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European Pipe Band Championships event in Inverness cancelled for 2021


By Andrew Dixon

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The European Pipe Band Championships took place in Bught Park, Inverness in June 2019.
The European Pipe Band Championships took place in Bught Park, Inverness in June 2019.

The organisers of Piping Inverness, which incorporates the European Pipe Band Championships, has cancelled this year’s event.

The Championships were scheduled to take place on June 26, but with uncertainty around Covid-19 restrictions and following the latest Scottish Government guidance, the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA), in partnership with event organiser LCC Live, has cancelled the annual event.

This is the second year that Piping Inverness and the European Pipe Band Championships has not taken place due to coronavirus. The event, which was scheduled to be hosted in Inverness’s Bught Park, attracted more than 17,500 visitors and more than 100 pipe bands from around the world when it last took place in the city in 2019.

Ian Embelton, chief executive of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, said: “In response to the current coronavirus outbreak, and after careful consideration and discussions with LCC Live, we have made the decision to cancel.

“Our decision is based on the latest guidance from the Scottish Government, as well as advice taken from our key partners.”

LCC Live first hosted Piping Inverness in 2019 as part of a three-year agreement with the RSPBA. This year’s championships would have been the third and final year of that deal, and it is hoped that LCC Live will be able to extend its contract for a further two years. Talks have started with the RSPBA, and LCC Live will be reaching out to other key delivery partners, such as Highland Council and High Life Highland, in the hope the event can return to Inverness.

LCC Live director Les Kidger said: “We’re so disappointed that Piping Inverness won’t be taking place this year. Events like this take a considerable amount of time to organise.

“We are talking to the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association about the possibility of extending our delivery contract into 2022 and 2023, as we’d love to welcome the European Pipe Band Championships back to Inverness. The event in 2019 was terrific and brought many thousands of people to the local area and had a huge economic impact on Inverness and the Highlands.”


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