Parking arrangements at the Hotmill car park

From 08.00 on Tuesday 3 August, additional shuttle buses will be operating from the car park underneath the Eisteddfod, known as the Hotmill car park. These will run from the car park to the Welcome Pavilion / main entrance and will drop-off in the usual drop off point. These will continue throughout the day until the beginning of the concert, including Wednesday and Friday evening until around 20.30.

After 20.30, the two buses will be parked by Door 5 of the Pavilion for bringing visitors from the Pavilion to the car park in the Hotmill at the end of the concert. We hope that this will help our visitors as they leave the Maes.

Getting here

The Maes is easy to find and is in a very convenient location.  Minutes from the A465, The Maes is less than 45 minutes from the centre of Cardiff, an hour from Swansea, less than two hours from Aberystwyth and less than three hours from both Bala and Wrexham.  It is easy to reach from both the M4 and the A470.

How to reach the Maes (PDF)

For details on all public transport in the area click here.

For details of coach holidays and short breaks to the National Eisteddfod with pick ups from all over Wales, click here.

To see a full map of the local area click here.

The address for this year's event is

The Works, Steelworks Road, Ebbw Vale NP23 6YL. OS address: SO171093

  The Eisteddfod is nearly here!

Get your Eisteddfod tickets online from the bilingual Eisteddfod site http://www.eisteddfod.org.uk/   Or ring 0845 1222 003.    

 The ticket office on site will be open from Saturday 24 July, 2010.    

For information on Blaenau Gwent and to do some great shopping, visit the Blaenau Gwent stand near the main entrance.  

The stand number is A21 – near to refreshments.     For more information, see our latest council magazine   
     

          GET BEHIND THE GO BONKERS FOR BUNTING CAMPAIGN
 

With less than one hundred days to go before the National Eisteddfod opens at The Works, organisers are encouraging the people of Blaenau Gwent to get behind the Go Bonkers for Bunting campaign, with miles and miles of flags produced in conjunction with the Valleys Heart and Soul campaign.
The aim is to show the people of Wales a real Valleys welcome – or croeso – by putting up bunting and posters to show support for one of the world’s greatest festivals, which is coming to the area between 31 July and 7 August this year.
Wherever you live across Blaenau Gwent and the Heads of the Valleys, this is a fun and effective way to promote the Eisteddfod – and you could also win a prize.  The Eisteddfod wants to hear from anyone who’s gone just that little bit Bonkers with Bunting.
To order your bunting, go to http://www.eisteddfod.org.uk/ and click on Go Bonkers for Bunting.  You can also access the page via the National Eisteddfod’s facebook page – www.facebook.com/eisteddfod, and click on the relevant story.
Send your photos to gwyb@eisteddfod.org.uk and they’ll put the best photos up on their website and across the press and media in the region.  

  LOCAL BUSINESSES ENCOURAGED TO BE PART OF THE EISTEDDFOD BUZZ  (12 April 2010)

Local businesses across the Blaenau Gwent area have been invited to come together to discuss how to get involved in the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod, held later this year.  

The meeting, held at the Ebbw Vale Institute on Wednesday evening, 14 April, has been organised to encourage local businesses of all kinds to make the most of the Eisteddfod’s visit to The Works from 31 July – 7 August, and to discuss ways to target the 160,000 visitors welcomed to the area for Wales’ leading festival.... MORE

PENN PHARMA ANNOUNCED AS ONE OF THE NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD’S SCIENCE SPONSORS   Today (25 March), the National Eisteddfod announced that Penn Pharma is one of the main sponsors of this year’s Science and Technology Pavilion at the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod, held at The Works, Ebbw Vale from 31 July – 7 August. “Science and Technology are an integral part of the National Eisteddfod,” said Elfed Roberts, the Eisteddfod’s Chief Executive, “and we are delighted to have such an influential and well-regarded organisation as Penn Pharma as one of our main partners this year.  ...more    

AGREEMENT ANNOUNCED BETWEEN THE NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD AND THE WELSH LANGUAGE SOCIETY 

Today (6 April), the National Eisteddfod has announced that the festival will work in partnership with the Welsh Language Society to organise Maes B for the next three years, starting at this year’s Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod. 

The partnership aims to offer the best entertainment possible to a wide-ranging audience by providing opportunities for new artists.  The Welsh Language Society will continue to organise alternative gigs during the festival. 

Elfed Roberts, National Eisteddfod Chief Executive, said: 

“We are delighted to announce that we will be working with the Welsh Language Society over the next few years.  We welcome the opportunity to work with the Society, particularly in the work of encouraging young people from the catchment area and the rest of Wales to attend Maes B gigs and to support Welsh language music. 

“The partnership starts this year and we look forward to work with the Welsh Language Society over the next few months,” he added. 

Lleucu Meinir, the Welsh Language Society’s Entertainment Officer, said: 

“We welcome the partnership to organise and promote gigs locally in the Eisteddfod catchment area.  The Society will also offer a week of alternative gigs and events in Ebbw Vale Rugby Club.  We will be organising gigs in the months leading up to the Eisteddfod to promote Maes B and new Welsh music. 

“Our alternative gigs mean that there’ll be a wider range of current Welsh culture available at the Eisteddfod and it’s an exciting opportunity to experiment.” 

The Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod is hel din The Works, Ebbw Vale from 31 July – 7 August.  We will announce Maes B details on 21 April, when we celebrate that there’s 100 days to go before the start of the Eisteddfod.  Tickets will be available online at http://www.eisteddfod.org.uk/ or by ringing the ticket line on 0845 122 2003 open from 10.00 to 16.00, Monday to Friday.  The Welsh Language Society website – http://www.cymdeithas.org/ – also includes full details abou what’s on at the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod. 

The National Eisteddfod also organises alternative evenings under the banner of Maes C during the week, and tickets for these will be available online – http://www.eisteddfod.org.uk/.  The Welsh Language Society organises an alternative programme of gigs in Ebbw Vale Rugby Club during the festival, and tickets will be available online.   

 The Eisteddfod receives a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government through the Welsh Language Board.  The Eisteddfod also receives funding from unitary authorities in Wales through its partnership with the Welsh Local Government Association.  This year’s festival has received £300,000 from the Heads of the Valleys Regeneration Programme, to enable the Eisteddfod to visit the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys area.   

For more information about the National Eisteddfod go to http://www.eisteddfod.org.uk/ or www.facebook.com/eisteddfod.  You can follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/eisteddfod, and to receive our regular newsletter, send an email to gwyb@eisteddfod.org.uk. 

For more information on the Welsh Language Society, go to http://www.cymdeithas.org/ or follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/cymdeithas

 For more information on Maes B, go to http://www.maesb.com/.  You can follow us on Twitter – www.twitter.com/maes_b or email post@maesb.com.

EISTEDDFOD CARAVAN SITE APPLICATION FORMS NOW AVAILABLE

The application forms for the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod caravan site have been published today (18 January).   

All those who have contacted the office over the past few months will receive a form by post over the next few days, or the form can be downloaded from the 2010 Eisteddfod website – http://www.eisteddfod.org.uk/ – or by calling 0845 122 2003.  Organisers urge everyone wishing to apply for a site to return the form to the Eisteddfod office as soon as possible. 

Eisteddfod Organiser, Hywel Wyn Edwards, said: 

“We have received many enquiries regarding applying for a site on the Eisteddfod’s official caravan site in Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys, which bodes well for a week to remember. 

“This year’s caravan site is in Bryn Bach Park, which has excellent amenities for visitors.  Shuttle buses will run from the caravan site to the Maes regularly throughout the day, making sure that everyone can get to the Maes easily.   

“We are asking people to return the forms to the Eisteddfod office as soon as possible, as there is great interest in sites for this year’s festival.” 

The National Eisteddfod festival attracts around 160,000 visitors annually, and is held in north and south Wales alternately.  Entry to all festival activities is free for the price of a daily Maes ticket.

 The Eisteddfod receives a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government through the Welsh Language Board, and from all unitary authorities in Wales through a partnership agreement with the Welsh Local Government Association.    

The Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys Eisteddfod is held in The Works, Ebbw Vale from 31 July – 7 August 2010.