Eisteddfod to close with dramatic highlight symbolising peace

Music, poetry and fire will bring the 2023 National Eisteddfod in Llŷn and Eifionydd to a dramatic and spectacular climax.

According to organisers, Tân yn Llŷn will be a sculptural installation that grows during the Eisteddfod and reaches its powerful pinnacle in a fiery scene at the end of the festival.

The theme of Tân yn Llŷn is peace and that fighting continues for peace to this day.

It focuses on controversial events at a Royal Air Force base in 1936 when Saunders Lewis, David John (DJ) Williams and Lewis Valentine made their way to the newly commissioned RAF bombing school at Penyberth near Pwllheli and the Women’s Peace Pilgrimage a decade earlier.

But while Tân yn Llŷn brings the Eisteddfod to a close it is a theme present throughout the week-long festival beginning with a procession on the Maes on Saturday (August 5) evening.

Peace

Funded by a grant from the Arts Council of Wales producer Zoe Munn has worked with Circus Cimera, local musicians and poets alongside Mandy Dike and Ben Rigby from And Now: in Waunfawr near Caernarfon.

Mandy, who has been working on fire-art installations for over 30 years, said: “Using Tân yn Llŷn as a springboard, we’ll be inspired by themes such as transformation and peace.

“The sculpture installation will be created from local materials. One element is to create a ‘crawia’, or slate fence, with hosts inviting conversation and encouraging visitors able to write messages sharing thoughts and wishes about what nurtures them.

“This way everyone at the Eisteddfod will have a chance to own the structure and be part of the finale itself.”

She said Tân yn Llŷn begins on the first Saturday evening of the festival with a short procession around the Maes to the installation itself.

“This will be a meditative ceremony focusing on the objectives of the installation which is to portray peace.

“On the final night, there will be a procession through the Maes leading the crowd to the Tân yn Llŷn installation, with music creating a contemporary and exciting visual crescendo.

“These elements will come together to create an event that pushes all boundaries, creating a stunning and amazing new show and a memorable finale to the Eisteddfod.”

Eisteddfod Chief Executive, Betsan Moses, said: “Tân yn Llŷn builds on the success of Dadeni, staged at last year’s Ceredigion Eisteddfod, and Carnifal y Môr, performed at the 2018 Cardiff Eisteddfod.

“Festivals can enthuse and inspire, and the people of Llŷn and Eifionydd are on fire to create the best Eisteddfod yet.

“Audiences expect the unexpected and by working with world-class artists and experienced teams of crews and technicians, we’re aiming high to create events that will inspire, delight and amaze, creating an accessible, inclusive festival symbolising the new Wales with our language at the heart of everything.”

The Llŷn and Eifionydd National Eisteddfod is held at Boduan from 5-12 August.

For more information go to www.eisteddfod.wales