.cymru and .wales are open to all marking a historic moment for Wales on the internet

On 1st March 2015 – St David’s Day – .cymru and .wales domain names will be available to everyone, on a first come, first serve basis, putting Wales squarely on the digital map.

Ieuan Evans MBE, Chair of the .cymru and .wales Advisory Group and former Wales rugby captain has welcomed the release of the domains and said, “These domains are about taking our Welsh passion, pride and provenance to the online world and as a consequence we all now have an opportunity both within Wales and around the world to do exactly that.

“I’m thrilled to finally be able to use my own .cymru and .wales web addresses and know that anyone with a connection with Wales will want to do the same and join me in making the web more Welsh.”

There is a growing online Welsh population – over 95% of people under 44 years old use the internet*. .cymru and .wales are a part of the biggest shake-up in the world of domains with the introduction of thousands of new top-level domain names and with Wales becoming one of the few countries to have two domain names. We’ve developed a unique approach    especially for these domains, both .cymru and .wales will be bilingual and allow the registration of names with the diacritic marks used in the Welsh language.

The domain names have been on limited availability since September 2014 but from today, anyone who wants to show off their national pride and Welsh identity will be able to choose and buy their perfect website or email address through their domain provider. New research shows significant interest in Wales’ home online, with 65% of those questioned saying that they would want to highlight their Welsh connections through a dedicated .cymru or .wales domain name if they were launching a new personal or business website**.

The Welsh Government, S4C and the Welsh Rugby Union are all marking St David’s Day by switching on their new .cymru and .wales websites today. Many of Wales’ leading businesses, brands and organisations are already backing the new domains including the National Assembly, the Millennium Stadium, Sport Wales, the Federation of Small Businesses Wales, the Scarlets rugby team and the Arts Council for Wales.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Interview opportunities:
When: Monday 2nd March 2015
Who: Ieuan Evans MBE, Chair of the .cymru .wales Advisory Group

Additional article information:

The new .cymru and .wales domain endings will be available to register from Sunday 1st March. For more information, please visit https://ourhomeonline.wales/

 

• *National Survey for Wales 2013-14, Welsh Government.
• ** Opinium Research commissioned by Nominet surveyed 1,003 Welsh adults between 5th February 2015 and 10th February 2015.

 

About Nominet

The .cymru and .wales project is run in Wales for the people of Wales with the technical and operational support of Nominet, who look after the well known.co.uk suffix. As a not-for-profit, Nominet is committed to playing a full part in promoting a strong digital economy, and the development of the internet in Wales. Nominet is responsible for the smooth and secure running of the .UK internet infrastructure, we have over 2,800 members and are committed to acting in the public interest. With the proceeds of our successful registry business, we set up and support the Nominet Trust, an independent charitable foundation focused on increasing access, safety and education on internet issues.