Newport has officially been named as the host of the Urdd 2027, bringing one of Europe's biggest youth events to the city for the first time ever. The Welsh language event is one of the most important on the Welsh cultural calendar and there is hope more people will take up Welsh in the build up to the festival.
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00:00A few weeks ago we found out that Newport was submitting plans to host the EIRF in 2027.
00:08Now it's been officially confirmed that the Welsh Language Youth Festival will be hosted
00:13here for the first time ever in its history.
00:17Newport previously hosted the full Eisteddfod back more than two decades ago, but now the
00:22youth Eisteddfod is coming to town and there is plenty of hope from councillors that it
00:26will get more and more people speaking Welsh in the build-up to the event.
00:32Councillor Emma Stowell-Corton, Newport City Council's Cabinet Member for Culture and Communications,
00:37said that they're thrilled that the EIRF has confirmed Newport as the host of the Eisteddfod
00:42at EIRF in 2027, and they're excited to be bringing one of the country's biggest annual
00:47events and one of Europe's biggest youth events to the city for the first time.
00:53She also said that it was a great chance to encourage more and more people to speak
00:58Welsh in the city, and will hopefully be the lasting legacy of the festival for Newport
01:03and the surrounding areas.
01:06Newport is not known as a hotbed for the Welsh language, and ranks among the bottom of local
01:11authorities for the amount of people that speak the language across the country.
01:15But the plan is that bringing so many Welsh speakers to the city, and getting local children
01:20involved with the festival wherever possible over the next few years, will get more and
01:25more people speaking Welsh, and help towards the Welsh Government's targets, as well as
01:29local targets, to improve how much Welsh is spoken.
01:34The festival itself plays host to hundreds of competitions throughout the week, with
01:38thousands of competitors in poetry, arts and music awards, as well as other performances,
01:43shop stalls, games and activities for children.
01:46And of course, the iconic Mr Irth will be there to get everyone involved.
01:52So maybe in just a few years' time, you'll be hearing an awful lot more Welsh spoken
01:57around Newport.