FUNDRAISERS for the Ebbw Vale National Eisteddfod next year have only raised £14,500 towards their target of £300,000.

Since fundraising began for the week-long festival in May, organisers are less than five per cent towards their target.

The money needs to be raised by the time the National Eisteddfod comes to Ebbw Vale on July 31 next year.

Committees have been set Brynmawr, Abergavenny, Newbridge and Newport to help raise money.

The festival, held in the first week of August, attracts more than 160,000 visitors, costs around £3 million to stage and brings between £6-8 million to the local economy.

This year's event in Bala made a profit of around £100,000.

The Eisteddfod gets funding from the Assembly, through the Welsh Language Board, as well as money from local councils across Wales through its partnership with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), TV deals, sponsorship, trade stands and ticket sales.

This year, local people in the Bala area raised £296,000 towards the cost of the festival, with ticket sales bringing in £720,000.

Chairman of the Eisteddfod executive committee for Blaenau Gwent, Richard Davies, said he wasn't concerned by the figure and felt the area lacked the experience of its North Wales counterparts, but couldn't say if the slow start was linked to the recession.

He said: "We need to make sure everybody in Blaenau Gwent knows they can help, people in Bala had it in 1997 and were aware of what needed to be done, they had experienced people in place - what we're lacking is that kind of experience. We've got four or five appeal committees where Bala had dozens."

Thousands of visitors are expected to come to the area for the week-long event, which will be held at The Works.

In March, the Assembly pledged up to £300,000 to the event, so should fundraisers fall short of their target, the difference will be made up using Heads of the Valleys funding.

The programme is a £140m scheme working in partnership with councils to fund small and large scale projects throughout the regions.

* Anyone interested in volunteering, fundraising or donating prizes can call the Eisteddfod office on 0845 122 2003.