Swedish man travels 1,000 miles to compete at eisteddfod

Martin Kondai from Sweden, says he has "loved every minute" of this year's National Eisteddfod in Wrexham

A 47-year-old man has travelled from Sweden to compete at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham.

It is Martin Kondai's second time attending, following a "great experience" during his previous visit in 2023.

He is one of the hundreds of people who come to Wales' biggest cultural festival to help improve their use of the language.

"Who wouldn't want to speak the language of heaven?" says Mr Kondai, who has been learning Welsh through Duolingo and weekly lessons at Uppsala University in Sweden.

Mr Kondai, who speaks German, Swedish and English, began learning Welsh 11 years ago, after reading The Lord of the Rings and wanting to pronounce the Elvish languages accurately.

He first used a textbook to learn, but on a visit to Wales he soon realised his pronunciation was off.

During that trip, Mr Kondai attended three choir rehearsals, one entirely in Welsh, where a member recommended the BBC Big Welsh Challenge.

He used the online resource for three years before discovering beginner Welsh classes at a Swedish university, although with "only a few minutes" of speaking time each lesson, Mr Kondai said he found it hard to practise conversation.

After several visits to Wales, his confidence improved - but the Covid lockdown "sadly" slowed his progress.

Mr Kondai continued learning the language using Duolingo, and returned to Wales in August 2023 to attend the Boduan eisteddfod.

"I just completely loved it.

"It showed me this is what I want to do - I want more of this," he said.

The National Eisteddfod is the largest cultural festival in Europe and is held in a different part of Wales every year - this year it is in Wrexham

Mr Kondai has been studying with Coleg Cambria and volunteered for six days as a steward at the Eisteddfod this year.

He also competed in the Open Solo for Learners on Thursday.

"I just love singing - especially in Welsh," he said.

"This year, I even tried to write and record a Welsh album on my own.

"It was a challenge, but really rewarding."

He added he had "loved every minute" of the festival as "everyone is super friendly".

"I can't wait to come again."

Kitty Mamers is originally from Estonia but now lives in Broughton, she says "the festival has been absolutely amazing in every way"

It's Kitty Mamers' first visit to the National Eisteddfod

The 45-year-old, who is originally from Estonia moved to Wales a year ago, after 12 years in London.

She started learning Welsh on Duolingo during lockdown and wanted to live somewhere that suited both her and her partner's lifestyle, while giving her the chance to use the language.

They chose Broughton, Flintshire, and she looked for ways to practise Welsh and, coming from Estonia's strong choir tradition, joined the Eisteddfod Choir - "without fully knowing what the Eisteddfod was".

She has been rehearsing with the choir since February and they are set to compete on Friday.

She also decided to volunteer at the festival for two days to get the "full experience".

Ms Mamers said: "The festival has been absolutely amazing in every way.

"It's super fun - there's just so much to do and see. I've been so busy, I've barely slept.

"It's like every single festival people have in the world rolled into one - in Estonia, we'd need at least five separate events to match everything the Eisteddfod offers."

Paige Morgan, from New Jersey, says she is already planning to return to the "fantastic" National Eisteddfod next year

Similarly, it was Paige Morgan's first time attending an Eisteddfod.

Originally from Seattle and now living in New Jersey, Ms Morgan began learning Welsh on her own as a child and restarted in 2016 by listening to Radio Cymru and using Duolingo.

Although she had no Welsh heritage, her love for the language and culture grew from childhood curiosity and deepened through music, lessons, and regular visits to Wales.

While her early learning was mostly solo, she joined a class in 2023 that meets at 04:30 BST and despite it being "hard to adjust to at the start", Ms Morgan said she "doesn't have jet lag anymore".

Despite breaking her ankle during a trip to Wales last year, she said she used her recovery time to immerse herself in Welsh, which accelerated her fluency.

She added: "For whatever reason, I chose to live my life in Welsh during that period.

"It was like putting my language in a little TARDIS and jump-starting it."

This week, Ms Morgan has competed in recitation and won the Stobstory competition at the festival.

She said she was "having a lovely time" and described "every minute" as "fantastic".

Ms Morgan also explained that she is already planning to return next year and intends to rent a caravan on the Maes so she can take an afternoon nap before the late-night gigs.