Unique IDFN-0032DescriptionThe Sydney Eisteddfod is held annually, from June through October at venues throughout Sydney.
The Eisteddfod grew out of Music Week Festival, first held in 1930 and which grew into a national event by 1932. Representatives of Music Week Festival and CA 244, the Citizens of Sydney Organising Committee, announced plans for a Great Eisteddfod at the end of 1932, to be held at the Town Hall in August 1933 during the fourth Annual Music Week festival. The first Eisteddfod executive meeting was held on 20 February 1933 and the first Official Syllabus was released in April that year. (Source: Jennifer Rowley Lees, 2008, The Sydney Eisteddfod Story: 1933 – 1941)
From 1942 to 1945, no Sydney Eisteddfod was held, due to the impacts of World War II. A Victory Eisteddfod was held in 1946, featuring 15,662 local entrants performing in more than 20 venues.
By the late 1940’s, the Eisteddfod had become firmly established as an annual Sydney institution and had become the primary function of its organising body, CA 244, the Citizens of Sydney Organising Committee. On 7 December, 1949, the intention of the Eisteddfod to incorporate was advertised in the Sydney Morning Herald. In January 1950, CA 245, the Sydney Cultural Council’s Memorandum and Articles of Association were approved by the Department of Justice and the Registrar-General. The preceding agency was placed into liquidation.
In 1987, the State Government of New South Wales withdrew its funding for the event, which the Sydney Eisteddfod had principally relied on. Emeritus Professor Alfred H. Pollard provided funding to keep the Eisteddfod running, and then established the Sydney Eisteddfod Foundation. After some promotion and appeals, the food outlet chain MacDonald’s Australia became the principal sponsor in 1988.
Excluding the years of World War II, the Sydney Eisteddfod has been held every year since 1933 and continues today under the name of the Macdonald’s Performing Arts Challenge. An Official Syllabus is issued for competitors, as well as an Official Programme for the competition performance. Over the years, the syllabus has grown large enough to warrant four volumes.
In 2005, the City of Sydney Archives received a portion of the archives of the Sydney Eisteddfod (CRS 326: S041774). CreationAnnouncement by representatives of Music Week Festival and Citizens of Sydney Organising Committee in December 1932 of plans for the first Great Eisteddfod
