English: Well, I do think it's something that's different wherever you may be. I think there are some festivals that have survived - that is true of Sesiwn Fawr. In our case, we started in 1992, and we grew very quickly as a free festival. And we'd hit upon something that was very successful. Now, during the foot-and-mouth crisis, we had to move location for a number of reasons, and the festival became a festival where we could charge for entry for the first time. Again, we were successful for a period; there were ups and downs, but we also made large losses, and we ceased to exist for a few years. And then, we rediscovered ourselves and re-established ourselves as a more community-based festival, and now, we've been working with this model for almost 10 years, and have been successful and going from strength to strength. And I do think that that is something that is true of many festivals, particularly in the Welsh-medium sector. There are major successful festivals that have ceased to exist overnight, and usually, it's a financial reason that's led to that, and I think that there is a lesson that we have learned, and that is that scale doesn't necessarily mean quality. Because when it gets over a certain level and becomes a very large festival, then the profit and loss margin can be huge. And we have now come up with a model that works for us in an area that doesn't have a large population. We can attract audiences from across Wales and outside Wales, and I hope we have a good reputation for providing entertainment of the very highest quality. But we have been able to survive because there are people who are dumb enough, such as me, who are willing to put this effort in. It would have been very easy for us to walk away and say, 'No, enough is enough'. Generally speaking, I think there are fewer festivals in Wales now than there were some years ago. Certainly, in the Welsh language sector, the pattern is that we see festivals running for three or four years, and then coming to an end, for various reasons. Occasionally, they are health and safety reasons; as festivals grow, then the requirements become greater and the costs increase as a result of that, but generally speaking, it's financial reasons that force these festivals to rethink or to change, or to give up entirely.
Welsh: Wel, dwi'n meddwl bod o'n rhywbeth sydd yn wahanol lle bynnag ewch chi, a dweud y gwir. Hynny yw, dwi'n meddwl bod rhai gwyliau wedi goroesi ac wedi parhau - mae hynny'n wir am y Sesiwn Fawr yn ein hanes ni. Mi gychwynnon ni yn 1992, gan dyfu'n sydyn fel gŵyl rhad ac am ddim i'r cyhoedd, ac mi oedden ni wedi taro ar rywbeth oedd yn llwyddiannus. Gorfodwyd i ni, yn ystod y cyfnod traed a'r genau os dwi'n cofio'n iawn, symud o'r lleoliad am amrywiol resymau, ac mi ddaru'r ŵyl droi'n ŵyl lle oedden ni'n gallu codi tocyn am y tro cyntaf - codi pris. Eto, mi fuom ni'n llwyddiannus am gyfnod, i fyny ac i lawr, ond mi ddaru ni hefyd gwneud colledion mawr a gorfod peidio bodoli am ryw flwyddyn neu ddwy. Wedyn, mi ddaru ni ailddarganfod ein hunain ac ailsefydlu'n hunain fel gŵyl mwy cymunedol, a bellach, dŷn ni'n bod efo'r model yma ers bron i ddeng mlynedd, ac wedi bod yn bur lwyddiannus ac yn mynd o nerth i nerth. A dwi'n meddwl bod hynny'n rhywbeth sy'n adlewyrchu nifer o wyliau. Yn sicr, yn y sector Gymraeg, mae yna wyliau mawr llwyddiannus wedi darfod a gorffen dros nos, ac fel arfer, am reswm ariannol ydy o. A dwi'n meddwl bod yna wers rydym ni wedi'i dysgu, yn sicr, sef nad ydy mawr ddim bob tro yn golygu da. Achos yn sicr, pan mae rhywun yn mynd tros y trothwy i fod yn ŵyl fawr iawn, yna mae'r profit and loss margin yn gallu bod yn anferthol. Ac mi ydyn ni bellach wedi dyfeisio model sydd yn gweithio i ni mewn ardal sydd ddim efo poblogaeth fawr. Rydyn ni'n medru denu cynulleidfaoedd ar draws Cymru a thu hwnt, ac mae gennym ni, dwi'n gobeithio, enw da am gynnig adloniant o safon uchel, ond dydy hynny ddim - . Hynny yw, dŷn ni wedi gallu goroesi, efallai, am nad oes creaduriaid digon gwirion yr un fath â fi sydd yn fodlon ymlafnio i wneud yn siŵr bod y peth yn goroesi. Mi fyddai fo wedi bod yn hawdd i ninnau gerdded i ffwrdd a dweud, 'Digon yw digon'. Yn gyffredinol, dwi'n meddwl bod yna lai o wyliau yng Nghymru rŵan nag a fu rai blynyddoedd yn ôl. Yn sicr, yn y Gymru Gymraeg, felly, y patrwm ydy ein bod ni'n gweld gwyliau'n mynd, efallai, am ryw dair, bedair blynedd, ac wedyn yn gorffen, am amrywiol resymau. Weithiau, mae yna resymau iechyd a diogelwch; wrth i'r ŵyl fynd yn fwy, mae'r gofynion yn mynd yn fwy, ac wrth reswm, mae'r costau yn mynd yn fwy yn sgil hynny. Ond fel rheol, rhesymau ariannol sydd yn gorfodi'r gwyliau yma i ailfeddwl neu newid patrwm neu roi'r gorau iddi.