Piping At Forres has won its bid to the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association to extend its current 3 year run to host the European Pipe Band Championships in the historic Moray town of Forres until 2018.
The family friendly event, brought to the town by Forres Events Ltd, a not for profit company run by a small group of business men and women in the town, was first held in 2013 under a 3 year deal to host the championships. It has been a phenomenal success, and in early February the organisers put in a bid for a further 3 years, which was accepted by the RSPBA this week.
Chairman of Forres Events Ltd Ian Widdowson said: “When we first looked at the idea of hosting the championships we had no idea that they would be such an incredible success. The figures speak for themselves, £1million incremental spend in the local area, creating a benefit worth the equivalent of 20 full time jobs. The success of the event is based on a lot of hard work from a large number of volunteers and the support of the community and it is gratifying that their effort not only makes Piping At Forres a great day out for thousands of people but translates into significant economic benefit for Forres and the local area. We are delighted that we have been given the opportunity to continue to bring this kind of economic boost to the area for another three years!”
Ian Embelton, President of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association said, of the European Championships: “The board of directors was unanimous in awarding them to Forres Events Ltd again. I look forward to being in Forres for the long term and am delighted to be continuing our relationship with the team”.
Margery McLennan, Chair of the Tourism and Culture committee of the Moray Economic Partnership said: “The Forres Events Ltd team should be justifiably proud of all they have achieved in bringing this fantastic event to Forres and in securing it until 2018. Piping At Forres is now an established part of Moray Speyside’s calendar of events, providing a great family day out and bringing significant economic benefit to the area.”
Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer of Event Scotland commented that: “The European Pipe Band Championships ‐ Piping At Forres ‐ has developed over the past two years as a standout event in the north-east of Scotland. It has demonstrated fantastic event delivery and an ability to draw a significant number of spectators and Pipe Bands, all showing high levels of satisfaction and engagement with the event.”
This year Piping At Forres will be held on Saturday 27 June in Grant Park and the organisers are seeking stallholders and sponsors, who are crucial to the success of the event. Tickets will go on sale on 2 April. For further information see the website www.pipingatforres.com