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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Cathy Owen

Calls for Wales to be referred to as Cymru on the international stage

Wales should be called Cymru on the world stage, according to Plaid Cymru. They made the call during a debate on bringing more national events to Wales.

The party's South Wales West MS Luke Fletcher told the debate that had been called by the Welsh Conservatives: "The Cymru brand can and will bring a form of sustainable heritage tourism to Wales."

He added that Wales' culture and language is a "powerful selling point, and one that we can't underestimate".

Read more: People think the Telegraph's take on Welsh language signs is 'nonsense'

"That is our advantage, our hook, unique to this corner of the world - the story of the land of our fathers, a taste of which has been given via the world cup, and should happen with every global event where Wales is present," he added.

"Putting our identity as a country front and centre is how we succeed in promoting Wales, and putting more of a focus on this to promote the Cymru brand can and will bring a form of sustainable heritage tourism to Wales, as it has for other places, like Scotland and like Ireland."

The Welsh Conservatives proposed a motion that "major events help to boost jobs and the economy by showcasing Wales to the world" but accused the Welsh Government of having a "lack of ambition" in bringing such opportunities.

They called for a rethink strategy with a "focus on aspiration, creativity and innovation in attracting major events to Wales".

Conservative MS Paul Davies said: "We on this side of the Chamber believe that the Welsh government should rethink its major events strategy and ensure that there is much more on the cultural significance of major events."

As well as calling for the use of Cymru rather than Wales internationally, Plaid Cymru's amendment called on the Welsh government "to ensure that Wales's culture, heritage and the Welsh language are further embedded in the strategy, including major homegrown events such as the National Eisteddfod".

The Football Association consistently uses the term Cymru as part of their strategy to put football right at the centre of Welsh psyche and culture. Read more about that strategy here.

In 2017, the association's head of content and engagement, Rob Dowling, said a "conscious decision was made to use Cymru instead of Wales, which was a natural progression".

He added: "We had some complaints, but we felt we needed to be confident in using it. Most people across the UK understand the word. Now fans sometimes chant Cymru not Wales, especially when we play in Llanelli."

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