- What:A celebration of Welsh folk culture that can trace its lineage back to the first Eisteddfod, held in 1176.
- When: Early August
- Where: Alternates annually between venues in North and South Wales
- Admission: Various ticket prices and free events
- Website
Wales' Great Bardic Festival
This ancient festival of music, singing and the spoken word has a virtually continuous heritage, dating all the way back to 1176. That was when Lord Rhys of Cardigan Castle invited poets and musicians from all over the country to compete for a chair at his high table.Before being formalized into the Welsh National Eisteddfod organization in the 1880s, Eisteddfods were sponsored by noblemen and gentry around the country for more than 800 years.
The modern Eisteddfod includes concerts of all kinds of music, choral singing competitions, poetry, theatre, pageantry and even rock concerts. At least 160,000 people attend one of the most colorful and important events of the cultural year in Wales.
