National Eisteddfod of Wales
An annual Welsh-language festival combining literary, musical, artistic, educational and cultural competitions with a large public programme.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The National Eisteddfod of Wales, or Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru, is Wales’s principal annual celebration of Welsh-language culture. It is one of several events known as eisteddfodau, a Welsh tradition centered on competitive performance, poetry, music and public cultural gathering. The modern national organisation traces its institutional history to 1860, when an executive committee was formed in Denbigh, and its first event was held at Aberdare in 1861. The festival’s deeper cultural ancestry is commonly associated with earlier bardic competitions, including the contest held at Cardigan Castle by Lord Rhys in 1176, although the present institution developed through a succession of local, provincial and national initiatives during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The festival normally takes place during the first week of August and lasts eight days. Its competitions are principally conducted in Welsh and cover poetry, prose, singing, instrumental music, choral performance, drama, dance and other forms of creative expression. The best-known literary distinctions are the Chair, awarded for an awdl composed in strict Welsh poetic metre, and the Crown, awarded for a pryddest written in free metre. These prizes are presented in highly theatrical ceremonies associated with the Gorsedd of Bards, whose Archdruid presides over the main proceedings. Other established distinctions include the Prose Medal, introduced in 1937, and Welsh Learner of the Year, introduced in 1983. Since 2014, the festival has also presented a Welsh-language Album of the Year award through its contemporary music programme. The physical center of the festival is the Maes, a temporary cultural village made up of a main pavilion, performance spaces, exhibition stands, food and retail areas, educational facilities and specialist venues. Regular areas have included Maes B for contemporary music, the literature pavilion, a dance hall, a science and technology pavilion, Maes D for Welsh learners, theatre and drama spaces, a folk venue and Y Lle Celf for visual art. The Maes brings together cultural organisations, charities, public bodies, publishers, retailers, language groups and community organisations. It also functions as a major public forum for Welsh civic and linguistic life. Although the festival’s competitions remain Welsh-language events, the organisation has increasingly sought to welcome people who do not speak Welsh. Bilingual signage, simultaneous interpretation and Maes D provide practical routes into the festival for visitors and learners. This broadening has helped position the Eisteddfod both as a guardian of Welsh-language traditions and as an accessible public festival. Attendance typically exceeds 100,000 visitors, while the number of competitors is commonly above 6,000. The 2024 festival in Pontypridd recorded approximately 186,000 attendances, according to the cited reference material. The festival has also been an important setting for Welsh public life. Plaid Cymru was founded during the 1925 National Eisteddfod at Pwllheli. The 1917 chairing of Hedd Wyn, awarded after his death at Passchendaele, remains one of its most remembered episodes and was later depicted in the Academy Award-nominated film Hedd Wyn. During the Second World War, the physical festival was not held in 1940, although the BBC broadcast a substitute programme and awarded several honours. The COVID-19 pandemic led to postponements in 2020 and 2021 and prompted the creation of online and broadcast Eisteddfodau AmGen before the full festival returned in 2022. The National Eisteddfod is traditionally hosted in different parts of Wales, often alternating between north and south, and planning begins well before the public announcement of a venue. Its identity therefore combines a national remit with strong local participation. The festival is not primarily a commercial product brand; its brand value lies in cultural continuity, Welsh-language creativity, community participation, prestige in the arts and the visibility of Wales’s distinct national culture.
History
The National Eisteddfod belongs to a much older Welsh tradition of eisteddfodau, gatherings in which poets, musicians and performers compete before an audience. Welsh cultural histories often trace the tradition to the bardic contest held by Lord Rhys at Cardigan Castle in 1176. That event was not the modern National Eisteddfod, but it provides an influential historical reference point for the festival’s emphasis on poetry, patronage and public recognition. A series of later initiatives helped create the conditions for a national institution. The Gwyneddigion Eisteddfodau began in the late eighteenth century, while provincial events were held between 1819 and 1834. The Abergavenny Eisteddfodau, associated with Lady Llanover, operated through much of the 1830s and 1840s, and the Great Llangollen Eisteddfod took place in 1858. Against this background, an executive committee was formed in Denbigh in 1860. The first event of the organisation that became the National Eisteddfod was held at Aberdare in 1861. The festival’s literary and ceremonial identity developed around the Gorsedd of Bards. The Gorsedd itself was a romantic institution created by Iolo Morganwg in the 1790s and formally connected with Eisteddfod ceremony from 1819, rather than an unchanged survival from ancient pagan Wales. Its ranks, robes and rituals provide a visual language for the festival, while the Archdruid oversees the most important ceremonies. The Chair and Crown are specially designed for each festival and are awarded for different forms of Welsh poetry. Their presentation under the Gorsedd’s auspices has become one of the defining spectacles of Welsh cultural life. The 1917 festival produced one of the institution’s most powerful stories. The chair was awarded to Ellis Humphrey Evans, who wrote under the name Hedd Wyn, for the poem Yr Arwr. The audience waited for the winning poet to appear, but he had been killed at Passchendaele in Belgium the previous month. The empty-chair episode became a symbol of the human cost of the First World War and was later dramatized in the film Hedd Wyn. The Eisteddfod has repeatedly reflected wider Welsh political and social developments. Plaid Cymru was founded during the 1925 festival at Pwllheli. During the Second World War, the 1940 event was cancelled because of the danger that a large gathering could become a bombing target. The BBC instead broadcast an Eisteddfod programme, and several awards were made through the broadcast format. From 1950, the rules required competitions to be held in Welsh, although the use of Latin in settings of the Mass later enabled performances by some international soloists and generated controversy about the relationship between the festival’s linguistic rules and its artistic programme. In the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Eisteddfod expanded beyond a competition-centered model. The Maes became a large temporary cultural village containing stages, arts spaces, educational programmes, shops, public organisations and community groups. Contemporary music, visual art, science, technology, literature, theatre and Welsh-language learning gained more visible places within the festival. The organisation also introduced bilingual information, interpretation and Maes D in an effort to make the event more welcoming to learners and non-Welsh speakers. Venue policy has remained a recurring strategic issue. The festival generally moves between different Welsh regions, with the host site requiring extensive preparation and open land for stages, tents, parking and camping. The 2018 Cardiff Bay event departed from the classic enclosed-site model and was promoted as a fence-free Eisteddfod, using permanent buildings where possible. The festival returned to a traditional Maes at Llanrwst in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented interruption to the modern event calendar. The full festival was postponed in 2020 and again in 2021, with Eisteddfodau AmGen offering online, television, radio and limited live programming. The full National Eisteddfod returned in August 2022. The organisation continues to combine preservation of Welsh-language literary and musical traditions with a broad public-festival role, attracting large audiences and serving as one of the most visible annual expressions of Welsh cultural identity.
- 2024
Pontypridd records highest recent attendance
[1]The Pontypridd festival recorded approximately 186,000 attendances, the highest recent figure cited in the reference material.
- 2022
Full festival returns after pandemic disruption
[1]The full National Eisteddfod resumed in August after two years of postponements and alternative programming.
- 2020
First pandemic postponement
[1]The full festival was postponed and replaced by Eisteddfod AmGen programming delivered through digital and broadcast channels.
- 2018
Fence-free Cardiff Bay festival
[1]The Cardiff Bay event used a more open site model and permanent buildings rather than relying exclusively on a traditional enclosed Maes.
- 2014
Welsh-language Album of the Year introduced
[1]A Welsh-language Album of the Year award began as part of the Maes B contemporary music programme.
- 1983
Welsh Learner of the Year introduced
[1]The festival introduced a formal award recognising achievement by a learner of Welsh.
- 1950
Welsh-language competition rule introduced
[1]A new rule required competitions to be conducted in Welsh, with later controversy surrounding limited use of Latin in musical settings.
- 1940
Physical festival cancelled during the Second World War
[1]The event was not held because of bombing concerns; the BBC broadcast an alternative programme and distributed several honours.
- 1925
Plaid Cymru founded at Pwllheli
[1]Plaid Cymru was founded during the National Eisteddfod at Pwllheli.
- 1917
Hedd Wyn’s posthumous chair
[1]Ellis Humphrey Evans, known as Hedd Wyn, won the chair for Yr Arwr but had died at Passchendaele before the result was announced.
Products and positioning
A national cultural institution and large-scale public festival that protects and promotes Welsh-language creativity while increasingly welcoming learners, non-Welsh speakers and international performers.
Poetry competition and ceremony
Chairing of the Bard
The Chair is awarded for an awdl, a substantial poem composed in strict Welsh poetic metre. A new ceremonial chair is designed for each festival. The result is announced and celebrated in one of the Eisteddfod’s most formal and visually distinctive Gorsedd ceremonies.
Poetry competition and ceremony · 1867
Crowning of the Bard
The Crown recognises a pryddest, a poem written in free metre. The competition rewards flexibility of form and contemporary poetic expression, and the winning poet receives a specially created crown during a major public ceremony presided over by the Archdruid.
Festival venue and programme
Main Pavilion
The main pavilion is the central performance and competition venue, presenting headline ceremonies, music, choral work, literary contests and other major events. It anchors the temporary Maes and provides the festival with a shared public stage for both competitive and celebratory programming.
Contemporary music programme
Maes B
Maes B is the festival’s principal contemporary music area, providing a platform for Welsh-language and Wales-based popular music. It extends the Eisteddfod’s reach beyond traditional poetry and choral performance and hosts the Welsh-language Album of the Year award.
Welsh-language learning programme
Maes D
Maes D is designed for Welsh learners and visitors developing their confidence in the language. Together with bilingual signage and simultaneous interpretation, it supports the festival’s effort to remain rooted in Welsh while making participation possible for people at different stages of language learning.
Visual-arts exhibition
Y Lle Celf
Y Lle Celf is the festival’s visual-arts space, presenting artwork and creative practice within the wider Maes. It demonstrates the Eisteddfod’s broad cultural remit, which includes contemporary visual culture alongside literature, music, performance and language activity.
Cultural ceremony · 1819
Gorsedd of Bards ceremonies
The Gorsedd ceremonies provide the festival’s distinctive ceremonial framework. Members wear coloured robes, and the Archdruid leads events involving music, pageantry and the presentation of major literary honours. The institution was created in the late eighteenth century by Iolo Morganwg and became formally linked with Eisteddfod ceremony in 1819.
Controversies
2018
Sexism controversy involving the Archdruid
After Catrin Dafydd received the Crown at the Cardiff festival, Archdruid Geraint Llifon made comments interpreted as suggesting that she could not have won without male assistance. The remarks prompted strong criticism, including from feminists, and Llifon later apologised.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021Second Eisteddfod AmGen programme
Wales · United Kingdom · Online
A second alternative festival was organised while the full event remained postponed. It combined online and broadcast activity with a limited live audience in Aberystwyth and included almost 200 events.
Outcome. The programme maintained continuity until the full National Eisteddfod could return in 2022.
- 2020Eisteddfod AmGen
Wales · United Kingdom · Online
The festival created an alternative digital and broadcast programme after the COVID-19 pandemic made the planned physical event impossible. Activities were distributed through online services, television and radio during the usual festival period.
Outcome. The alternative format allowed the festival’s cultural and linguistic activity to continue despite the cancellation of the physical Maes.
- 2018Fence-free Eisteddfod
Wales · United Kingdom
The Cardiff Bay festival adopted an open-site model promoted as an Eisteddfod without a traditional perimeter fence. The format made greater use of permanent buildings and responded to the practical difficulty and cost of securing and restoring a conventional temporary site.
Outcome. The event went ahead in Cardiff Bay and was associated with substantial public interest, although the organisation returned to a traditional Maes arrangement at Llanrwst in 2019.
Brand decisions
2020
Postponement and digital transition during COVID-19OtherBackground
The international COVID-19 pandemic made it unsafe and impractical to hold the planned mass gathering.
Action taken
The full festival was postponed, followed by the creation of Eisteddfod AmGen programming for online, television and radio distribution.
Aftermath
The full festival was delayed until August 2022, while the alternative programmes demonstrated the organisation’s ability to preserve cultural participation through digital and broadcast channels.
2018
Adoption of a fence-free Cardiff Bay siteStrategyBackground
A conventional Maes required extensive open land and could leave significant restoration costs. Cardiff offered permanent buildings and an urban waterfront setting.
Action taken
The festival used an open, fence-free layout in Cardiff Bay and made use of existing buildings for parts of its programme.
Aftermath
The format became a notable experiment in festival design, while the following year’s event returned to a more traditional Maes at Llanrwst.
1950
Welsh-language rule for competitionsStrategyBackground
The festival was reinforcing its role as the leading national institution for Welsh-language cultural production.
Action taken
A rule was introduced requiring competitions to be held in Welsh. The use of Latin in settings of the Mass remained permissible and later became a source of debate when used for concerts involving international soloists.
Aftermath
The rule strengthened the Eisteddfod’s linguistic identity while creating an ongoing discussion about artistic accessibility and the scope of the festival’s language policy.
Recent events
- 2024
National Eisteddfod records approximately 186,000 attendances in Pontypridd[1]
Other
The Pontypridd festival was reported as achieving the highest recent attendance figure, with approximately 186,000 attendances.
- 2021
Eisteddfod AmGen provides a digital and broadcast alternative[1]
Other
A second year of disruption led to another alternative programme, featuring nearly 200 events and a limited live audience in Aberystwyth.
- 2020
COVID-19 postpones the full National Eisteddfod[1]
Other
The physical festival was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Online, television and radio alternatives were developed under the Eisteddfod AmGen name.
- 2018
Cardiff hosts a fence-free National Eisteddfod[1]
Other
The Cardiff Bay festival used existing buildings and an open, fence-free layout rather than a conventional enclosed Maes, reflecting land and site-repair constraints.
- 1925
Plaid Cymru founded during the Pwllheli Eisteddfod[1]
Other
The political party originally called Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru was founded during the National Eisteddfod at Pwllheli by six individuals seeking to establish a Welsh party focused on a Welsh-speaking Wales.
Sources2 sources
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