FIGURES in green, white and blue gathered around the stone circle to mark the opening meeting of the Gorsedd at the Eisteddfod.

After a fanfare and a prayer, Arch Druid Doctor Robyn Lewis gave an opening speech before welcoming a handful of new members into the Gorsedd - the Celtic bardic body - as the colourful convening of Gorsedd of the Bards ceremony.

Traffic was brought to a standstill after a miner crash on the M4 at junction 28.

Elsewhere on the site Welsh Secretary Peter Hain MP was looking at some of the many stalls.

He said "It's fantastic. Newport has given the Eisteddfod a really big welcome.

"Organisers are encouraged by the number of local people who have come in over the weekend. You don't need to speak Welsh to enjoy it. I am very pleased to see that it's not dry here any more. I'll definitely be having a beer at lunchtime. Selling alcohol is a more modern approach and it helps generate income on the site."

Gwent dancers entertained the audience with a dazzling display of modern dance.

Firstly, students from Coleg Gwent who are studying a course in pre-professional dance gave a show called You, Me and No Stopwatch. Dancer Alyssa Boucher, 18, of Ebbw Vale said: "It's brilliant to be here and we really enjoyed the performance. It's great that other people can see our work. I've never been to an Eisteddfod before and it's got a very traditional but nice atmosphere."

Co-dancer Leanne Pike, 19, of Newport said "The dance is based on a big photo of the sea and is about timelessness."

Their performance was followed by a set from Blaenau Gwent Youth Dance. Sue Lewis, director of Blaenau Gwent Youth Dance, said: "The dancers did very well indeed. It is very prestigious to be able to perform here. They are all aged between 16 and 22 and hope to go on to become professional dancers."

There were long queues as cars clogged up Junction 28 trying to get to the Eisteddfod.

Sergeant Jeff Smith is part of a team based on the site. He said: "We had no problems at all apart from with the traffic. Congestion was caused by people coming from the Cardiff direction going to Junction 28 instead of down through St Mellons."

Mark Joseph, service manager with the Red Cross, said the only incidents of the day had been several wasp stings. He added "People should be aware of the strong sun and also to remember to take any medication they use regularly with them if they are going to be out all day." The Newport Eisteddfod has been a storming success so far.

It has broken the weekend visitor gate of the past two years. Some 31,321 people visited the site on Saturday and Sunday compared with around 29,000 at Meifod last year and around 25,000 at St David's the year before.