'Where have all the Welsh flags gone' - Eisteddfod mystery leaves veteran baffled

North Wales Live

3 days ago

A veteran eisteddfodau supporter has been left mystified by the apparent dearth of Welsh flags at recent National and Urdd festivals. Thomas Victor Jones claimed to have first noticed their absence when he served as a steward at the 2023 Llŷn and Eifionydd national festival in Boduan, near Pwllheli.
After searching the Maes and failing to find any Wales flags, he said questions to senior Eisteddfod officials hit a brick wall. 'One told me that putting up flags was a health and safety risk - I wasn't sure if she was joking,' he said.
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is Europe's largest music and poetry festival, with more than 6,000 participants competing in Welsh. Considered the ultimate celebration of Welsh culture, Mr Jones found it unfathomable that the Ddraig Goch flag would be excluded.
At last year's National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd, he again made a point of searching the grounds for Wales flags. He found one - at the cricket club. Some private caravans had them - but they were nowhere to be found in official and performance areas, he claimed.
He undertook similar searches at this year's Urdd Eisteddfod near Port Talbot – and again he said he couldn't find any Welsh flags. It left him wondering if there was a deliberate policy preventing their use.
Organisers of both events have refuted the claims, saying Welsh flags are flown proudly where health and safety allows it.
But Mr Jones, a community councillor in Llanbedrog, Gwynedd, is adamant. 'I found just one flag at the three events,' he said 'When the Wales womens football team competed this week, I spotted at least 20 and there were probably a lot more."
Mr Jones continued: 'For a month before the Bodior event, poles and fences across the Llŷn Peninsula were plastered with Welsh flags and eisteddfod posters. But as soon as you went through the entrance onto the Maes, there were no Welsh flags to be seen
'There are always plenty of other flags, and I've nothing against those, they add a lot of colour. But there are no Welsh flags. I just don't understand it, it's left me very unsettled. I've even met people from New Zealand asking me, 'what's going on?'
'I don't know if it's official policy or there's some other reason. There's definitely something going on – I don't know if it's some kind of censorship.'
Like many Welshman, flying the flag is a matter of pride for Mr Jones. Not only does he have the Ddraig Goch on a flagpole on his garden at home, he carries the flag on his haversack when he's travelling.
He worries the National Eisteddfod is sending out the wrong message, especially given the Welsh Government's Cymraeg 2050 strategy. This aims to increase the number of Welsh speakers to one million by 2050, effectively doubling the proportion of the population that speaks Welsh daily.
'I've travelled a lot and in every country I've visited, you always see the national flags flying proudly,' said the 80-year-old, former manager of a centre for people with learning difficulties. 'You go to England and you expect to see Union Jacks and flags of St George there – so why not at the Eisteddfod?'
Having approached the organisers of this year's National Eisteddfod in Wrexham, he's been assured there will be plenty of Welsh flags on display. 'We'll see,' he said. 'I'll be there checking.'
A spokesperson for the organisation said: 'We are unable to erect a flagpole on the top of our Pavilion as doing that would be a health and safety risk. We will have Welsh flags on the Maes this year in Wrecsam.
'We celebrate the fact that we're a festival celebrating our language and culture throughout the whole year, and are actively working with the Welsh Government to reach the Cymraeg 2050 target.'
Urdd Gobaith Cymru also confirmed it has no policing prohibiting the display of Y Ddraig Goch at Eisteddfod yr Urdd. However it said practical or health and safety considerations can influence how and where flags are displayed in some areas of the Maes – for example, in performance areas or near temporary structures.
The Urdd said the organisation fully recognises the importance of the flag as an expression of Welsh identity. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
The spokesperson added: 'We recognise its significance as a national symbol and can confirm that Y Ddraig Goch and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd banners were proudly on display at Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr 2025.'
This year's National Eisteddfod take places from August 2–9 in Isycoed, on the outskirts of Wrexham near the industrial estate. For more information about the programme, tickets and how to get to the Maes, go online at www.eisteddfod.cymru.