Inverness Caley Thistle turn Caledonian Stadium blue in honour of the NHS and carers in coronavirus fight
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IT has provided stirring spectacle everywhere from remote Scottish castles to city centre landmarks like the London Eye.
Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, Wembley and Old Trafford have also been bathed in blue.
But Caley Thistle believe they have become the first Scottish football club to light up in tribute to courageous NHS staff and carers.
The Championship club arranged for two local companies to visit the Caledonian Stadium just before midnight on Wednesday.
With crystal clear skies over the Moray Firth, though, chief executive Scot Gardiner, sound and lighting professionals Standing Ovation and partners KBE Services had to wait another two hours into this morning before it was dark enough to shoot.
The lights were shone from the television tower inside the stadium, lending a breathtaking glow to the stands.
Mr Gardiner said: “Unbelievably, we had to wait until almost 2am for it to become properly dark, such is our northerly location and the clear quality of the light in the Highlands just now.
“Before then there was still a trace of sunset over the Black Isle. The end result, I think, looks pretty stunning.”
Caley Thistle are currently inactive with many staff furloughed during the Covid-19 crisis, with financial concerns in the medium term.
But Mr Gardiner added: “The company did it for us for nothing. I’d definitely use them in the future because I thought it was super-impressive.
“They’d done bridges and castles, but noticed nobody had yet done a football stadium.
“Two of the boys who came along were from Dingwall, but one of them was a Caley Thistle supporter and made sure his team were first in line!”
