NEARLY 150,000 people poured through the gates for the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham, it has been revealed.

Deputy leader of Wrexham Council, Cllr David Bithell has praised everyone involved in making the eisteddfod such a huge success.

He said the attendance figures show the town knows how to stage a major event.

He was reacting to figures, due to be presented to the council’s executive board at its meeting on Tuesday, which reveal that during the week of the festival in August, the total attendance figure was just short of 150,000.

That is more than nine per cent higher than when Ebbw Vale hosted the Welsh cultural event the previous year.

The council’s own stand at the eisteddfod attracted about 2,000 visitors and received many compliments including how nice it was to have such a broad range of activities on offer at the festival for people of all ages.

Clare Field, the council’s strategic and performance director, said: “The eisteddfod figures overall are fantastic.

“We have also received lots of positive comments about the traffic management – how easy it was to get in and out of the site.

“As a result of the success of the festival we will hopefully also see an increase in the uptake of Welsh language courses.”

Cllr Bithell said: “This demonstrates that Wrexham knows how to hold a major event.

“Our planning ensured there was minimum disruption to the travelling public.”