An area of Wales with one of the smallest Welsh-speaking populations has revealed details of its bid to host the country's language cultural festival, the National Eisteddfod.

Despite the lack of native speakers in Monmouthshire, the local council has been busy preparing its case for being the focal point for the 2010 event.

The last time it was held in the county - where just 7% of the population speaks Welsh - was almost a century ago.

Monmouthshire has missed out on being able to celebrate its own unique sense of Welshness

Ffion Gruffudd, Monmouthshire council

The authority has now sent an official invitation to the organisers of the high-profile cultural festival, outlining potential sites they have earmarked for proceedings.

The National Eisteddfod - the annual celebration of Welsh song, dance and prose - last visited Monmouthshire in 1913, when Abergavenny was the host town.

In October, councillors voted to invite the festival to the county once more.

A report has been submitted to the Eisteddfod council. witha decision expected to be reached at a meeting on 30 November.

The local authority has put forward four suggestions of potential sites:

• Abergavenny fields, based around the old showground
• Caldicot Castle and surrounding grounds, the country park and farmland
• Chepstow Racecourse
• Monmouth's Vauxhall Fields

The invitation to Monmouthshire includes details of the area's scenery, its thriving arts and crafts scene, tourist facilities and attractions, and rich historical past.

Flower girl takes part in the crowning ceremony

Ffion Gruffudd, the council's Welsh language, cultural and tourism officer said the festival would help connect the county with its Welsh roots.

"Partly due to our geographical position, Monmouthshire has in the past missed out on being able to celebrate its own unique sense of Welshness with the rest of the country," she said.

"It is high time we changed that situation and reunited the people of Monmouthshire with Welsh culture at large.

"Hosting the National Eisteddfod of Wales would go a long way towards achieving that aim," she said.

Enthusiasm

The council has said it would be able to offer an army of volunteers to help organise events, explaining that the county had a long and proud tradition of community volunteerism.

Support for the event has been enthusiastic from local communities about the bid.

Hosting the Eisteddfod, one of Europe's largest cultural events, would mean the county would have to raise a sizeable proportion of the �1.5m staging costs.

But it could bring substantial economic benefits for Monmouthshire.

Two years ago, thousands of visitors to the festival at Llanelli in west Wales brought in more than �6m in extra revenue.