FIRST MINISTER LAUNCHES NEW HOMECOMING SCOTLAND 2009 EVENTS GUIDE AT SCOTTISH TRADITIONAL BOAT FESTIVAL



First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond MSP, today (July 4) joined the crowds at the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival in Portsoy to celebrate the launch of the new Homecoming Scotland 2009 Events Guide, highlighting nearly 200 events still to come in the next six months of Homecoming year.

The third edition of the Homecoming Scotland 2009 Events Guide lists more than 40 events added since the previous Guide was launched in December 2008. This brings the total to more than 400 Homecoming events taking place across Scotland throughout the year. More than a quarter of all events in the Printed Guide are free.

New events include; Ice Hockey’s Homecoming Challenge - The Gardiner Cup, Clan Cameron Gathering, the Edinburgh Mela Festival and a host of Highland Games and gatherings. Other forthcoming highlights include; The Open Championship, North East Clan Fortnight, The Gathering 2009, Edinburgh’s Festivals, World Pipe Band Championships, Highland Homecoming and RACMSA Rally of Scotland - The final stage of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Homecoming year culminates in spectacular style at the end of November with a series of events and activity across the country to celebrate St Andrew’s Day.

First Minister Alex Salmond said: ‘2009 is proving to be an exceptional year for Scotland as people from across the world join us for our Homecoming celebrations.

‘This latest guide showcases the fantastic array of events and activities taking place that aim to excite and engage everyone who has an affinity for Scotland and entice them to come ‘home’ and join the celebrations.’

Marie Christie, Project Director for Homecoming Scotland 2009, said: ‘Homecoming Scotland 2009 is about re-connecting Scotland and its contributions with the many millions of people around the world who have an ancestral link or love for the country. The first six months have gone extremely well and we are delighted to be launching the updated Events Guide today. We look forward to welcoming thousands more visitors and enjoying many more Homecoming highlights in the months ahead’.

Already, hundreds of events have welcomed thousands of visitors home in the first six months of 2009. Homecoming year launched at the end of January to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. Since then highlights have included record attendances at the Aye Write! Book Festival, StAnza International Poetry Festival, Glasgow International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh International Science Festival. Whisky Month in May showcased the best of the Scotch Whisky industry and marked another record attendance figure, for the flagship Spirit of Speyside festival. Most recently the Royal Highland Show broke all previous records with a massive 176,000 attendance figure following an extensive international promotional campaign in partnership with Homecoming Scotland.

The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival is a key event in the national Homecoming celebrations and an ideal setting for the launch of the updated Homecoming Scotland 2009 Events Guide. Packed with demonstrations, workshops, music, food and family-friendly activities, this year’s Festival celebrates Homecoming Scotland with an enhanced and extended showcase of Scotland's great maritime heritage and invitations to visitors from far and near to come home to picturesque Portsoy.

Roger Goodyear, Chairman of The Scottish Traditional Boat Festival said: ‘We have been delighted and proud to have taken part in the Homecoming programme and indeed the global awareness the promotion has created has been a great fillip to our overall standing. Homecoming has ensured that The Boat Festival is now firmly on the international calendar and we are determined to keep it that way!’

Homecoming Scotland 2009 is supported by a comprehensive marketing campaign delivered in partnership with VisitScotland. The updated Events Guide provides just a glimpse of the huge volume of events taking place across the country. The 40 page A4 guide produced in partnership with The List is available now at VisitScotland Information Centres and many other key outlets across Scotland and the UK including Tourist Information Centres in England. The programme is also available online at www.homecomingscotland2009.com both as a downloadable file and searchable database.


ENDS

Further Information

Rebecca Hill
Homecoming Scotland Marketing and Communications Executive
0131 472 2354 / 07919 058545 
Rebecca.Hill@eventscotland.org

For out of hours press enquiries:
Alison Robb
Corporate Press Manager
07699 766986
Alison.Robb@visitscotland.com

Notes to Editors

1. Homecoming Scotland 2009 is funded by the Scottish Government and managed by EventScotland, the national events agency, in partnership with VisitScotland, the country’s national tourism agency. Homecoming is part financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.
2. Homecoming Scotland 2009 aims to engage Scots at home as well as motivate people of Scottish descent and those who simply love Scotland, to take part in an inspirational celebration of our culture, heritage and some of the many great contributions Scotland has given to the world.

3. 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, with the programme's design guided by Scotland's unique position as the home of Burns himself, Golf, Whisky, Great Minds and Innovations, and Scotland’s culture and heritage which lives on at home and through Scotland’s global family. The programme runs from Burns night until (25 January) St Andrew’s day (30 November).

4. For more information on Homecoming Scotland 2009 please visit: www.homecomingscotland2009.com