Europe’s largest youth festival is about to get under way in the shadow of the Port Talbot steelworks – and its centrepiece prize includes a unique slice of steel history.
Eisteddfod yr Urdd 2025 is being held in Margam Park from 26-31 May. The theme for this year’s event is Steel and Sea (or Dur a Môr in Welsh) and the two main prizes awarded at the week-long festival – the chair and crown – have both been made using some of the last blast furnace produced steel from Port Talbot.
Award-winning blacksmith and metal artist Angharad Pearce Jones was commissioned to create the chair, which is inspired by the steelworks and industry of the area.
During the design phase, Angharad was given a guided tour of the Port Talbot site, which proved to be a defining moment.
She said: “The tour I had of the Port Talbot steelworks was a huge inspiration for the design of the chair. I saw areas of the works that are not usually visible to the public, and some of the architecture and pipework, in particular, were fascinating and really influenced the final design.
“In fact, you can see the shape of the expansion loops and pipes in the front and rear legs of the chair.”
Some of the key design aspects of the finished chair have a special connection to the area and its steelmaking heritage.
Angharad said: “I had some remaining stock of plate steel from Port Talbot at my workshop, from before the blast furnaces closed. I had put them to one side until a special project came along.
“I didn’t know at the time what that would be, but when I got the call asking me to do the Eisteddfod chair, it felt like fate and it was an easy decision.
“I was determined to create a chair that felt positive – a celebration of a beautiful material as well as an acknowledgment of recent changes at the steelworks.”
She added: “This has been on my wish list for many years, so having the opportunity to design and create this year’s Eisteddfod chair has been a wonderful privilege and a dream come true.”
More than 90,000 visitors are expected to descend on Margam Park for Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr 2025, where around 15,000 children and young people will compete across 378 competitions in a celebration of Welsh language and culture.
Watch the promotional video for the Eisteddfod yr Urdd Dur a Môr 2025, filmed at Port Talbot steelworks.
About Tata Steel UK
- The Tata Steel Group has been named one of the most ethical companies in the world, and is among the top producing global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 34 million tonnes.
Tata Steel in the UK has the ambition to produce net-zero steel by 2045 at the latest, and to have reduced 30% of its CO2 emissions by 2030. - In October 2024, Tata Steel ceased ironmaking at its Port Talbot site and temporarily paused steelmaking pending the construction of a 3.2Mtpa Electric Arc Furnace, due to be commissioned late in 2027 / early 2028. For that period, the business will import slab and hot rolled coil to support manufacturing and distribution operations at sites across Wales, England and Northern Ireland as well as Norway, Sweden, France, Germany and UAE. It also benefits from a network of sales offices around the world.
- Throughout 2024 Tata Steel UK has been undergoing a restructuring that will reduce the size of its workforce to around 5000 direct employees, supplying high-quality steel products to demanding markets, including construction and infrastructure, automotive, packaging and engineering.
- Tata Steel Group is one of the world's most geographically-diversified steel producers, with operations and a commercial presence across the world.
- The group recorded a consolidated turnover of around US$26 billion in the financial year ending March 31, 2025..
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