The 2018 Cardiff National Eisteddfod was held in

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, from 3 to 11 August 2018. It was the seventh time the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

had been held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. The 2018 event was billed as the Eisteddfod with ''"No fences"'' because it dispensed with the traditional enclosed 'Maes', or entrance fees to the event location. It made a £290,000 loss, but its popularity led to the suggestion of future Eisteddfods without fences.

Background

The National Eisteddfod of Wales has been held every year (with the exception of 1914, 2020 and 2021) since 1861. It is hosted by a different region of Wales each year. Since 1950 all competitions have been held in Welsh. Around 6,000 competitions are held, in poetry, music, dance, drama and literature, giving it a claim to be the largest music and poetry festival in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The main competition events are the

Crowning of the Bard The Crowning of the Bard () () is one of the most important events in a Welsh eisteddfod or Scottish Gaelic Mòd. Eisteddfod The most famous such ceremony takes place at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, and is normally on the Monday afternoon of ...

and the

Chairing of the Bard The Chairing of the Bard () is one of the most important events in the Welsh eisteddfod tradition. The most famous chairing ceremony takes place at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, and is always on the Friday afternoon of Eisteddfod week. Winn ...

. The 2018 Eisteddfod was the seventh time it had been held in Cardiff. It was held for the first time in Cardiff in 1883, subsequently in 1899, 1938, 1960, 1978 and 2008. The 2008 Cardiff Eisteddfod was held in

Pontcanna is an inner-city district and community in the west of Cardiff, Wales. It is located adjacent to Canton, Cardiff. It is also located a short distance to the city centre, and its borders are approximately indicated by Western Avenue, the River ...

Fields, with a traditional fenced ' Maes' (festival grounds).

Preparations

In August 2015 the Eisteddfod's chief executive, Elfed Roberts, announced he was in discussions with

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff () is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Administrative divisions of Wales, principal areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

about the idea of holding the 2018 event in permanent buildings in

Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre () is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations – Cardiff Cen ...

, rather than the traditional Maes. In April 2016 the Eisteddfod backed the plans, as a one-year experiment to attract more visitors, though the event would be held in

rather than the city centre. Existing buildings in the Bay area, such as the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre () is Wales' national arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on ...

, would be used. The plan was designed to avoid rent and reparation costs, possibly of up to £500,000, needed to site the Eisteddfod again in one of the public parks. The target of £320,000 fundraising had been met a month before the Eisteddfod was due to start.

The Maes

The main event locations of the Maes were sited around

Roald Dahl Plass Roald Dahl Plass is a public space in Cardiff Bay, Cardiff, Wales. It is named after Cardiff-born author Roald Dahl, and is located on the coast along the south of the city centre. The square is home to the Senedd building housing the Senedd, t ...

and the marina of Cardiff Bay. The

became the main 'Pavilion' and 'Y Babell Lên' (Literature Pavilion), with daily tickets available for £10. The

Pierhead Building The Pierhead Building () is a Grade I listed building in Cardiff Bay, Wales. It was built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company. The Pierhead Building is part of the estate of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ), which also includes ...

hosted an 80th anniversary art exhibition by the Contemporary Art Society for Wales. It also performed the role of 'Maes D' (the Learners Area), in 2018 called 'Shw'mae Caerdydd'. The

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

building hosted '

Y Lle Celf Y Lle Celf ( Welsh for 'The Art Place', ) is an annual art, craft and architecture exhibition held during the National Eisteddfod of Wales, claimed to be the biggest temporary art exhibition in Europe. Description Y Lle Celf is created every year ...

' (English: ''The Art Place'') with exhibitions of Wales' best contemporary art, craft and design. The meeting rooms of the Senedd also became the Societies Pavilions. 'Maes B', traditionally the pop and rock music event, was held in the vacant

Doctor Who Experience Since the first broadcast of the British science-fiction television serial ''Doctor Who'' in 1963, there have been a number of exhibitions of Theatrical property, props, costumes and Theatrical scenery, sets relating to the show throughout the ...

building 'Caffi Maes B', 'Ty Gwerin' (folk music) and 'Sinemaes' (the cinema) were held in large tents nearby. The

Welsh College of Music and Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama () is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. It has three theatres: the Richard Burton Theatre, the Bute Theatre, and the Caird Studio. It also includes one concert hall, the Dora Stoutzker Hall, and ...

held concerts of

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

, piano and woodwind music in the

Norwegian Church Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

. ''Coronau'', an exhibition of previous National Eisteddfod crowns, took place in

Craft in the Bay The Craft in the Bay Gallery is an exhibition and craft retail area located at the south end of Lloyd George Avenue, Cardiff Bay. It was designed by the architect Chris Elford. It is operated by a charitable arts organisation, The Makers Guild in ...

. Camping was available further afield, with 338 camping places for families at Pontcanna Fields and the 'Maes B' campsite (for younger revellers) at

Fitzalan High School Fitzalan High School () is an 11–18 mixed, English-medium community secondary school and sixth form in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. History Fitzalan High School has links to Cardiff's first municipal secondary school at Howard Gardens, Adam ...

Leckwith Leckwith () is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan, just west of Cardiff. Historically, the parish of Leckwith also included land on the east side of the river Ely that is now part of Cardiff itself. This area is also commonly known as Leck ...

Aftermath

In November it was announced that the Cardiff Eisteddfod had made an overall loss of £290,000. This was largely because of additional security requirements of the open event. The festival cost £4 million to stage. An estimated 500,000 visitors had attended the Eisteddfod, three times more than the 2017 event. Prior to 2018, the National Eisteddfod had made a profit every year since 2012, with a £93,000 surplus in 2017 despite the Anglesey festival almost being cancelled by the weather. The Eisteddfod council said that more public money would be needed to fund the tourism aspect and make similar open events viable in the future. In October 2018, a public meeting was held in

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

to promote the idea of holding the 2021 National Eisteddfod in the town using existing permanent buildings. In May 2019 the

Urdd Eisteddfod The Urdd National Eisteddfod ( or ) is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. It is the youth counterpart to the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Arguably Europe's largest yo ...

held its first festival without admission fees, which also took place in Cardiff Bay, with more than 100 stalls. The 2019 National Eisteddfod returned to the usual fenced Maes with daily entrance fees of £20 for visitors. However, Ceredigion's Assembly Member,

Elin Jones Elin Jones (born 1 September 1966), is a Welsh politician who has served as the Llywydd of the Senedd since 2016. A member of Plaid Cymru, Jones has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Ceredigion since 1999. Background Jones atten ...

, announced she was keen to support a fenceless Eisteddfod for the 2020 event in

Tregaron Tregaron ( "town of St Caron") is an ancient market town in Ceredigion, Wales. It is sited astride the River Brenig, a tributary of the River Teifi, and is north-east of Lampeter. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census, the po ...

References

External links

{{Commons category 2010s in Cardiff Cardiff National Esiteddfod 2018 in Wales Eisteddfod Festivals in Cardiff