Plaid Cymru: Welsh Government needs to do more to secure the future of the National Eisteddfod

With the National Eisteddfod now open in Boduan, Plaid Cymru's spokesperson for Welsh and culture, Heledd Fychan MS, has called on the Welsh Government to do more to secure the future of the festival.

Speaking from the ‘maes’, Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru's spokesperson for the Welsh language, stressed the importance of the festival to Wales and the Welsh language, acknowledging the challenges the organisation has faced from Covid, Brexit and the cost of living crisis.

Heledd Fychan MP said:

"The National Eisteddfod is an important part of our identity as a nation, and an annual opportunity to celebrate and promote Welsh as a living and modern language.

"The Eisteddfod also has an important role to play in achieving the target of one million Welsh speakers by 2050 and promoting Wales and the Welsh language internationally.

"While the Welsh Government is giving some support to the National Eisteddfod, it has not fully acted on the recommendations made by the Task and Finish Group it established in 2012, including the need to increase revenue and the capital grant.

"With more support from the Government, the future of the Eisteddfod could be secured and also promoted more widely as a major international festival.

"More must also be done to ensure local families to the festival have the opportunity to attend and enjoy, by committing to funding free admission for local low-income families annually. The Government should also explore with the Eisteddfod options for having a free Eisteddfod in Rhondda Cynon Taf next year, as it was in Cardiff Bay in 2018.

"The Eisteddfod has undoubtedly faced many challenges in recent years, with Covid, Brexit and the cost of living crisis affecting income and costs. It’s no small task to hold a touring festival of such a standard, and if we are to protect it into the future, then the Government need to do more to support that."