Aled Siôn, Urdd Eisteddfod Director with Hedd Pugh, Executive Chair of Meirionnydd 2014 Urdd Eisteddfod and Mr Urdd cuts the turf at the youth festival held in Bala (25 – 31 May)
The transformation of green fields in Bala have begun ready to welcome thousands of competitors and visitors to the annual youth festival, Meirionnydd Urdd National Eisteddfod 2014. The first turf was cut on Rhiwlas estate, Bala yesterday, Thursday 1 May to mark the site for the Eisteddfod held during Whitsun week, 26 to 31 May 2014.
Preparing the site for the 100,000 visitors expected at the festival at the end of May has begun in earnest. The tracks will be laid, fences and offices erected, the main pavilion where the hub of the competitions take place, and smaller structures along with the stalls will soon be located on site before the week long event begins.
Over 2,000 tracks will be installed, 1,000 fencing panels and around 750 metres of underground electricity cables used. In the final week of construction, more than 200 toilets will arrive on site. This year, a more environmentally friendly generator system will be used to generate electricity on the maes, in order to reduce the carbon footprint of the Eisteddfod.
As part of one of the recommendations proposed by the Urdd Eisteddfod’s development group earlier this year, GwyddonLe’s building on the maes will double in size at Meirionnydd. Thanks to funding support from Swansea University, GwyddonLe attracts many children and youngsters to participate in a vast array of activities during the week, including geography, medicine and biology plus this year will see a special stage for presentations, a designated area for Techniquest and an area for physics techno-camp. Another deisgnated area will be located for creating apps and computer coding on ipads and tablets, thanks to support from S4C and the Big Learning Company.
In other new developments to this year’s event, people who pre-pay for tickets by phone or the web can select to print their own tickets at home and a new electronic system will be used in the Welcome Centre that will scan the field entry tickets as people enter the site. It is hoped that both systems will assist the organisation to become more effective and efficient prior to and during the festival itself.
From 19 May, the ticket booth in the Welcome Centre at the Eisteddfod maes will open its doors to the public looking for further information. All enquiries will be dealt with, entry tickets for the Eisteddfod and tickets for evening concerts will be available to the public at the Centre.
Many stars including Catrin Finch, Gai Toms and Swnami will entertain the audience in the opening concert on Sunday 25 of May, and the new primary school show, ‘Paid a Gofyn i fi’, with over 100 youngsters performing, will take place at the pavilion on Tuesday night, 27 May. Theatr Harlech will host this year’s youth show, ‘Dyma Fi’, on Saturday 24 May; Monday 26 May and Wednesday 28 May beginning at 8pm.
Aled Siôn, Urdd Eisteddfod Director said: “This is always an exciting time when the site starts to take shape and the construction team is hard at work. It is astounding what they can achieve in a limited space of time, transforming Rhiwlas estate green fields into a festival site ready to welcome everyone from far and wide to this amazing event.
“We are keen to ensure that specific arrangements are in place for people to travel safely to the maes. Working with our partners, North Wales Police and Gwynedd Council who are experts in road and traffic issues, we are confident that the traffic management plans will ensure ease of access to and from the maes. The advantage we have this year at Bala is that the infrastructure and road network has already proved itself as a location for similar large scale events in the past. We look forward to welcoming local residents and visitors from all over Wales and beyond to Meirionnydd’s Eisteddfod between 26 to May 31.”
Hedd Pugh, Executive Chairman of the Meirionnydd 2014 Eisteddfod said: “After two years of working closely to arrange local fundraising activities and raising awareness, it is wonderful to see the building work on site! The local support has been astounding, and I thank the tireless team of volunteers who have ploughed all their efforts into ensuring we reach our target for the event. The public across the region have contributed financially to the fundraising efforts assisting us in the task of staging this youth festival. With 90% of the target already met, the coming weeks will be an opportunity to boost the final stage of our work. We extend a warm welcome to Meirionnydd during Whitsun week!”
For tickets to any of the day or evening events, visit www.urdd.org/en/eisteddfod/tickets or call the ticket hotline, 0845 257 1639.
