A PIPING event brought in nearly £2 million to Glasgow’s economy this summer, a report has revealed.
Glasgow International Piping Festival, also known as Piping Live!, attracted 31,000 music fans to the city from August 13-19.
An economic impact report by the Tourism Resources Company showed 75% of the guests were from outside Glasgow, while a third (32%) came from outside of Scotland.
Councillor David McDonald, chair of Glasgow Life, welcomed the report.
He said: “These results from Piping Live! demonstrate once again how popular this festival continues to be and the role it plays in bringing visitors to Glasgow during the summer.
“Piping Live! is part of the diverse musical life of Glasgow and a keenly anticipated summer festival which makes brilliant use of a whole range of indoor and outdoor venues across the city. It’s is always a joy to experience performances as part of Piping Live! and to see so many different nations represented.”
The festival, which is in its 15th year, saw trad heavyweights like Breabach, Ross Ainslie and Finlay MacDonald top the bill.
Crowds flocked from the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Oman to see traditional Scots musicians perform at over 150 venues throughout Glasgow.
The average overseas visitor ended up staying in Glasgow for 5.6 days and in Scotland for 10.4 days – spending approximately £100 each day.
Roddy MacLeod, Piping Live! festival organiser, was pleased with the festival’s impact upon the city and Scotland in general.
He said: “This year, Glasgow enjoyed a tremendously busy summer and Piping Live! was certainly a huge part of this. We attract incredible crowds, top calibre acts and incredible trad talent to the city and 2018 was no different.
“Traditional music has a worldwide fanbase and this report reflects an audience that’s always growing.
“We’re going into our 16th year stronger than ever, continuing to boost tourism in Scotland, as well as Glasgow, and having a lot of fun as we do so.”
He added: “We look forward to welcoming even more guests to our city in August 2019.”
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