Last night, after the first day of the National Eisteddfod, the public begun quite a heated debate on the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru’s Facebook page. The discussion was whether or not the price of the tickets for this year’s festival are reasonable, as the day ticket is £20 each for adults and £8 each for children.
These were some of the comments:
Megan Robinson: “It is a bargain. If you speak and understand Welsh even more. You appreciate and value the language more when you left the country you were born. Pity some complain. I come from London every other year to the ones held in the north. Stop making a noise. Trainers cost more.
Mick Furey: “How can being charged that much can be a bargain. Surely you shouldn’t have to pay to experience Welsh Culture in Wales lol.. I agree that you should pay to attend in the night because of the entertainment but to be charged to walk around a few crap stalls really is a disgrace”.
Cathering Young: “Why do people feel this is too expensive? Performers, judges, staff have to be paid as with any other festival. And as far as I’m aware, Royal Welsh is more expensive, and if you wish to go to a bland, uncultured theme park, stand in a queue for an hour for a 2 minute thrill, you pay £45 for the pleasure. Just saying.
Jufith Rees-howell: Yes £20 per person is a hell of a lot at the Eisteddfod, but have to say it is well worth it! X
Today at the Maes, opinions were also divided, but there was a general consensus that the price might not be affordable for everybody. Families raised the most concerns as only kids under five are exempt from paying. The day ticket for an average family runs from £40 to £44 depending on the number of children.
“How are you going to encourage children to speak Welsh when it is this expensive to come to the National Eisteddfodd”, said a local woman with one kid.
Most families think that children, regardless of their age, shouldn’t pay, but then others think that it is acceptable for the things they can get at the Eisteddfod.
“It’s normally free for kids when you go to festivals, but you have to think of what you get here, which is a great Welsh language celebration, so I find it very reasonable”, said a mother of 3.
Gwenllïan Carr, Head of Communications of the National Eisteddfod, said it is a fair price because “children under 5 can get in for free and most of the things for children are actually for kids under 3”.
“What we’re trying to do this year for the first time is to encourage people to buy beforehand, so we had early bird tickets that if you bought them in advance you could get the adult ticket for £10 and the family one for £20”, she said in response to some of the criticism.
The problem is that with such an unpredictable weather in Wales, many visitors wait until last minute to make sure the rain will not ruin their visit, so they end up paying much higher prices.
However, even though many people do think the tickets are too expensive, they are still keen to pay the price to enjoy the celebration. It looks like, regardless the criticism, the National Eisteddfod has still plenty of appeal for the hundreds of people that decide to buy their tickets every year.
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