I used to support the Eisteddfod, but I was ex-pat Welsh (in Canada) at the time and ex-pats tend to perceive all things in the Old Country as A Good Thing. (I bet this holds true for most immigrant communities, particularly the 2nd/3rd/4th generations.)

I am now less and less supportive. The Eisteddfod is a traditional *structure*. (Like a Male Voice Choir) It is not set up to support traditional arts. Actually, the opposite. Even in a very rural 'national' like Meifod (2003) and even being very generous in defining 'traditional' only about 20% of all competitions had anything to do with traditional arts (music, literature, craft - the whole caboodle). And don't get me started on competition in general!

Maybe there's nothing wrong with competition at some level, but it seems to have taken a strangle hold on music here. And the Eisteddfod does not promote good musicianship. It promotes people with musical skills who know how to conform to what the adjudicators are looking for. Occasionally you get a really gifted person like Bryn Terfel or Ioan Griffiths who rise above the ordinary but ...

Oh look. You've got me started. What really burns me is that, for years, the Arts Council didn't fund traditional arts because 'we fund that through the Eisteddfod'. Fortunately that has changed / is changing.

Oh - and the above are my personal views and not *necessarily* those of my employer!

sian