‘Virtual National Eisteddfod’ to be held online in August

An online National Eisteddfod has been announced after the decision was made to cancel the event which was due to be held in Ceredigion in August due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The organisers said that they had been “looking at new and different ways of working” and that they were glad to announce that AmGen would be held in August instead

They also said that there will be “at least one activity a day” from Monday 18 May “using a large number of platforms, and working closely with the press and media across Wales”.

Activities will involve workshops, lectures and live music sets to provide “the same eclectic mix as a visit to the Maes” a spokesperson said.

‘Appeal’

“We were determined that not everyone would have to go without a little ‘Eisteddfod’ for this year,” Eisteddfod Chief Executive Betsan Moses told BBC Cymru Fyw.

“We are pleased to be working with a number of partners to achieve something that will be of the same spirit as the Eisteddfod, but presented in a very different way.

“Over the past few weeks, we’ve been going through the Eisteddfod archive, discussing with a large number of partners and coming up with new and original ideas that will hopefully appeal to our audience.

“We, like everyone else, have had to think about our work in a completely different way, and it has been an interesting experience putting together a program that hopefully offers something for everyone.”

AmGen’s weekly schedule will be published online every Friday from May 15 onwards.

Some of the activities will appear on the Eisteddfod’s social media platforms and others on platforms such as Zoom and AM apps.

The next National Eisteddfod is now due to be held in Tregaron, Ceredigion in 2021 and then on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd in 2022.