Organisers are hoping for a bumper year

This year, Europe's biggest youth festival is being held at the Mona showground near Gwalchmai, Anglesey.

The organisation of this year's event has been made easier because the venue is purpose-built for major shows.

In previous years, there has always been a need to transform farmland into a temporary festival site for the week-long festivities.

More than 100,000 people are expected to pass through the turnstiles between now and Saturday for the annual half-term cultural gathering.

Up to 1m people will also watch the proceedings on television.

Organisers have paid tribute to fundraisers who have made this year's event possible.

Sian Eirian, the eisteddfod's director, said �210,000 had been raised largely by volunteers.

"Teamwork is what makes the eisteddfod possible, together with the co-operation of a large number of volunteers and various agencies which pull together to achieve miracles in order to stage the festival each year," she said.

The eisteddfod is making its fourth visit to Anglesey - still a stronghold of the Welsh language despite having lost many of its young people who have been forced to move away to look for work.

Previous eisteddfodau have been held in Llangefni in1948, Holyhead in 1966, and Menai Bridge in 1976.

The main building on the showground has recently been upgraded as part of a wider effort to attract more events to the island, and the eisteddfod is the first event to use the new facility.

For the first time there will be teepees on the field. Activities for children and young people will be held there throughout the week, including workshops on circus skills, dancing, acting and scripting.