At its Council meeting in Aberystwyth today, the National Eisteddfod announced that this year’s festival in Cardiff attracted more visitors than ever before, with many attending for the first time.
Chair of the local Executive Committee, Ashok Ahir, said, “Much has been said and written about the ‘different and experimental’ Eisteddfod in Cardiff, but this year’s festival was ground-breaking in so many different ways. By having an ‘open’ Maes, the festival was welcoming and inclusive – it belonged to everyone from Cardiff and Wales, and this was clearly on show during the week.
“Walking the Maes in Cardiff Bay was a fantastic experience. It was great to hear so many different languages spoken at an event promoting the Welsh language, showing that our culture is accessible and open to everyone. This was definitely an Eisteddfod which had a greater effect on me and thousands of other visitors than any previous festival.
“This is how you introduce Welsh to an unfamiliar audience; this is how you change attitudes towards the language – and this is how you encourage people to learn and use the language in all aspects of their lives. Put simply, this is how you show everyone that Welsh is a dynamic, natural and relevant language. And this will be the Cardiff Eisteddfod’s greatest legacy.
“Today is also an opportunity for us to thank everyone for all their work. It was an honour to lead such an enthusiastic and creative team, with so many young people involved in the fundraising work across the city. We are very grateful to everyone who was part of the team over the past two years.”
The safety of visitors is paramount to the Eisteddfod, and with an open, fence-free and different Maes, the organisation had to invest greatly in safety officers and other safety element to ensure the safety of everyone in the Eisteddfod area. This was an additional cost for the organisation, which led to a deficit of £290,139 this year, which has been covered by the Eisteddfod itself.
Chief Executive Betsan Moses said, “It was our vision and decision to hold an open, fence-free and inclusive festival. By offering free entry to most of the Maes, this year was a strategic investment in the Welsh language, which attracted regular and unfamiliar supporters.
“According to some estimates, up to half a million people came to the Maes during the week, which is an increase of 350,000 on numbers usually expected at the festival. So, for an additional cost of less than £1 to the Eisteddfod for every new visitor, we managed to attract hundreds of thousands of people to experience a festival which is a modern and eclectic celebration of our language and culture.
“Holding an experimental Eisteddfod was challenging and a risk. It’s not easy to organise an open festival on this scale, and was a very different experience to that of organising a ‘regular’ Eisteddfod.
“The ability to utilise permanent buildings like the Senedd, Pierhead and the Wales Millennium Centre was great, but creating an Eisteddfod Maes around these buildings was a long and complex process. However, as we look back at the week, we see that the experiment and the hard work paid off.
“It gave us an opportunity to sell the language, our culture and our country at their best. It was an investment which has, and continues to change attitudes towards the Welsh language in the capital and further afield. We will always be proud that we held a different and experimental festival in Cardiff Bay and hope that the fantastic legacy it left will continue for many years to come.”