SOME of Gaeldom’s finest singers and musicians will showcase the Outer Hebrides to a worldwide audience when Scotland’s HebCelt takes centre stage at a prestigious Celtic music festival in France.

HebCelt, or the Hebridean Celtic Festival is an international event which takes place annually in Stornoway on Lewis in July, and headliners to date include Runrig, Van Morrison, The Levellers and KT Tunstall.

The islands’ language, culture and heritage will play a leading role when Scotland is celebrated at the annual Interceltique de Lorient in Brittany during 10 days of events being held from August 4 to 14.

Scotland is this year’s Country of Focus at the gathering, the largest Celtic festival in Europe, and a team from the award-winning HebCelt is organising the opening concert on August 5, which will kickstart a number of events featuring Scottish artists throughout the 10 days.

Details of HebCelt’s role were announced yesterday at an event in Paris attended by Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop.

Hyslop said it provides a huge opportunity to promote the annual festival, which is being held this year from July 19-22, and boost cultural tourism to the Hebrides.

More than 900,000 visitors and spectators attend the Lorient festival, when Brittany welcomes other Celtic nations and regions including Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Man, Galicia, Asturias, USA, Canada and Australia, generating about £30 million for the economy.

HebCelt director Caroline Maclennan said: “It is a fantastic honour for HebCelt to be given such a prominent role in this prestigious international festival. The Lorient event is a huge celebration of Celtic music and culture and we are really excited to be part of it and to be able to share our own traditions and heritage on this stage.”

HebCelt was invited to take part and curate the opening Country of Focus show by Showcase Scotland Expo, which promotes Scottish-based artists in folk, Gaelic, traditional, world and acoustic music to overseas music events. The show has a strong Gaelic focus and will feature a number of artists taking part in this year’s HebCelt.

Lisa Whytock, director of Active Events, which produces and manages Showcase Scotland Expo, said: “As part of our focus we are really keen to showcase the best in Scotland and to highlight the brilliance of not only our artists, but our festivals.

“HebCelt is a festival that celebrates Gaelic language and culture, the traditions of Scottish music and heritage, as well as contemporary music and the 21st century.

“It is a very real celebration of modern Scotland and the mix of music that is listened to today. It is held on one of the most beautiful islands in the world, and we were keen to highlight its scale and position in the Scottish festival calendar.”

The show will include an excerpt from Hebrides – Islands On The Edge, a beautifully shot documentary of the Hebrides, with music composed by Capercaillie’s Donald Shaw.