For anything translated, you'd use the (admittedly gross, fixed in Python3) "Welcome %(who)s to %(place)s" % { 'who': who, 'place': place }. The Python3 version is "Welcome {who} to {place}".format(place=place, who=who), or if you want to be un-idiomatic and unsafe, "Welcome {who} to {place}".format(locals())