In Welsh culture, an eisteddfod is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term eisteddfod, which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: eistedd, meaning 'sit', and fod, meaning 'be', means, according to Hywel Teifi Edwards, "sitting-together." Edwards further defines the earliest form of the eisteddfod as a competitive meeting between bards and minstrels, in which the winner was chosen by a noble or royal patron.
Bala is a town and community in Gwynedd, Wales. Formerly an urban district, Bala lies in the historic county of Merionethshire, at the north end of Bala Lake. According to the 2021 Census, Bala had a population of 1,999 and 72.5 per cent of the population could speak Welsh with a decrease of 6% since 2011.
Urdd Gobaith Cymru is a national voluntary youth organisation, which claimed over 56,000 members in 2019 aged between 8 and 25. It provides opportunities for children and young people across Wales to take part in a range of experiences through the medium of Welsh. The Urdd turned 100 on 25 January 2022 and celebrated by breaking two Guinness World Records.
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors typically number 6,000 or more, and overall attendance generally exceeds 100,000 visitors, the highest recently being 118,000 attending the 2022 festival. The 2018 Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff Bay with a fence-free 'Maes'. In 2020, the event was held virtually under the name AmGen; events were held over a one-week period.
Gwyneth Denver Davies, FLSW, known professionally as Gwyneth Lewis, is a Welsh poet, who was the inaugural National Poet of Wales in 2005. She wrote the text that appears over the Wales Millennium Centre.
Sir Ifan ab Owen Edwards was a Welsh academic, writer and film-maker, best known as the founder of Urdd Gobaith Cymru, the Welsh League of Youth.
Paul Griffiths is a Welsh writer, theatre critic and director. He won the Drama Medal at the National Urdd Gobaith Cymru Eisteddfod three times in succession between 1995 and 1997 – the only person ever to do this. Between March 2006 and December 2013 he contributed a controversial weekly theatre column to the National Paper of Wales Y Cymro. He is also a regular contributor on the Welsh language Television Channel S4C and BBC Radio Cymru.
Annette Bryn Parri is a Welsh pianist, best known as an accompanist to opera stars such as Bryn Terfel and Rebecca Evans. Parri appears regularly on the National Eisteddfod stage, and also at the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen.
Scouting in Wales provides an overview of Scouting activities in Wales. Scout troops have existed in the country since 1908 with the largest number of Scouts and volunteer leaders today linked to the Scout Association of the United Kingdom. This is done through ScoutsCymru, the Welsh Scout Council who split the region further into four regions and a total of 12 Scout Areas. In addition to the Scout Association, there are also traditional Scouting groups belonging to the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association and a number of Scouting clubs within Universities which are affiliated to the Student Scout and Guide Organisation.
Fflur Dafydd is a Welsh novelist, singer-songwriter and musician. Though mainly publishing in Welsh, she also writes in English. She contributes regularly in Welsh to Radio Cymru.
Hywel Teifi Edwards was a Welsh academic and historian, a prominent Welsh nationalist, a broadcaster and an author in the Welsh language. The BBC journalist Huw Edwards is his son.
Norah Isaac was a Welsh author, drama producer and campaigner for Welsh-language education. She became head of the country's first Welsh-medium school, Ysgol Gymraeg yr Urdd, in 1939.
Wales debuted in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 held in Minsk, Belarus on 25 November 2018. The Welsh broadcaster S4C was responsible for organising their debut entry for the contest. Manw was selected through Chwilio am Seren to represent Wales, winning the televised national final on 9 October at the Venue Cymru in Llandudno. The winning song, "Hi yw y Berta", was chosen internally and written by Ywain Gwynedd.
Gwilym (transl. William) are a Welsh-language pop rock group from Anglesey and Caernarfon. The band consists of members Ifan Pritchard, Llyr Jones, Llew Glyn, Rhys Grail, and Carwyn Williams. The group was founded in 2017.
John Selwyn Lloyd, known professionally as J. Selwyn Lloyd, was a Welsh-language author of novels for children and young adults.
Bwncath ("buzzard") is a Welsh rock-folk or contemporary folk band from Caernarfon.
Elvey Jones MacDonald was a native of Y Wladfa that settled in Wales. He worked for the National Eisteddfod of Wales before becoming head of the Urdd National Eisteddfod for 23 years. He also suggested the creation of Radio Ceredigion, which started broadcasting in 1992.
