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Plenary, 18 Jun 2009

18 Jun 2009 · S3 · Plenary

Item of business

Scotland's Festivals

Gibson, Rob SNP Highlands and Islands Watch on SPTV

Our opportunity to debate festivals and their success in Scotland is a valuable contribution as we look towards the future, celebrating place and aspects of human activity and the life of our communities.

I suppose that the Edinburgh festivals represent the epitome of festivals, given their size and complexity. That brings me to my first point, which is that festivals and culture need to be celebrated more in our media. We talk about people's right to see particular international football matches on terrestrial television, but I believe that some of our cultural phenomena ought to be available to us as well, and not in the middle of the night. I hope that the Government will take up the free-to-air issue with the UK Government. Parts of the Edinburgh festivals, Celtic Connections and so on deserve to be shown for more than half an hour late in the evening.

The celebration of various parts of the country is epitomised by the fact that people like to have a good time. I suspect that we have developed festivals that try to make things better for us in a harsh climate. I hope that the climate will not be too harsh the weekend after next in Wick, where HarbourFest has been resurrected. It was started in 1937 and has taken place occasionally since then. It raises the aspirations of Wick folk for the importance of the historic harbour and its future. It was such a fantastic celebration two years ago that it was decided to try to make it a regular event. Indeed, it is hoped that, eventually, sailing ships and others will join us in the north and use the string of marinas that has opened up, and that HarbourFest will be a part of that.

I want to talk about some other aspects of the way in which festivals are affected. Recently, I was involved in trying to get publicity and access to this country for a Canadian musician called Allison Crowe. We have problems with the UK Border Agency, which demands particular certificates of sponsorship and so on. That is extremely draconian, particularly for small festivals. The Edinburgh international festival might have exemptions, but it is important that we go back to the new Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, and ask him to change the laws for artists, because the rules cut down the opportunities to get a variety of people from around the world to take part.

Thinking about festivals, we need to plan ahead. In a recent motion, I proposed:

"That the Parliament recalls the birth of Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham on 24 May 1852"

and celebrates the 160th anniversary of his birth in 2012. I look to the Government to help us to think how best to celebrate that amazing, multitalented Scot. Thinking along similar lines—Cunnighame Graham was a man who spoke at Bannockburn— we should consider the current state of the Bannockburn experience, over which the National Trust for Scotland has control. It will be a sin if we do not have world-class facilities there to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the battle of Bannockburn in 2014. The planning for that must start now.

This afternoon's debate on festivals is an opportunity to consider how we measure their success. VisitScotland tells us that its perfect day campaign had a public relations value of £2 million.

Part of the problem is that we need to standardise things. In a recent Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee meeting, it was pointed out that patterns of activity in the years before and after festivals need to be considered before differences can be measured. Measuring the success of the year of homecoming will be difficult because of that. Nevertheless, the small investment in the year of homecoming has been welcomed throughout the country. I see that at festival after festival, some of which I have taken part in.

I want to mention a couple of those festivals and to look forward again. The local authorities that control the 96 or so inhabited islands in Scotland are planning a festival of island cultures in 2011. That is a natural follow-on from the year of homecoming. I hope that the whole Parliament and all the parties can get behind celebrating that particular aspect of our lives, and that we ensure that we invest in that festival to give islands their place in the future.

I get the chance to go to many festivals, and I was an organiser for a traditional music festival in Dingwall for 20 years, so I know quite a lot about how festivals are run and how tight money is. If people in particular areas want to celebrate, it is up to them to make the most of what is available and ensure that they take part in festivals. It is a great joy to me that Hands Up for Trad will host an awards event in Dumfries at the end of the year of homecoming. That event is now a celebration of all traditional culture and the festivals that take place throughout the year. It is one of the best things that can happen and is a great way to close the year of culture.

I hope that we not only continue to celebrate, but consider what has worked and what should work in the future, and that we plan well for the festivals that celebrate our life in Scotland.

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Plenary, 18 Jun 2009

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