with a raffle ticket seller, drinks bought and total strangers coming up after hearing my slow and stuttering Welsh with a Yorkshire accent intrigued to hear my learning story.
Instead of feeling scared, I felt a little bit proud that at least I was contributing.