Press release -
Homing in on 2014
Over £1.3million in funding has been assigned to Scottish communities to stage a huge celebration of Scotland for Homecoming 2014.
Specific funding amounts were today confirmed for more than 25 significant Homecoming events across the country with many more lined up to benefit in the next couple of months.
Hundreds of events are also taking advantage of marketing in kind by aligning themselves with Homecoming 2014 through the Partner Programme which is still open for entries.
Large-scale signature events include a Hogmanay extravaganza (£400K) in locations across Scotland, the Edinburgh Art Festival (£25K), Whisky Month (£100K) and the Forth Bridges Festival (£50K).
Events spread from Dumfries to Orkney and Aberdeen to the Borders, celebrating a diverse mix of Scottish culture through Homecoming’s five themes - active, ancestry, creative, food and drink and natural.
Regional highlights from the funded programme include the Findhorn Bay Arts Festival in Moray (£35K), the Inverness Highland Meeting (£20K), the Dunfermline Bruce Festival (£30K), Return to the Ridings (£37K) in the Scottish Borders, and Bring it all Home (£35K) based in Renfrewshire.
The events fund of £3m will provide a stunning all-year-round programme of activity to complement the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games and it will be backed by a £1.75m marketing campaign by VisitScotland which will promote Homecoming 2014 at home and abroad.
Further events have been confirmed as part of the funded Homecoming 2014 programme. Details of the level of funding each event will receive will be released later in the year.
Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland, said:
“Homecoming put simply is a time to celebrate our home - Scotland. Whether you’re from Tyndrum or Toronto, Melrose or Melbourne, Skye or Skegness, we’re inviting everyone to embrace Scottish culture, heritage, landscapes and cuisine through this inspirational year-long programme of activity.
“There are a lot of new events on the programme, but a big part of the activity involves existing events which have been expanded to include an exciting Homecoming element. This is important to ensure there is a legacy from Homecoming 2014 and that communities benefit directly from the activity for years to come.
“As we prepare to welcome the world in 2014, it’s time to make Scotland shine and I have no doubt that every single region involved with Homecoming through our funding or partner programme will make this happen.”
VisitScotland and EventScotland are working in partnership with the Scottish Government to deliver Homecoming 2014 - an opportunity for communities nationally and internationally to explore Scotland and celebrate the very best of Scottish culture.
The Homecoming 2014 Partner Programme is still open for events to enter. All Partners will benefit from the spin-off promotion of being part of a £1.75 million marketing campaign, in addition to VisitScotland’s wider Homecoming Scotland promotional activity.
To sign up, visit www.eventscotland.org/partner_programme for more information or email info@homecomingscotland.com
List of
Homecoming 2014 funded events as at 20 June 2013 - size 133kb.
More partner events will be added during 2013 and 2014.
Up-to-date Homecoming information can be found at www.homecomingscotland.com
Images are available; please contact the Press Office for more details.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Kate Turnbull, Corporate Press Manager
Tel: 0131 472 2324 / 07854401040
Topics
- Events
Categories
- corporate communications
Regions
- Scotland
Notes to Editors:
- Follow us on twitter: @visitscotnews
- VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland.
- The organisation has three key roles:
- To market Scotland to all parts of the world to attract visitors
- To provide information – and inspiration – to visitors and potential visitors so they get the best out of a visit to Scotland
- To provide quality assurance to visitors and quality advice to the industry and partners to help the industry meet and strive to exceed customer expectations
- VisitScotland works together with tourism businesses to make tourism a success for everyone and ensure the industry continues to grow.
- The organisation employs 700 people and has offices and VisitScotland Information Centres across Scotland.
- 2014 is the year Scotland welcomes the world, when it hosts the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and more than 800 Homecoming events throughout the country.For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2014, go to www.visitscotland.com
- The VisitScotland Information Centre network is a unique face-to-face channel engaging with around five million visitors and locals each year. Everyone who uses a VisitScotland Information Centre goes on to spend an additional £5.35, generating over £24 million for Scotland’s economy.
- According to a recent Deloitte study, tourism employs 270,000 people in Scotland in 20,000 diverse businesses. The same study calculates that the industry contributes £11 billion annually (direct and indirect impact, including day visits) and supports around 10 per cent of employment in Scotland. Almost 16 million tourists take overnight trips to Scotland.
- For VisitScotland’s press releases go to http://www.visitscotland.org/media_centre.aspx, tourism statistics and frequently asked questions go to http://www.visitscotland.org/
- Where possible, a Gaelic speaker will be made available for broadcast interviews on request (Far an tèid iarraidh, agus far am bheil sin nar comas, bruidhinnidh neach le Gàidhlig aig agallamh)
- For holiday information on Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com
- For information about business tourism in Scotland go to www.conventionscotland.com
- For more information on VisitScotland’s annual review please go to www.visitscotland.org/about_us/our_focus/annual_report.aspx
