What you need to know about the Urdd Eisteddfod

Tens of thousands of people from across Wales will soon gather for the Urdd Eisteddfod, an annual celebration of Welsh language and culture.

This year's festival takes place in Maldwyn, Powys, from Monday 27 May to Saturday 1 June.

The Urdd Eisteddfod is held every year at different locations across Wales, usually to coincide with the spring half term.

The festival brings together young people aged between eight and 25 to compete in events including music, literature and performing arts.

This year, the Urdd's organisers say more than 100,000 people have registered to compete - the highest number in the event's history.

The festival is organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru, Wales’ largest youth movement, which celebrated its 100th birthday in 2022.

The Urdd Eisteddfod has paved the way for many of the country’s stars of the future.

In 2019, Game of Thrones actor Iwan Rheon said he “got started” after a producer for Welsh soap opera Pobl y Cwm saw him give a performance at the Urdd.

Welsh opera singer Sir Bryn Terfel previously also said he was “very thankful” to the Urdd for “firing" his interest in singing.

The term Eisteddfod roughly translates into English as “sitting together”.

There are a number of Eisteddfodau in the Welsh calendar every year.

The International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Denbighshire, takes place every July and draws international performers from around the world. Bryan Adams, Paloma Faith and the Kaiser Chiefs are headlining in 2024.

There is also the National Eisteddfod, which is held every August, and will this year take place in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

One of the most recognisable figures from the event is the Urdd mascot, Mistar Urdd (Mr Urdd).

Mistar Urdd, who first appeared in 1976, is a green, red and white character who is based on the Urdd Gobaith Cymru logo.

Mistar Urdd even has his own catchy song – “Hei Mistar Urdd”.

In 2022, the organisation’s centenary, Hei Mistar Urdd broke two Guinness World Records for the most videos of people singing the same song uploaded in an hour to Twitter and Facebook.

Tickets for lower income families or children under the age of 3 are free.

General admission per day ranges from £21 for an adult to £14 for a child or £12 for a competitor.

More information about tickets, including who is eligible for free entry, can be found on the Urdd's website.

The Urdd Gobaith Cymru, which organises the Urdd Eisteddfod, is a national voluntary youth organisation with tens of thousands of members aged between eight and 25.

Founded in1922, it came about when the writer Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards asked the children of Wales to join a new movement celebrating Welsh culture.

“These days, in many villages and in most towns in Wales, children play and read in English. They forget that they are Welsh,” he wrote in Welsh monthly magazine Cymru’r Plant.

Sir Ifan’s father, historian Sir Owen Morgan Edwards, had twice previously tried to establish a movement for young people in Wales – Urdd y Delyn in 1896 and Byddin Cymru in 1911 – but both attempts failed.

Sir Owen died in 1920, but passed on his ideas to his son.

The first local Urdd branch was established in Treuddyn, Flintshire, in 1922.