Literary figures from Wales and from various other countries have criticised the Llangollen International Eisteddfod after it announced that it would change their motto for fears it could be misinterpreted. In a letter sent to the Eisteddfod and the Western Mail, 85 signatories asked the cultural festival to postpone any further action in replacing the "byd gwyn" part of their motto.
Their motto "byd gwyn" comes from the first part of a verse composed by Welsh language poet, T. Gwynn Jones. In the verse, the "byd gwyn" refers to "blessed world" but the literal translation in English is "white world". In the middle of March, the event was considering changing the motto to "reflect the world we live in now".
The festival's executive producer, Camilla King, said that during a recent review, feedback from Welsh and non-Welsh speakers found that they had spotted the potential translation confusion with "byd gwyn", and according to the executive producer it was "too great to be ignored".
