The 2019 Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival generated over £2million (approximately US$2.67million for the city of Glasgow’s local economy, figures reveal.
The figures indicate a modest increase from last year’s event, which generated £1.9 million (approximately US$2.5million)
An economic impact report found that the 2019 event welcomed over 33,000 music fans to Glasgow – 75% of whom were from outside the city, with 24% travelling from overseas, including New Zealand, Malaysia, USA and Canada.
In addition, the figures show that the average overseas visitor to the festival stayed in Glasgow for 5.6 days, stayed in Scotland for 10.4 days and, in total, spent around £100 per day during their vacation.
The evaluation, undertaken by Glasgow-based agency, Tourism Resources Company, further highlights the importance of the annual piping festival and not only celebrates its role in Scotland’s cultural calendar but its record for attracting visitors from across the world to Glasgow and Scotland.
In its 16th year, Piping Live! saw 5,000 performers put on over 150 events throughout the city, with events including the fiercely contested Master Solo, International Quartet and Pipe Idol competitions.
The National Piping Centre is the home of Piping Live!. The festival receives support from public bodies including Glasgow Life and Event Scotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.
Roddy MacLeod (pictured, right), Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival Director, said: “This was an incredibly busy summer for Glasgow’s events calendar – particularly during the week of Piping Live! – but, yet again, we’re thrilled with these results.
“Year on year, Piping Live! is attracting the very best musical talent, as well as crowds, from across the world to Scotland – boosting tourism and Glasgow’s economy. In our 16th year, we saw the festival’s audience numbers grow, showing a real appetite for live traditional music on a global scale. We can’t wait to see what our 17th year brings in 2020.”
Billy Garrett, Director of Sport and Events at Glasgow Life said: “Piping Live! is a mainstay of our summer Cultural Events programme attracting people from all over the world to come and visit Glasgow. No-one who experiences the diverse programme and extraordinary talent performing will ever forget the sights and sounds of Piping Live! We’ll look forward to another fantastic edition in 2020!”
The festival will return next year from August 8-16.
