THE Chief Executive of the National Eisteddfod, has congratulated fundraisers in Abergavenny after it was revealed that the town had exceeded its fundraising target by more than £20,000.

Elfed Roberts said, "I would like to congratulate the Abergavenny fundraising committee and the other committees across the region for all their work over the past two years.

“The work undertaken across Monmouthshire and the surrounding areas has been fantastic, not only in terms of fundraising but also in awareness raising and bringing people together in the name of the Eisteddfod.

"Raising money is not easy. Thinking of events and activities which will appeal to a wide audience for a period of almost two years is extremely difficult, but the impact of the work in Abergavenny and the rest of the region will be felt for many years to come.

"The Eisteddfod is upon us at last, and we are delighted to be bringing visitors from all over Wales and further afield to Monmouthshire.

I very much hope thousands of local people will join us during festival week. We have over a thousand individual events and activities taking place on the Maes, and all details can be found on our website.

“So whether you visit the Eisteddfod every year or whether this is your very first time, I hope you have an excellent visit and we look forward to seeing you on Castle Meadows, Abergavenny over the next few days."

Headed by husband and wife team David and Ruth Roberts, the Abergavenny fundraising committee has staged hundreds of events from concerts, to lectures, fashion shows and coffee mornings across the town and the surrounding area since it began its mammoth task in February 2015.

“When we were first told that we had been given a target of £100,000 someone commented that it would be a miracle if we reached it - I’m delighted that not only have we reached our target, we have exceeded it,” said David Roberts.

“It was what we would call in Welsh a talcen caled - or a hard heading - an old mining term meaning a difficult task, so we are delighted to have done so well.”

“We have been supported by so many people who have given their time and efforts and we are very grateful to them all,” added his wife and co-chairman.

“We were given exactly the same target as counties like Carmarthen, which has a much larger population and is more familiar with the Eisteddfod tradition. The amount raised in Abergavenny equates to almost £8 for every person in the town - to put that in perspective Carmarthen raised just £1.30 per head of population ahead of the Llanelli Eistedddfod two years ago,”?said Dr Roberts.

“We really can’t thank everyone in Abergavenny enough for their support,”?he added.

The Mayor of Abergavenny, Councillor Chris Woodhouse added his voice to those praising the town’s fundraisers, saying that not only had they raised a ‘magnificent’ amount of money, they had also provided an outstanding 18 months of entertainment for the area.

“This incredible level of support shows that Abergavenny is well and truly behind the National Eisteddfod. The site is ready, the weather looks dry and we are looking forward to welcoming Eisteddfod visitors to our town,”?he added.

After months of anticipation the National Eisteddfod kicks off on Saturday and continues until the following weekend, with more than 150,000 visitors expected to arrive in Abergavenny.