Sparkling performance from Dafydd Iwan lights up Eisteddfod

Thousands of Eisteddfodwyr enjoyed a rousing gig from evergreen folk singer Dafydd Iwan on the National Eisteddfod Maes on Saturday night.

As the sun set over the huge stage at Parc Ynysangharad the veteran singer – he celebrates his 81st birthday in three weeks time – took to the stage with his band to perform some of his favourite songs along with some new ones.

He told the crowd he had hoped to have been joined on stage by Max Boyce, another veteran singer, but he was unable to attend. Dafydd said he sent his best wishes to Max and asked the audience to join with him in singing the chorus of one of Max’s best loved songs, Hymns and Arias, for which he had written some new verses.

It received one of the loudest cheers of the gig.

But the loudest cheers of the night were kept for Dafydd’s anthemic rendition of Yma o Hyd, a song which he wrote more than 40 years ago and which has had a new lease of life becoming the unofficial anthem of supporters of the Wales football team.

One fan said: “It was the penultimate song and he went straight into I’r Gad. It was one of the best Dafydd Iwan’s gig I’ve been to.”