Musicians refuse to perform at Eisteddfod over Welsh language policy

When will BBC Radio Wales give equal time to music in Cymraeg?

May not be deliberate but this is feeding the hate for the Welsh language. True that Wales is a bilingual country with English as the dominant partner due to history that cannot be covered here. Plenty of Anglo stuff going on so if you don't like the fact that a few events are Welsh only you really need to perform at those other English only or bilingual events.

My Scalextric set is at the core of my identity. I demand St Ffagan immediately pay me and retain the piece for posterity. This non-story is genuinely absurd, privileged, insensitive nonsense. Art(-ish) and protest, always awkward bedfellows, have now become "Rage To Defend The Machine". Education on Welsh history, culture and the language must be improved to avoid this auto-cannibalistic foolishness. There are 2 major Welsh language arts festivals, one being for children, some scattered gigs and, y'know, a decently long history of suppression and oppression. Ladies, you're asking to diminish 1 of those things, something that we can ill afford. This culture is yours as much as it is mine, which is why this attempt at self-enriching butchery should not be countenanced. The Eisteddfod has acted with class and dignity, an honestly nice surprise in all this.

Naw wfft i'r ddwy. Ni ddylai'r Gymraeg orfod cyfaddawdu efo'r Saesneg o hyd ac o hyd.

Well for me as a recent learner of Cymraeg, I've got to Advanced level now, (even if I'm near bottom of the class, I've not been thrown out!) to the Eisteddfod is a great way to experience Total Immersion in the culture of Cymru. You cannot separate a people from their language, the language is the culture, therefore if you want to contribute to and respect the culture of the Cymry (Welsh-speaking people) then you need to understand the language to a reasonable degree, as the whole point of languages is they don't translate!! I think these two should go and perform in Angerland as i call it! (England), rather than show embarrassing ignorance in not understanding that you can't translate Cymraeg into English, they are two totally separate cultures! No one is forcing them to perform in Cymraeg, so why are they trying to force the Cymry to let them sing in English? How arrogant is their attitude? I honestly can't work it out?

The thing that strikes me is that elsewhere there is a lot of comment, mostly in English and 99% supportive of keeping the Eisteddfod all Welsh. It's not as if there aren't many other opportunities for English speaking and crossover acts, and mostly these are opportunities Welsh language acts don't get. My Welsh is very limited, but I enjoy Welsh language rock bands.

Its like these two are trying to split the social atom! You can't separate a people from their language, a language is the foremost way people transmit their culture! get it?!

The National Eisteddfod is, and always has been, a Welsh language event and long may it continue. I worry that the "bi-lingual" argument is a tool to undermine the language. Once English is introduced because we are a "bi-lingual nation" the Welsh only rule will be undermined very quickly.

Well the Cymraeg (Welsh) is Art you see, it's very creative, language is creativity you know. And as that English critic said 'Art is not easy you see' - Eadyth is trying to dumb Cymreig (Welsh culture) down. Can't be done!

Creating a race row when it's blatantly not the issue. It's a policy that applies to everyone. Shame on them both but part of me is grateful as I will not have to endure the pain of Izzy's cringe music.

What an odd thing to think you can demand changes to our national celebration of our unique language and culture. The Eisteddfod exists to do as it always has done, our language us key to it. The demand appears anti Cymraeg, not a great position to put yourself in.

I support the Eisteddfod's rule here, but surely it has to apply to the whole event. It is a common occurrence now for large food companies to out bid smaller producers for the privilege of supplying food and drink at the event and as a result you find you have to order your food in English at ridiculous prices. As far as I can see there is no rule that states food stall staff have to speak Welsh. If the rule exists, then it is quietly put to one side as it seems filling the Eisteddfod coffers comes before principle.

Just interesting to see that well known supporter of all things in Welsh - Mr V Gethin MS carrying on the ‘ divide and rule ‘ tradition of parts of Labour in Wales. George Thomas, Neil Kinnock and Leo Abse et lal would be proud to see their planted seeds are bearing fruit .

Would a Cymreig band ask to sing a Cymreig song at a grunge festival? No, they wouldn't be so crass! There are enough festivals in England, Eadyth can go and sing in one of those, why split the social-atom?

Would they similarly protest at the lack of Welsh in English language festivals held in Wales?? Of course, not!

Start your own Gŵyl ddwyeithiog and stop whinging

HipHop Cymraeg's existed since the 80s though...

Absolutey, rwy'n cytuno 100%!! This rule keeps Cymraeg in it's own little bubble, which gets smaller every year. Very soon the buuble will be gone. These hiphop artists will stop performing bilingually, and will concentrate on English lang stuff. So short sighted by the Eisteddfod. There are ways to sidestep the rule!

But Sage Todz wasn't denied to perform by the Eisteddfod. He decided himself not to perform.

Or when it comes to the Eisteddfod, you know, which celebrates the language, maybe perform the Welsh language tracks in your set? For just that performance? After all: they do garner the attention - royalties(?!) of Welsh language media by writing in the language, no? Bands were trying to side-step this decades back too. Hilarious it was. This isn't anything new. They didn't claim they were being 'excluded' back then though.

Sometimes I think nation.Cymru want British gone. Some benign comments are just not allowed to be made for some reason.

Some of the comments here seem to imply that that Maes B provides the only opportunity for artists who perform bilingually to appear. This is wrong other festivals are available in Cymru and beyond. For reasons that others have covered the Eisteddfod requires the lyrics that performers use be wholly or at least have a very high Welsh language content regardless of genre. The Eisteddfod's unique selling point is the Welsh language. Those artists who have declined to perform and are making an issue about it are being rather self absorbed I think. Imagine musicians who'd been invited to a bagpipe festival refusing to go and making a big deal about it because for 80% of their performance they wanted to play the trombone.

I have a feeling they’d probably find performing only in English a reality check as they’d be competing with bigger fish. They didn’t complain when getting exposure on Radio Cymru and S4C by performing in Welsh. It makes the attitude they have towards the Eisteddfod even more dissapointing. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

What are you going on about .. you obviously know nothing about Welsh lang music and its multiple genres

I have never heard of any of these people (I'm a Scot) but it sounds like a huge sigh of relief should be heard over Cymru now that they are not performing. It's the National Eisteddfod for heaven's sake, that's like having Land of Hope and Glory sung by Michael Gove at the Royal National Mòd. These events are to celebrate the Welsh and Gaelic languages, what's their problem? there's not a lot of opportunity to celebrate our languages in the United Kingdom, we have to defend what we've got.

I'm gutted that Eadyth especially has taken this stance. The Welsh language media has been a huge platform for her music career to date and she has been such a positive ambassador for multicultural Welsh speaking women. Her sister Kizzy has enjoyed similar success, but if they couldn't speak Welsh would their musical talent alone have taken them very far? Seems a lot like 'Biting the hand that feeds you' to me.

Although if there's a strict Welsh only rule, why did they accept latin to be sung in "Requiem" di Verdi, in the past?