A success before its begun. That't the bold claim about the 2007 Urdd Eisteddfod by chaired bard Tudor Dylan Jones.
Tudur, chair of the Urdd's Eisteddfod and Arts committee, said the return of the festival to Carmarthenshire for the first
time since 1967 has been long awaited and this had been shown in the reaction of local people.
At this evenings first Eisteddfod press conference he announced the local committee had exceeded its fund-raising target by
more than £40,000. Asked to raise a quarter of a million by Urdd officials three years ago the local fund stands at more than
£290,000 with money still being paid into the bank.
"If that isn't something worth announcing I don't know what is," he said.
And it wasn't just financial success Tudur went on. So many young people wanted to take part in this year's Eisteddfod they
had to organise five separate county final heats.
"Two of those finished well after midnight, the interest has been something out of this world. Having had this surge of
interest the challenge will be to maintain it and build upon it," he said.
But the Eisteddfod organisers admitted the local committees didn't agree on everything and there were heated arguments.
"The first was over what we were to call this Eisteddfod. We are in Carmarthenshire but we have more than one word for
Carmarthenshire in Welsh. We could have called it Eisteddfod Sir Gaerfyrddin but decided to call it just Eisteddfod Sir Gar -
it means the same thing and more. It stands for Caer where something is guarded but also contains the first three letters of
cariad, love, so it signifies our safeguard and love for Welsh and its culture," he said.
However the shortened version has not been without its difficulties. It does sound, to the untrained ear, like the Welsh for
Chester.
"More than one person has asked me why we are holding the Eisteddfod in the north west of England," he joked.
Another sign of the festival's success can be seen in the town of Carmarthen, about three miles from the United Counties
Showground.
Despite the wet and cool weather the town was bustling with visitors today and they were cheered by the flags and bunting in
the traditional red, white and green, fluttering from lampposts and across the main streets.
And window shopping was given a fresh meaning by the imaginative displays in many of the town's shops. A ladies dress shop
has found dresses in the three colours while another has unearthed the chair offered in the 1935 Eisteddfod, the first Urdd
festival held in the town, and put that on display. Even the big chain shops have joined in the fun.
