EARLY bird tickets are available for an event serving as the ideal warm-up to the SNP conference.

The conference will return in person on October 8 – and on October 7, The National will be putting on a show alongside the Aberdeen Independence Movement (AIM) at the pre-conference Big Night Out.

The event in recent years has put a focus on discussion, speeches, music and comedy, but the evening of Friday, October 7 will see the in-person event come back bigger and better.

The event will take place in Aberdeen city centre venue the Park Inn, and run from 7pm till 10pm.

The organisers want to bring what they have learned from digital events into the in-person live format.

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AIM organiser Alan Petrie said: “We have always attempted to innovate with the format of our events, and this one will be no different. Virtual events meant shorter content slots rather than long-format content.

“Previously, we might have had a panel that lasted most of the event, and now we will have speeches, panel discussions and an interview-style format across the evening.

“The night has become a fixture in the conference calendar. It’s always been a space to catch up before the next few days of conference full of heavy politics. It’s going to be a great evening.”

The keynote speaker of the night will be well-known political activist and lawyer, Aamer Anwar. Steven Flynn MP for Aberdeen South will deliver the ‘Welcome to Aberdeen’ speech and will be followed by, Hannah Bardell MP, Christina McKelvie MP, Karen Adam MSP, Maggie Chapman MSP, Keith Brown MSP, Councillor Roza Salih, and many more.

The National: Lawyer Aamer Anwar photographed at the top of the Mackintosh Tower, at the Lighthouse looking out over Glasgow. Mitchell Lane, Glasgow.
Aamer is writing a piece for the Sunday Herald about radicalisation from a scottish perspective.
13/3/15
(Photo by Kirs

The National will have a special section in our October 7 newspaper to accompany the event.

Our deputy editor Stewart Ward said: “This night will be a great chance for people to catch up ahead of the SNP conference – and, crucially, to get some debate going.

“We’ve just recently sent up 100,000 special-edition papers to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire with a tailor-made case for Yes, building on our work with Manniefest, so let’s keep the momentum going.”

You can grab a half-price early bird tickets HERE.