Eisteddfod to close with a dramatic highlight symbolising peace

According to organisers, Tân yn Llŷn will be a sculptural installation that grows during the Eisteddfod and reaches its powerful pinnacle in a fiery scene at the end of the festival.

The theme of Tân yn Llŷn is peace and that fighting, if the right word, continues for peace to this day. It focuses on controversial events at a Royal Air Force base in 1936 and the Women's Peace Pilgrimage a decade earlier.

Working with producer Zoe Munn, Circus Cimera and musicians and poets with deep roots in Llŷn and Eifionydd, Mandy Dike and Ben Rigby from And Now: in Waunfawr near Caernarfon have been planning the outdoor spectacle since the beginning of the year.

It was partly inspired by the events of September 1936 when Saunders Lewis, David John (DJ) Williams and Lewis Valentine made their way to the newly commissioned RAF bombing school at Penyberth near Pwllheli.

The Air Ministry's announcement in the 1930s that it intended to build an airport on farmland in Penrhos was welcomed by some as an employment opportunity but was an insult to others, especially peaceful Nationalists.

Airmen were taught the principles of bombing and sewing at Penrhos and after weeks of practical instruction students put the theory into practice in the live weapons range at Porth Neigwl.

The three men set a number of buildings alight and went straight to Pwllheli police station. Saunders Lewis is said to have told the police inspector: "It was a glorious fire: we didn't need lights."

All three were charged with causing damage under the Malicious Damage Act 1861 and were later jailed following a controversial trial at the Old Bailey in London. On being released they were greeted as heroes by 15,000 people at a rally in Caernarfon.

Tân yn Llŷn also commemorates the Women's Peace Pilgrimage which took place in May and June 1926.

Two thousand women from the Penygroes area gathered in the town on 27 May. Led by peace activists, Gwladys Thoday and Silyn Roberts they marched to Chester. 28 of them would continue to march and take part in a national demonstration in Hyde Park, London, on 19 June.  Many of the women carried a blue peace flag.

Mandy, who has been working on fire-art installations for over 30 years, says that Tân yn Llŷn will be a feature of the Eisteddfod Field throughout the week.

"Using Tân yn Llŷn as a springboard, we’ll be inspired by themes such as transformation and peace. The sculpture installation will be created from local materials. One element is to create a ‘crawia’, or slate fence, with hosts inviting conversation and encouraging visitors able to write messages sharing thoughts and wishes about what nurtures them.

"This way everyone at the Eisteddfod will have a chance to own the structure and be part of the finale itself."

Funded by a grant from the Arts Council of Wales, Mandy says Tân yn Llŷn begins on the first Saturday evening of the festival.

"There’ll be a short procession around the Maes to the installation itself. This will be a meditative ceremony focusing on the objectives of the installation which is to portray peace.

"On the final night, there will be a procession through the Maes leading the crowd to the Tân yn Llŷn installation, with music creating a contemporary and exciting visual crescendo.

“These elements will come together to create an event that pushes all boundaries, creating a stunning and amazing new show and a memorable finale to the Eisteddfod.”

Mandy has been collaborating with musician Sam Humphreys, a key member of folk group Calan, the poet Iestyn Tyne and singer and actor Mirain Fflur amongst others.

"We contrast and combine the old and the new to test the power of Welsh voices against an exciting background of sculptural flames. The creation and construction of the sculpture will be a spectacle, and an opportunity for those visiting the Maes to see it evolving as the Eisteddfod develops around it.

Eisteddfod Chief Executive, Betsan Moses, says, "Tân yn Llŷn builds on the success of Dadeni, staged at last year’s Ceredigion Eisteddfod, and Carnifal y Môr, performed at the 2018 Cardiff Eisteddfod.

"Festivals can enthuse and inspire, and the people of Llŷn and Eifionydd are on fire to create the best Eisteddfod yet.

"Audiences expect the unexpected and by working with world-class artists and experienced teams of crews and technicians, we’re aiming high to create events that will inspire, delight and amaze, creating an accessible, inclusive festival symbolising the new Wales with our language at the heart of everything."

The Llŷn and Eifionydd National Eisteddfod is held at Boduan from 5-12 August.  For more information go to www.eisteddfod.wales.