Week-long cultural journey to mark 850 years of the Eisteddfod

A week‑long cultural journey across west Wales will mark the 850th anniversary of the first Eisteddfod this summer.

Carreg Filltir Las: Taith Yr Arglwydd Rhys will travel through local towns and villages before culminating in a public celebration at Cardigan Castle

This year’s National Eisteddfod is called Eisteddfod y Garreg Las, named after the famed local blue stone. It will be held in the village of Llantwd a few miles from Cardigan from 1 – 8 August.

The title ‘Carreg Filltir Las: Taith Yr Arglwydd Rhys’ is a play on this year’s Eisteddfod name and translates to ‘Blue Milestone: The Tour of Lord Rhys’

Billed as a ‘giant procession and immersive celebration’, the event will see Lord Rhys – the founder of the tradition that continues today in the National Eisteddfod – awaken at St David’s Cathedral on 19 June.

From there he will journey to locations linked to past Eisteddfod chair‑winning poets, with site‑specific ceremonies created in collaboration with local communities, featuring poet Ceri Wyn Jones, singer Mari Mathias and performer Eddie Ladd.

The centrepiece of the project will be a procession through the streets of Cardigan on Saturday, 27 June, led by a giant puppet of Lord Rhys created by Small World Theatre and his hound Teifi, made by Skeleton Crew.

Best known locally for the annual Cardigan Giant Lantern Parade and the Festival of Light, Small World Theatre brings together thousands of participants each year, transforming the host town with a vibrant celebration.

Also taking part will be Spraoi Festival from Waterford, Ireland, who will be bringing their magical floats to enhance the parade.

Founded in 1993, the Spraoi Festival showcases the best of national and international street arts the centrepiece of which is The Spraoi Parade. The Parade has become one of the biggest events of its kind in Ireland, involving over 250 participants, and attracting 0ver 80,000 people.

This will be the first time for them to perform in Wales, and organisers are “delighted” that Cultural Ireland and Wales Arts International are supporting their visit.

The procession will end at the quay, where contemporary poets and this year’s Eisteddfod chair will arrive by flotilla on the river and the crown on horseback, before audiences are led up to the castle for a large-scale multi-arts celebration marking 850 years of tradition.

Marc Rees, creative lead for the project, said the anniversary offered a rare opportunity: “I am delighted to have been asked to help shape this milestone moment.

“My work is site and community‑responsive and reimagines historical events through a contemporary multi‑arts lens.

“This anniversary is the perfect canvas to honour the legacy of Lord Rhys, and I am looking forward to bringing this historic moment vividly to life.”

Betsan Moses, Chief Executive of the Eisteddfod, added: “Bringing together community, heritage and contemporary performance, Carreg Filltir Las: Taith Yr Arglwydd Rhys promises to be a powerful celebration of the National Eisteddfod, honouring its origins while looking ahead to its future.”

In 1176, Lord Rhys ap Gruffydd hosted a historic gathering at his newly built castle in Cardigan where poets, musicians and performers competed for the honour of the bardic chair.

This occasion established a tradition that continues today in the National Eisteddfod of Wales, Europe’s largest cultural festival celebrating Welsh language, arts and heritage.

The tour dates and locations are:

• Friday 19 June — St David’s and Oriel y Parc
• Saturday 20 June — Cenarth and Castell Newydd Emlyn
• Sunday 22 June — Talgarreg and Llangrannog
• Thursday 25 June — Goodwick (Wdig)
• Friday 26 June — Maenclochog
• Saturday 27 June — Cardigan

More information about the event and how to attend is expected to be shared in the coming weeks.