Skip to content

Welsh government's Vaughan Gething urges Eisteddfod to rethink rules

Getty Images Sage TodzGetty Images
Sage Todz posted on social media he would not be performing at the festival

A Welsh government minister has urged the National Eisteddfod to rethink its rules after a rapper was told he could not play using English.

Sage Todz said on social media he would not be performing at the festival because of its Welsh language policy.

Vaughan Gething said the national event could instead be more flexible in order to bring in a bigger audience.

The National Eisteddfod says the rule about the Welsh language was "fundamental" to the festival.

Mr Gething said Sage Todz brought the language to "a wider, more diverse audience" and performers like him helped grow the language.

He wrote on Twitter: "@eisteddfod could take this opportunity to reconsider their approach - this is the major showcase event for the future of the language."

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read  and  before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Presentational grey line

Responding to the comments, Eisteddfod president Ashok Ahir said the festival continued to work "to make Cymraeg accessible to a wider range of individuals and groups".

This, he said, included those in the creative sector who were not confident in Welsh.

Mr Ahir added: "Performance, competition, and discussion in Cymraeg - and in no other languages - is the primary purpose of the National Eisteddfod for the single week of the year during which the festival is held.

"We respect Sage Todz's passion and commitment to the languages he chooses to use in his music.

"It was his decision that he wished only to perform in English and bilingually.

Vaughan Gething urged the Eisteddfod to rethink its rules
Vaughan Gething urged the Eisteddfod to rethink its rules

"We wish Sage Todz could have performed at the festival but respect his decision not to perform solely in Cymraeg."

This year's festival takes place in Boduan, Gwynedd, the home county of Sage Todz, who is from Penygroes.

On Friday Children's Poet of Wales 2023, Nia Morais, questioned the National Eisteddfod's position.

"If that's the way he expresses himself I don't believe we have the right to limit that," she said.

Welsh learner of the year 2022, Joe Healy, said it was disappointing the audience would miss out on seeing him.

"On the other hand, you can't expect the National Eisteddfod to change its language rule for anyone," he said.

The National Eisteddfod's rules say: "All compositions and competing must be in Welsh unless specified to the contrary."