HOMECOMING ALLSTARS TO LEAD THE HAMPDEN ROAR

Homecoming Scottish Cup Cheerleading Team Revealed
Press Release:  Issued Wednesday 15 April 2009

Scotland’s hottest new cheerleading team will lead the famous Hampden roar at this year’s Homecoming Scottish Cup semi-finals.

The Homecoming Allstars have been specially formed to lead the festivities at the games on 25/26 April at the National Stadium at Hampden when Rangers play St Mirren and Falkirk take on Dunfermline.

The team boarded one of First Bus’s new Homecoming Scotland branded coaches at Hampden today, Thursday 16 April 2009, and showed off some of the dazzling routines they’ve been preparing to entertain the crowd.


The team of 35 girls is led by head coach Dawn Adams and choreographer Gillian Farrell.  They joined the line-up to show off their unique cheerleading uniform – complete with mini kilts designed by contemporary Scottish kilt company Slanj.

Dawn said, “Performing at Hampden will be a career highlight for our girls.  The Homecoming Scottish Cup Final is one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar and the atmosphere is guaranteed to be electric.  


“It will be amazing to run out onto the hallowed turf of Hampden and cheer on the finalists and those watching at home.  Just like the teams on the pitch these girls are dedicated sportsmen and have been training hard to ensure they perform at their best on the day.  We hope the fans and teams will enjoy it as much as we will.”

Homecoming Scotland 2009 is the official sponsor of this year’s Scottish Cup.  The final will be one of the key events in the year-long calendar when over 100,000 people are expected to visit Scotland. Many football supporters living overseas have pledged to return for the Cup semi-finals and finals, and will join in the Homecoming celebrations with domestic supporters.

As part of the Homecoming celebrations, First Bus rebranded three of its buses in the Homecoming Scotland livery to carry the message throughout Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow areas.

First in Glasgow's Deputy Managing Director, Ronnie Park, and Executive Director, Alex Shearer, said:

“Although FirstGroup is now a global company, our roots are very much here in Scotland, so it's great to be backing such a terrific initiative and to launch our bus at the home of Scottish football and the venue for the Homecoming Scottish Cup semi-finals later this month.   

"Homecoming Scotland has really captured the imagination and we are pleased to support the campaign by providing these striking bus adverts, which I'm sure will get lots of attention out on the road. 2009 is already proving to be a really exciting year for Scotland and we are delighted to be lending our support to Homecoming in such a visible way."

Marie Christie, Project Director, Homecoming Scotland 2009, said: “FirstGroup is one of the largest and most successful Scottish companies.  As a FTSE 100 organisation, having First on board is a real coup for our campaign.  I am very grateful for its generous support and am thoroughly looking forward to seeing the Homecoming Scotland buses out on the streets – they are sure to be a talking point for locals and visitors alike.”

Four million people across 40 countries watched the Scottish Cup final in 2008 and this year’s Hampden final is set to be just as spectacular with a huge global audience tuning in to cheer on their local team.

Tickets for The Homecoming Scottish Cup are on sale now at each participating club.  They are priced at £25, £22, £18 and £15/£5 (Family Section)

For further information on Homecoming Scotland, log on to www.homecomingscotland2009.com.

NOTE TO NEWS/PICTURE EDITORS –
Images will be available on request.

The Homecoming Scottish Cup semi-finals are:
Rangers v St Mirren
Saturday 25 April
12.15pm Kick -Off
Falkirk v Dunfermline Athletic
Sunday 26 April

For further information, please contact Lee-Ann Fullerton or Diane Primrose at Consolidated PR on 0131 240 6420/0141 285 6479 or email Lee-Ann@consolidatedpr.com / dianep@consolidatedpr.com