THE BRECON and Radnorshire Urdd National Eisteddfod is nearly here and excitement is building for the largest youth festival of its kind in Europe.

More than 90,000 visitors are expected to visit the Urdd Eisteddfod situated in the heart of Mid Wales.

The Royal Welsh Showground, at Llanelwedd, has been transformed and is ready to host one of the biggest events in Wales with over 15,000 children and young people competing along with nervous parents and many proud grandparents, as well as stallholders.

The prestigious Crowning Ceremony will take place in the 1,800 seater pavilion on the Friday of the Eisteddfod week. The crown was designed by the pupils at Builth Wells High School and crafted by Dan Cuthbertson out of oak, copper, silver and brass.

The coveted Chair, awarded annually to the winning Bard has been crafted locally by Gwilym Morgan from a piece of a 1,000-year-old yew tree.

The Brecon and Radnorshire Urdd National Eisteddfod has already broken two records. This year has seen a record number of young people becoming Urdd members in the two old counties - 1,200 - which is more than double the membership in 2016.

There has also been a record number of competition entries from the schools in the county with 900 entries, which is almost three times the number of entries received two years ago.

Chief executive of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, which owns the showground, Steve Hughson said it is “delighted” to host the event this year:

“The Eisteddfod and the Royal Welsh are both iconic institutions in Wales and both events strongly support yr iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh language) and culture. We are delighted as a society to be able to host Eisteddfod yr Urdd on the Showground, as part of our plan to develop into a major event venue going forward.”

The new chairman of Powys County Council, Cllr David Meredith, said: “We are delighted that the Urdd Eisteddfod is coming to Powys. It is fantastic that so many of our young people are participating in this wonderful event.

“We also pay tribute to the efforts of all of the local fundraising groups that have supported the event coming to our county.”

Cllr Myfanwy Alexander, Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language, said: “The fundraising, the awareness-raising and the great increase in participation have been truly remarkable and I want to add my personal thanks on this special occasion.”