Westfield Stratford appears to have upset The Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) with its clumsy translation. The shopping centre, near the London 2012 Olympic park, had hung banners welcoming visitors from across the globe in numerous languages. Unfortunately, the resulting welcome to Arabic visitors was almost incomprehensible due to the fact the letters had been written back to front and were not joined up.
In response to the mishap, a spokesperson for Westfield said, "Westfield sincerely apologises for the incorrect printing of the welcome material. The welcome material is currently being reprinted and will be replaced as soon as possible."
Caabu’s director, Chris Doyle, responded, "We must start to wonder just how many other Arabic signs printed for the Olympics are nonsensical. It beggars belief they cannot even write 'welcome' in Arabic. What will our Olympic guests be thinking? It is cringe worthy."
He also advised that Arabic posters should be checked by a speaker of the language in the future.
