The Urdd Eisteddfod event has run in its ‘national’ form annually in Wales since 1929, but was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic. The 2022 centenary event looks to be one of the biggest ever, and is being launched with two Guinness World Record attempts.
Children and young adults (aged under 25) from across the country enter various competitions through the Urdd organisation each year, from singing and speech recital to folk dancing and theatre production, with finalists having the chance to perform at the Urdd Eisteddfod festival itself – one of Europe’s largest travelling festivals that attracts more than 90,000 spectators.
The celebrations will begin in January 2022 with the movement’s largest Birthday Party on Cariad @ Urdd day. The Urdd and the whole nation will attempt two Guinness World Records titles by singing together and uploading videos of the iconic song, Hei Mistar Urdd, onto Twitter and Facebook. A special party will be held for schools in Wales in the company of the Stwnsh Sadwrn presenters, which will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio Wales.
The 2022 iteration of the event is set to take place in Denbighshire, North Wales, during the May half term, and will celebrate 100 years since the youth organisation was formed. Over 15,000 children and young people under the age of 25 are set to compete in different disciplines during the week.
Speaking in the new programme for the event, Gwenno Mair Davies, Chair of the Eisteddfod and Arts Board, said, “They do say third time lucky, and at last, in 2022 we’ll look forward to welcoming the Urdd Eisteddfod to Denbighshire.”
“After two years of taking the Eisteddfod to our digital platforms, we now look forward to combining the new elements with the traditional, and taking the Eisteddfod back where it belongs – in a field,” she added.
The Urdd National Eisteddfod is one of three principal Eisteddfods held each year, with the other two being the National Eisteddfod, with adult competitors, held in August, and the International Eisteddfod, which sees singers and musicians from around the world performing in Llangollen in July.
Find out more:
- Urdd website
- Urdd Twitter
- Urdd Facebook
- Urdd YouTube
- Urdd Instagram