Browse content similar to 05/08/2016. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Thousands of people gather in Rio, as the 2016 | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
The Opening Ceremony begins in just under two hours. | :00:07. | :00:11. | |
Organisers are promising a truly Brazilian affair. | :00:12. | :00:16. | |
I think if London was smart, we're going to be cool. | :00:17. | :00:18. | |
Rio may be ready to party, but a million tickets remain unsold, | :00:19. | :00:25. | |
and one Great British Olympian says some venues are still not ready. | :00:26. | :00:31. | |
There are a little bit of things that need to be finished off. | :00:32. | :00:34. | |
I was yesterday at beach volleyball, just | :00:35. | :00:36. | |
a few hundred yards from here, they're still building the stadium. | :00:37. | :00:39. | |
and police will be on patrol during the Games. | :00:40. | :00:52. | |
The former head of the official inquiry into historical allegations | :00:53. | :01:01. | |
of child abuse is summoned by MPs to explain why she's resigned. | :01:02. | :01:04. | |
Royal Bank of Scotland - largely owned by the taxpayer - | :01:05. | :01:07. | |
announces losses of more than ?2 billion in the first | :01:08. | :01:09. | |
Up in flames - police warn of a dangerous new method of making | :01:10. | :01:13. | |
cannabis which has already killed two people in the UK. | :01:14. | :01:15. | |
And we're at the biggest travelling arts festival in Europe in Wales, | :01:16. | :01:18. | |
the Eistoddfod, celebrating literature, music and performance. | :01:19. | :01:24. | |
And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News: | :01:25. | :01:26. | |
Captain Alastair Cook and Alex Hales led the comeback, | :01:27. | :01:28. | |
as England made a strong start to their second innings on day three | :01:29. | :01:31. | |
It's been nine years in the making, but in just two hours' time, | :01:32. | :01:59. | |
the Rio Olympics will officially get under way with the 2016 | :02:00. | :02:02. | |
It's the first time the biggest sporting event in the world has been | :02:03. | :02:07. | |
More than 10,000 athletes from 206 countries will be taking part, | :02:08. | :02:11. | |
with more than half a million people descending on the city to watch. | :02:12. | :02:16. | |
In a moment, we'll hear about the challenges Rio has faced | :02:17. | :02:19. | |
in the run-up to the Games, but first, let's join our | :02:20. | :02:22. | |
sports editor, Dan Roan, at the Maracana Stadium, | :02:23. | :02:24. | |
where the Opening ceremony is being held. | :02:25. | :02:31. | |
Here we go. It begins. After years of preparations, months of | :02:32. | :02:40. | |
controversy and years of training for the athletes, for whom this will | :02:41. | :02:44. | |
be the pinnacle of their sporting careers, tonight is the night. For | :02:45. | :02:49. | |
Rio, for Brazil and for South America, the greatest show on earth | :02:50. | :02:53. | |
is about to begin in a place with a back drop that no other city in the | :02:54. | :02:55. | |
world can match. One of sport's most iconic settings | :02:56. | :02:58. | |
for the start of what remains Here at the Maracana, | :02:59. | :03:00. | |
Rio's big moment has arrived. This afternoon, final preparations | :03:01. | :03:05. | |
began ahead of the opening ceremony. These, among the 5000 volunteers | :03:06. | :03:07. | |
about to perform in front of an estimated TV audience | :03:08. | :03:12. | |
of some 3 billion people. Dress rehearsals revealing a vibrant | :03:13. | :03:16. | |
celebration of Brazilian culture, the heritage of Carnival, | :03:17. | :03:23. | |
and plenty of samba. The man in charge of tonight told me | :03:24. | :03:26. | |
the key things will be The ceremony is using the platform | :03:27. | :03:29. | |
to show people watching, to send a strong message to | :03:30. | :03:36. | |
the world, like a cultural action. I think if London was smart, | :03:37. | :03:39. | |
we're going to be cool. But there'll be controversy tonight, | :03:40. | :03:45. | |
too. 271 Russians have been cleared by | :03:46. | :03:51. | |
the International Olympic Committee to form part of the traditional | :03:52. | :03:53. | |
parade of athletes, despite a doping scandal that for some has tainted | :03:54. | :03:56. | |
these Games before Four years ago, Sir Steve Redgrave | :03:57. | :03:59. | |
had the honour of carrying the torch into London's Olympic Stadium, | :04:00. | :04:06. | |
and says that despite a troubled There are a little bit of things | :04:07. | :04:08. | |
that need to be finished off. Yesterday, the beach volleyball | :04:09. | :04:15. | |
a few hundred yards away from here, But I don't think anybody watching | :04:16. | :04:19. | |
on TV will notice that. You'll see the world's best athletes | :04:20. | :04:29. | |
competing in 28 different sports and it's going to be | :04:30. | :04:33. | |
an amazing spectacle. A record 206 nations will compete | :04:34. | :04:36. | |
in Rio with the action spread over four main areas, | :04:37. | :04:39. | |
much of it in the newly built As they chase a record medal | :04:40. | :04:42. | |
haul for an away Games, many of Britain's's athletes have | :04:43. | :04:48. | |
already trained in their venues. One of Team GB's biggest | :04:49. | :04:51. | |
stars can't wait. These Games are going | :04:52. | :04:53. | |
to be so much fun. London was quite a formal Games, | :04:54. | :04:56. | |
spectacular and amazing. Here, it is a little less | :04:57. | :04:59. | |
formal but, you know, it makes it fun, too, | :05:00. | :05:01. | |
because not everything's I think people coming out to these | :05:02. | :05:04. | |
Games will have a blast. After years of preparations, | :05:05. | :05:15. | |
Rio is now just hours away from having to prove to the world | :05:16. | :05:18. | |
that it can play host and provide the showpiece the | :05:19. | :05:21. | |
Olympics now needs. Roads around the Maracana Stadium | :05:22. | :05:24. | |
have been closed ahead 85,000 police and soldiers will be | :05:25. | :05:30. | |
patrolling Rio during the Games. And there've been | :05:31. | :05:40. | |
demonstrations too. Earlier today, protestors angry | :05:41. | :05:42. | |
at the government and the cost of hosting the event, | :05:43. | :05:45. | |
blocked roads in Copacabana, forcing the Olympic torch relay | :05:46. | :05:48. | |
to change its route. Wyre Davies joins us | :05:49. | :05:50. | |
from the Olympic Park. Mixed feelings for Brazilians | :05:51. | :06:01. | |
tonight as they prepare to hold the world's biggest sporting and social | :06:02. | :06:05. | |
event. Plenty of pride for the residents of Rio de Janeiro. We're | :06:06. | :06:10. | |
getting reports of violent scuffles outside the stadium tonight, | :06:11. | :06:12. | |
protesters angry at the millions being spent on these Games. Indeed | :06:13. | :06:17. | |
one overriding concern here is that global concern of security. | :06:18. | :06:20. | |
The Batista family will have one of the best views in Rio | :06:21. | :06:23. | |
The famous Maracana, the scene of so many sporting triumphs, | :06:24. | :06:27. | |
But despite their vantage point, how much have people in these | :06:28. | :06:33. | |
communities been touched by the Olympic spirit? | :06:34. | :06:36. | |
TRANSLATION: Let's be honest, the tickets are expensive for us, | :06:37. | :06:40. | |
but the Games have brought good things for the city | :06:41. | :06:43. | |
His daughter, Stephanie, who is an umpire in the track | :06:44. | :06:49. | |
and field events, can barely contain her enthusiasm. | :06:50. | :06:52. | |
I can't wait for it to start and be part of it. | :06:53. | :07:00. | |
After a marathon journey around this vast, culturally diverse country, | :07:01. | :07:03. | |
the Olympic torch visited some of Rio's most famous landmarks. | :07:04. | :07:11. | |
There's probably never been a more stunning backdrop | :07:12. | :07:14. | |
This is the first time the Games have taken place in South America, | :07:15. | :07:20. | |
a proud moment for the continent and for many Brazilians. | :07:21. | :07:22. | |
But the torch was accompanied by extraordinarily heavy security | :07:23. | :07:26. | |
for its entire journey, a feature that will remain | :07:27. | :07:29. | |
There will be 85,000 riot police and soldiers on the streets of Rio | :07:30. | :07:38. | |
for the duration of the Games, an almost unprecedented | :07:39. | :07:41. | |
Brazil says it is worried about international terror, | :07:42. | :07:46. | |
but the real concern is all of these anti-government protesters, | :07:47. | :07:48. | |
angry with the amount of money being spent on the Olympics. | :07:49. | :07:53. | |
The infamous Black Bloc anarchists, local government workers | :07:54. | :07:56. | |
who are not being paid, and opponents of the interim | :07:57. | :07:59. | |
government, all say Rio has more pressing priorities than the Games. | :08:00. | :08:01. | |
This is a city undoubtedly transformed by the Olympics. | :08:02. | :08:06. | |
Some new infrastructure and urban regeneration. | :08:07. | :08:11. | |
But what has it done for social cohesion? | :08:12. | :08:13. | |
Inequality felt here for 12-13 years which was | :08:14. | :08:20. | |
But now Brazil as a whole is living in very turbulent times. | :08:21. | :08:30. | |
Rio is ready but there have been missed opportunities. | :08:31. | :08:32. | |
The Olympics, perhaps, not providing as much momentum | :08:33. | :08:35. | |
Dan, the opening ceremony kicks off in just under two hours. | :08:36. | :08:48. | |
By the time it begins, it will be fantastic, I'm sure. Still building | :08:49. | :08:58. | |
right now. It's important to remember that this is operating on a | :08:59. | :09:03. | |
fraction of the budget enjoyed by London 2012's extravaganza. This | :09:04. | :09:06. | |
Opening Ceremony has had to scale down its ambitions because of the | :09:07. | :09:10. | |
economic problems in Brazil. Nonetheless, it's fair to say, it | :09:11. | :09:13. | |
could just be one of the most important starts to an Olympics in | :09:14. | :09:17. | |
the history of the Games, simply because of the problems that have | :09:18. | :09:21. | |
beset the build up to these Olympics, not just the recession, | :09:22. | :09:25. | |
but the political upheaval, the concerns about Zika, about security, | :09:26. | :09:30. | |
about pollution. Then of course, the biggest doping scandal that sport | :09:31. | :09:33. | |
has suffered in recent years, even the football ledge end Pele this | :09:34. | :09:37. | |
evening, he dropped out of his role. He was expected to light the Olympic | :09:38. | :09:42. | |
cauldron here in the stadium, citing health concerns, according to local | :09:43. | :09:45. | |
reports. Having said all that, I think organisers will be really | :09:46. | :09:50. | |
hopeful in football-mad Brazil, the celebrations tonight enable the | :09:51. | :09:53. | |
entire country to get behind these Games finally and allow the | :09:54. | :09:57. | |
narrative to shift and move away from all the controversy and to | :09:58. | :10:01. | |
finally focus on world-class, inspiring sport. It's been a | :10:02. | :10:04. | |
remarkable sporting summer for Britain. You think of Chris Froome | :10:05. | :10:08. | |
in the Tour De France, Andy Murray at Wimbledon, Wales in the euros, | :10:09. | :10:12. | |
Leicester City in the Premier League, but this Games, despite | :10:13. | :10:15. | |
everything, has the potential to surpass that all. Dan, thank you. | :10:16. | :10:19. | |
And you won't miss a moment of the Rio Games with the BBC. | :10:20. | :10:22. | |
We'll bring you live coverage on TV, radio and online, as well as | :10:23. | :10:25. | |
And you can find a day by day guide to what's on when on our website, | :10:26. | :10:31. | |
The former head of the official inquiry into historical allegations | :10:32. | :10:42. | |
of child abuse has been asked to explain to MPs her surprise | :10:43. | :10:44. | |
Dame Lowell Goddard is the third chair to quit the position | :10:45. | :10:52. | |
since the inquiry was set up in 2014. | :10:53. | :10:54. | |
Sources have told the BBC there have been tensions | :10:55. | :10:57. | |
She'd moved to Britain to do this job. | :10:58. | :11:10. | |
Surely this enquiry couldn't lose another chair. | :11:11. | :11:12. | |
At this London hotel today, she was supposed to meet | :11:13. | :11:17. | |
Instead, they faced officials and demanded assurances | :11:18. | :11:22. | |
People generally were quite shocked, quite worried | :11:23. | :11:27. | |
People were worried about the public perception | :11:28. | :11:32. | |
of the enquiry, in that it's not just seen as a complete farce at | :11:33. | :11:35. | |
In general, many were reassured, but the resignation was | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
One source said there was tension between the judge and her officials. | :11:40. | :11:47. | |
A third has told us in the past that she is difficult to work with. | :11:48. | :11:53. | |
Yet somebody more sympathetic to her has | :11:54. | :11:59. | |
said she simply didn't get the support and loyalty she needed | :12:00. | :12:02. | |
She will bring a wealth of expertise to the role. | :12:03. | :12:07. | |
18 months ago, the then Home Secretary | :12:08. | :12:09. | |
was sure she had made the right appointment, but now the BBC has | :12:10. | :12:12. | |
been told that within the enquiry there have been growing concerns | :12:13. | :12:15. | |
that she was not, in fact, up to the job. | :12:16. | :12:21. | |
And next month, the parliamentary committee which endorsed her | :12:22. | :12:23. | |
as an impeccable candidate, will question her about why | :12:24. | :12:26. | |
I don't think it is enough to resign and then to leave. | :12:27. | :12:35. | |
I think that we in Parliament will want to share some of those | :12:36. | :12:38. | |
thoughts with her, because it's going to be vital for her successor | :12:39. | :12:41. | |
In effect, 13 public enquiries into possible abuse in | :12:42. | :12:47. | |
high office, children's homes in Rochdale, Nottingham and Lambeth, | :12:48. | :12:51. | |
the Anglican and Catholic churches, and individuals such as the late | :12:52. | :12:54. | |
For some, this enquiry is just too big to succeed. | :12:55. | :13:03. | |
We know terrible crimes are committed and the police should | :13:04. | :13:05. | |
investigate, but this enquiry should be more focused on the future. | :13:06. | :13:08. | |
What are the policy changes, the legal | :13:09. | :13:10. | |
changes that can protect children in the future? | :13:11. | :13:13. | |
But one thing no one disagrees about, finding a | :13:14. | :13:15. | |
replacement for Lowell Goddard will be daunting, because the job she has | :13:16. | :13:19. | |
just given up is increasingly seen as a poisoned chalice. | :13:20. | :13:24. | |
A 19-year-old man has been charged with the murder of an American | :13:25. | :13:34. | |
Zakaria Bulhan from south London is charged with the murder | :13:35. | :13:39. | |
of 64-year-old Darlene Horton, plus the attempted murder of five | :13:40. | :13:44. | |
other people who were injured in the Russell Square attack | :13:45. | :13:47. | |
Royal Bank of Scotland, which is largely owned | :13:48. | :13:57. | |
by the taxpayer, has announced losses of more than ?2 billion | :13:58. | :14:00. | |
Its chief executive said the bank was still addressing | :14:01. | :14:04. | |
"legacy issues", including settling PPI claims. | :14:05. | :14:06. | |
Today's figures mean the bank's total losses have topped ?50 billion | :14:07. | :14:08. | |
since it was bailed out in the financial crisis of 2008. | :14:09. | :14:11. | |
We've all got a past, but RBS's is more painful than most. | :14:12. | :14:19. | |
As much as it tries to get on with its life, it | :14:20. | :14:22. | |
continues to be haunted by the events of eight years ago. | :14:23. | :14:24. | |
Tonight at 10pm, all change for the British banking system, | :14:25. | :14:27. | |
and the taxpayer foots the massive bill. | :14:28. | :14:32. | |
The Royal Bank of Scotland is being effectively nationalised. | :14:33. | :14:37. | |
It's a frustrating case of one step forward and two steps back | :14:38. | :14:40. | |
The first thing is, this is a magnificent business. | :14:41. | :14:45. | |
Each quarter it makes about ?1 billion of profit before tax. | :14:46. | :14:49. | |
And then year-on-year we get hit by legacy issues. | :14:50. | :14:54. | |
I think what's been surprising is that they keep coming, but these | :14:55. | :14:57. | |
We are trying to deal with as many this year which ever | :14:58. | :15:01. | |
And that's exactly how this year has panned out. | :15:02. | :15:05. | |
Wiping out any profits were 700 million for litigation | :15:06. | :15:07. | |
costs going right back to 2008, 630 million in selling | :15:08. | :15:13. | |
old stuff at a loss, and another 450 million | :15:14. | :15:16. | |
for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance. | :15:17. | :15:19. | |
All that contributed to a loss of ?2 billion | :15:20. | :15:21. | |
You know, I stood in this very spot in 2008 when RBS had made | :15:22. | :15:28. | |
the biggest loss in British corporate history, received | :15:29. | :15:30. | |
Every year since then, RBS has lost money. | :15:31. | :15:34. | |
I didn't expect to be here eight years later saying the total | :15:35. | :15:37. | |
of those losses now exceeds ?50 billion, more money | :15:38. | :15:40. | |
And the value of the shares we got for that stake are now worth less | :15:41. | :15:48. | |
And RBS may find reporters outside for years to come. | :15:49. | :15:55. | |
RBS is doing a lot of the right things with its business model. | :15:56. | :16:00. | |
It is expanding, it's doing that in a competitive environment. | :16:01. | :16:02. | |
But it's got its history to deal with and it's just not going away. | :16:03. | :16:09. | |
And the biggest thing out there is the settlement about US | :16:10. | :16:16. | |
mortgage-backed securities from way back when. | :16:17. | :16:18. | |
It's a biggie, and it's hanging on and it's hard for RBS to make | :16:19. | :16:22. | |
A process to revive the old Williams and Glyn brand has been beset | :16:23. | :16:29. | |
by technical difficulties and was finally shelved today. | :16:30. | :16:31. | |
The 300 branches it has to sell as a condition of its 2008 | :16:32. | :16:35. | |
bail out now look likely to be sold to a rival. | :16:36. | :16:38. | |
Still three quarters owned by the taxpayer, | :16:39. | :16:41. | |
it's unlikely RBS will make a profit or that we'll get any | :16:42. | :16:44. | |
That will make it a lost decade for a bank that on some measures | :16:45. | :16:50. | |
Campaigners from Britain's Black Lives Matter movement have caused | :16:51. | :16:57. | |
traffic disruption in several cities during demonstrations | :16:58. | :17:00. | |
Ten people were arrested after the approach to | :17:01. | :17:04. | |
Heathrow Airport was blocked, and there were also | :17:05. | :17:06. | |
protests in Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham. | :17:07. | :17:09. | |
Elaine Dunkley reports from east London, where there were more | :17:10. | :17:11. | |
They march in solidarity with America and shout slogans borne | :17:12. | :17:18. | |
out of racial tensions in the States. | :17:19. | :17:20. | |
But this protest is about frustrations felt here in Britain. | :17:21. | :17:26. | |
We want to see an end to the endemic inequality rife within our society. | :17:27. | :17:30. | |
Essentially, we are asking for black lives to be given the same value | :17:31. | :17:33. | |
Giving families like mine the opportunity to bring | :17:34. | :17:36. | |
Marcia Rigg believes Black Lives Matter has given support | :17:37. | :17:40. | |
In 2008, her brother, Sean Rigg, who had mental health problems, | :17:41. | :17:46. | |
An inquest jury found officers had used unsuitable force. | :17:47. | :18:00. | |
I hope today we will start the positive conversation to talk about | :18:01. | :18:06. | |
the deaths that have been happening in this country for decades. | :18:07. | :18:08. | |
However, longstanding unresolved cases such as Sean Rigg's show how | :18:09. | :18:14. | |
I know that cases like Sean Rigg are infrequent and few and far | :18:15. | :18:21. | |
between, but that doesn't mean they're any less important to us. | :18:22. | :18:25. | |
Cases like that are extremely important. | :18:26. | :18:27. | |
We want to learn, we want to improve and we want to give confidence back | :18:28. | :18:31. | |
Deaths in custody is just one of a number of issues. | :18:32. | :18:37. | |
Protesters here say it's about the disproportionate | :18:38. | :18:38. | |
use of stop and search, and the overrepresentation of black | :18:39. | :18:42. | |
people within the criminal justice system and mental | :18:43. | :18:45. | |
Today is the first day of national action for Black Lives Matter UK. | :18:46. | :18:51. | |
Human blockades brought the M4 near Heathrow Airport | :18:52. | :18:53. | |
to a standstill, and protesters in Nottingham stopped trams. | :18:54. | :18:58. | |
There are criticisms that this isn't America | :18:59. | :19:00. | |
But protesters say it has given them a unifying voice | :19:01. | :19:06. | |
Police in Chicago have suspended three officers | :19:07. | :19:14. | |
after a black teenager was shot and fatally wounded. | :19:15. | :19:21. | |
Paul O'Neill drove a stolen car at police vehicles, | :19:22. | :19:25. | |
with officers then giving chase as he escaped on foot. | :19:26. | :19:29. | |
The Chicago force released nine body cam videos of officers giving chase. | :19:30. | :19:37. | |
Police and firefighters are warning that a highly dangerous new method | :19:38. | :19:40. | |
of making super-strength cannabis is emerging in Britain. | :19:41. | :19:42. | |
The BBC has learnt that two people have died and more than 30 people | :19:43. | :19:45. | |
have been injured across the UK, as a result of making the drug. | :19:46. | :19:49. | |
It's called butane hash oil, or BHO, and involves using large amounts | :19:50. | :19:52. | |
of the flammable gas, which can explode with | :19:53. | :19:55. | |
They want to get high but are risking their lives, | :19:56. | :20:04. | |
This is probably the most concentrated form of | :20:05. | :20:31. | |
Nicknamed Shatter or Dabs, this is BHO, butane hash oil, | :20:32. | :20:35. | |
Usually the very highest quality is the more gold. | :20:36. | :20:43. | |
The more gold it is, the higher quality. | :20:44. | :20:46. | |
Alex takes it for a chronic medical condition. | :20:47. | :20:48. | |
Undoubtedly it is growing, it is huge, compared to just last | :20:49. | :20:54. | |
year, it's ten times bigger and I expect it will be ten | :20:55. | :20:57. | |
It means more people may try and make it and hurt themselves. | :20:58. | :21:03. | |
They are using the butane as a solvent to extract | :21:04. | :21:07. | |
Squirting raw butane into a compartment and it only takes | :21:08. | :21:17. | |
the smallest of ignition sources to create that explosion. | :21:18. | :21:21. | |
With trained fire investigators in a specialist facility, | :21:22. | :21:24. | |
we can show how dangerous it really is. | :21:25. | :21:28. | |
Here, using just one canister, a simulation of what happens | :21:29. | :21:32. | |
when BHO production goes badly wrong. | :21:33. | :21:37. | |
A fraction of a second later, fire, burning at more than 1400 Celsius. | :21:38. | :21:48. | |
That's the theory, this is real life. | :21:49. | :21:52. | |
What's left of a BHO factory in a flat in Birmingham, | :21:53. | :21:56. | |
concrete beams snapped in two, debris blown across the street, | :21:57. | :22:00. | |
hundreds of cans of butane were found inside. | :22:01. | :22:04. | |
The explosion triggered by the switch of an electric kettle. | :22:05. | :22:09. | |
One man was so badly hurt here, he died later in hospital. | :22:10. | :22:14. | |
The house had to be completely demolished. | :22:15. | :22:17. | |
This isn't a one-off, we know of at least one other death | :22:18. | :22:20. | |
and 25 serious injuries linked to hash oil explosions | :22:21. | :22:24. | |
We've seen an increase in the amount of incidents | :22:25. | :22:29. | |
What would be your message to the people who are doing it | :22:30. | :22:37. | |
Because the devastation and the effects on people's | :22:38. | :22:45. | |
In America, it is being made on an industrial scale. | :22:46. | :22:54. | |
Sometimes with terrible consequences. | :22:55. | :23:01. | |
A man who blew up these Glasgow flats was today jailed | :23:02. | :23:06. | |
Producers think it can get them high or make them rich, | :23:07. | :23:11. | |
the reality is, just one spark could be enough to kill. | :23:12. | :23:16. | |
It's a week-long celebration of Welsh literature, | :23:17. | :23:22. | |
music and performance - the Eisteddfod is the biggest | :23:23. | :23:25. | |
travelling arts festival in Europe, and it's a tradition that can be | :23:26. | :23:29. | |
For the first time in more than 100 years it is being | :23:30. | :23:34. | |
The national Eisteddfod has landed at the foot of the Brecon Beacons. | :23:35. | :23:43. | |
It is a sprawling festival of Welsh arts and culture | :23:44. | :23:45. | |
The Eisteddfod exists to further the Welsh language. | :23:46. | :23:51. | |
And everybody coming here realises that we have this Welsh language | :23:52. | :23:55. | |
policy, which states that all the performances | :23:56. | :23:59. | |
This is the Eisteddfod field, where all the performances | :24:00. | :24:05. | |
The star attractions are the music and recital | :24:06. | :24:12. | |
performances and competitions, which take place in | :24:13. | :24:13. | |
There's no doubt this is an important cultural event, | :24:14. | :24:26. | |
but the festival has been criticised previously for being too inward | :24:27. | :24:29. | |
looking and unwelcoming to the 80% of Welsh people | :24:30. | :24:32. | |
Changes are afoot though, with more contemporary shows, | :24:33. | :24:40. | |
such as this new piece by acclaimed harpist Catrin Finch. | :24:41. | :24:47. | |
This is about celebrating the language. | :24:48. | :24:52. | |
But it's always important to welcome everybody. | :24:53. | :24:56. | |
And I would hope as a non-Welsh speaker you could come | :24:57. | :25:02. | |
and have a lovely day and enjoy the culture we celebrate. | :25:03. | :25:09. | |
The festival is making a rare visit to the largely | :25:10. | :25:11. | |
English-speaking Welsh town of Abergavenny, where it's | :25:12. | :25:14. | |
Some of the things, you think, what's the point? | :25:15. | :25:19. | |
It's definitely encouraged a lot of people I know | :25:20. | :25:23. | |
to start learning Welsh, all of two years ago | :25:24. | :25:26. | |
These award winning Welsh folk singers worry that the approach | :25:27. | :25:35. | |
Sing your song that happens to be in Welsh. | :25:36. | :25:42. | |
If you start thinking in, and keeping everything safe | :25:43. | :25:50. | |
and Welsh, that's the problem we're going to suffer as a Welsh nation. | :25:51. | :25:57. | |
So collaboration, not isolation, is their vision for the future | :25:58. | :26:00. | |
And a festival which wants to be seen as an open house, | :26:01. | :26:05. | |
Will Gompertz, BBC News, Abergavenny. | :26:06. | :26:12. | |
That's all from us. Now it's time for the news where you are. | :26:13. | :26:16. |