The Gathering 2014 – Not repeating the financial failure of the 2009

[cessna152towser]

It has been announced that Scotland's 2014 Homecoming Year is to receive Scottish Government funding of up to £3 million.
You will recall that the 2009 Edinburgh Gathering went bust leaving performers and those who set up and dismantled the marquees etc. unpaid, despite the organisers receiving £670,000 of taxpayers' money.
However the benefit to the overall economy far outweighed the cost of staging the 2009 Homecoming Year and specifically the Edinburgh Gathering generated a £10 million boost.
Let us hope that with more public cash going in this time there will be sufficient money available to pay the workers and performers who make the Gathering possible for us all to enjoy.
2014 should be a great year to visit Scotland with the Commonwealth Games happening in Glasgow, also the golf Ryder Cup coming to Scotland, the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Hornshole and the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...itics-17272150

A budget of £3m will be made available for Scotland's second Homecoming extravaganza in two years time.

The 2014 event will take place in the year of the Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup, and the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn.

The first Homecoming in 2009 was said to have generated £53.7m for the Scottish economy.

But the showpiece of that event, The Gathering 2009 Ltd, went bust after receiving £670,500 in taxpayers' cash.

The government said it was right to plough in public money because the Edinburgh clan gathering resulted in a £10m business boost.

[Chas]

Hi Alex,

Do we know any details yet?

Will there be a Gathering in Edinburgh like 2009. I heard that some other City had bought the rights to hold it (Dundee?).

Regards

Chas

[cessna152towser]

Will there be a Gathering in Edinburgh like 2009. I heard that some other City had bought the rights to hold it (Dundee?).

Stirling bought the rights to The Gathering.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile...ow-up.16472713

THE Tory peer behind a failed clan celebration that left businesses and the taxpayer out of pocket has been trying to secure more public money for a follow-up event.

Lord Sempill said he was looking for a consultancy fee from Stirling Council if he advised the body on a second Gathering in 2014, despite the first event in Edinburgh leaving a trail of debts in its wake.

The Gathering 2009, run by Lord Sempill's firm, was a Homecoming event with Highland Games, a meeting of the clans and a pageant. It received around £670,000 of public money, which included funding from City of Edinburgh Council and a £180,000 loan from the Scottish Government.

However, it suffered large losses and Lord Sempill's firm was unable to repay the loan. In the end, the liquidator's list of creditors stood at £726,000.

There was an Audit Scotland investigation and a parliamentary inquiry.

It has since emerged that Stirling Council has had early-stage discussions about hosting another Gathering in two years.

The council bought the intellectual property rights and last year met Lord Sempill, who shared his experiences.

Documents released under freedom of information legislation show Lord Sempill met council Lord Provost Fergus Wood in October.

After the meeting, Lord Sempill repeated his desire to help organise a second Gathering in an email to Mr Wood: "I wish to take this opportunity to reaffirm my interest in helping you to attract the international clan community and to provide whatever assistance you may need in putting the event together."

He added: "I would be looking for a consultancy fee to provide my services."

After Lord Sempill announced the possibility of a second Gathering in a bulletin, a senior council official emailed him: "Can I ask you to be cautious about what you say and the degree of certainty that you appear to give to anything.

"Can I also ask that you be careful that you don't 'steal the thunder' of any press announcement we might want to do as part of a PR and marketing campaign for any Gathering 2014?"

Labour MSP Sarah Boyack said businesses in Edinburgh who lost money and staff "will be furious that a repeat of the fiasco was even on the cards".

A spokesman for Stirling Council said: "Lord Sempill asked to see us in order to share some of his thoughts. We agreed to meet him to listen, but beyond that have given no commitment to working with him or anyone else at this stage."

Lord Sempill could not be reached.

[Thomas H]

Off topic but (money ) Do you think that the http://www.london2012.com/

this year will help the econumy in Scottland any ? I hope so

[cessna152towser]

How long has this "Homecoming" thing been going on?

As far as I know, the Year of the Homecoming 2009 was initially intended as a one off but proved so successful that there was a desire to repeat it in 2014.

Off topic but (money ) Do you think that the http://www.london2012.com/

this year will help the econumy in Scottland any ? I hope so

The London Olympics are perceived here in Scotland as very much an English event. The organisers obviously see it this way as the Olympic Torch only makes a brief cursory visit to Scotland and does not even call to visit us here in Hawick despite this being an important tourist destination as the main gateway town of the Scottish Borders, Scotland's Heritage Capital and the Home of Scottish Knitwear. However I would expect that the London Olympics would indirectly benefit Scottish tourism as many people who would visit London from overseas for the Olympics would take the opportunity to also visit Scotland.

[Chas]

Is there anything to stop Edinburgh hosting a gathering called "The Edinburgh Gathering 2014"? Or was that precluded in the sale?

Regards

Chas

[cessna152towser]

Is there anything to stop Edinburgh hosting a gathering called "The Edinburgh Gathering 2014"? Or was that precluded in the sale?

Now that would be an interesting legal battle if they tried to hold one

http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/...12-rights.html

War of words rumbles on as Gathering rights sold for £6k
Ian Swanson and Michael Blackley - Edinburgh Evening News - 11th March 2011
The rights to The Gathering which were once valued at £100,000 have been sold off for just £6000 – to Stirling.
The value of the clan event has plummeted amid the controversy which has seen more than 100 small businesses left out of pocket and city leaders facing a vote of no confidence.
Despite the collapse of the firm behind it, the two-day event resulted in an £8.8 million boost for the Capital's economy, and the decision to sell it off means the Capital will not be able to stage it again. Insiders today said Edinburgh had lost something of "immense" value.

[creagdhubh]

Stirling bought the rights to The Gathering.

The closer it is to the Highlands, the better it will be in my opinion.

Slainte,

[McClef]

Sempill should be kept well away from this new event - his advice is more than worthless.

[Chas]

I don't know that the proximity to the Highlands should be the criteria.

Stirling had a population of under 34,000 in 2008. Personally, I don't think that is enough to support an international event of this kind. The two towns closest to me are Bury St Edmunds and Kings Lynn, which both have populations in excess of Stirling.

Both would struggle to mount an event such as this. Neither has the capacity to house or feed the influx of tourists. As Edinburgh is only 44 miles away, most people would probably stay there anyway.

Regards

Chas