National Park undergoes official name change under decade-long sponsorship deal

Stephen Price

Eryri, formerly known as Snowdonia, will be renamed Evri from today in a ground-breaking multi-million pound naming rights deal for the beloved Welsh National Park.

Evri and Eryri National Park Authority announced the news today in a joint press conference which will see the  National Park in north Wales known by a different name since its official use of Eryri came into force in November 2022.

Nation.Cymru understands the 10-year deal could be worth up to £100m.

The timetable for the name change has been under wraps until today, but sources revealed to Nation.Cymru that the location will legally become Evri National Park ahead of the busy summer tourist season, but branding and usage will come into force from today.

The National Park and Evri, which both use the colour blue in their branding, describe the landmark move as a "perfect fit".

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Months of talks with potential sponsors

We understand the National Park has been close to striking deals for naming rights before, with AirBnB and Greggs amongst the interested parties, but the deal has been executed with Evri after 10 months of behind the scenes negotiations and was formally signed last Thursday.

Evri's sponsorship deal is a pivotal strategic move for the much-loved delivery company which is headquartered in Germany, with its branding set to enjoy a decade of attention on a global stage.

Evri National Park's Chief Executive Officer, Cerrig Sack said: “This is a landmark day for Welsh tourism and a celebration of our association with one of the UK's most beloved companies.

“This deal is the culmination of over 10 months of detailed negotiation, and the fit with Evri is one perfectly timed with the public still coming to terms with not using the name Snowdonia. A rewind and rethink.

"Despite our best efforts, Eryri hasn't quite caught on with our visitors or commenters on social media as much as we'd hoped, so it's the perfect opportunity to jump in there and strike a deal that will be of benefit to the entire nation."

Teasing potential name changes for other locations across the Park, Sack added: "The name Yr Wyddfa (the mountain formerly known as Snowdon) is still in use for the time being, but watch this space."

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"Money talks"

Yan Tan-Tethera, Head of Cultural Heritage at Evri said: “Whilst we were heartened that the Park initially wanted to use the Welsh name only when referring to Snowdonia, money talks.

"We were inspired by the momentous name change of the Millennium Stadium to the Principality Stadium back in 2015 and it was a case of now or never before Eryri potentially caught on.

“The success of the Principality Stadium is very encouraging, and gives us confidence that this change in the authority’s approach will encourage further investment into the local area through innovative ways such as this."

Cerrig, from the National Park, agreed, sharing: “The Park has historic names in both English and Welsh of course, but we are eager to consider the message we wish to convey about place names, and the role they have to play in our current cultural heritage by promoting a much-loved business which plays such a huge part in our lives - a familiar name that many of our visitors will know and love.

"Already we are discussing the best way to advertise Evri in keeping with nature across the busiest routes, and the long-overdue pay rise for the executive board, as well as improved staff parking, staff canteen and staff toilet facilities will provide a lasting legacy that only a commercial venture such as this could possibly achieve."

Nation.Cymru spoke to a local resident about the name-switch who asked to remain anonymous. The resident commented: "We've heard rumours for a while now so I'm not surprised.

"Someone said it might be Greggs making the deal and we'd have the highest one in England and Wales, so I was a bit sad that Evri clinched the deal, especially since there's no bloody V in the Welsh language."

While Adrian on Facebook said: "FFS is this a piss take?! It'll ALWAYS be Snowdonia to me!!!!"