Ex-steelworks to host eisteddfod

The eisteddfod pavilion will be erected on the 185-acre site

Blaenau Gwent is to host the National Eisteddfod in 2010, it has been announced.

The annual Welsh cultural festival will be staged at The Works: Ebbw Vale - the former steelworks site at the centre of a £300m redevelopment project.

It is hoped it will help raise the profile of the area.

Des Hillman, leader of Blaenau Gwent council, said it would be a chance "to present a new Blaenau Gwent to audiences across Wales."

The eisteddfod field will be created specially for the festival on a large area of the 185-acre former steelworks site which is being transformed ready for future housing, education, arts, leisure, business and transport use.

The announcement was made at this year's eisteddfod in Cardiff, 50 years after the event was last held in Ebbw Vale.

'Perceptions'

Deputy Minister for Regeneration Leighton Andrews said the festival would help revitalise the area.

"The eisteddfod is one of Europe's largest and oldest cultural events and hosting it in the heads of the valleys provides us with a great platform to show what the region has to offer and help change perceptions, he said.

"The Works: Ebbw Vale is an excellent choice because it is one of the key strategic projects in the Heads of the Valleys regeneration programme and will have a profound impact on revitalising the region."

Mr Hillman said to stage the eisteddfod would be a "massive challenge".

But he added: "We hope to bring together people of all generations - Welsh speakers, our Welsh learners and every one one of us who has an interest in our Welsh heritage from Blaenau Gwent and the wider area.

"Together we can succeed."

Eisteddfod director Elfed Roberts said he was delighted at the enthusiasm and support from Blaenau Gwent and the wider region.

"The eisteddfod attracts people from communities throughout Wales and brings a range of cultural and economic benefits to the host authority," he said.