Scotland Serves Up The World's Biggest Ever Burns Supper Celebration
Homecoming Scotland 2009 in partnership with Scotland’s favourite whisky,The Famous Grouse, has today launched The World Famous Burns Supper Celebration as part of the Homecoming Scotland programme that will mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, Scotland’s national poet.
For the first time ever The World Famous Burns Supper Celebration will unite both experienced Burnsians and Burns novices around the world encouraging them to come together online, registering their celebrations – big, small, traditional or unusual. The aim is to show the world that Burns’ legacy is still alive and kicking today and that his message of friendship and Auld Lang Syne lives on, joining people all over the world.
A new website www.burnssupper2009.com has been created to capture everyone’s plans for celebrating this landmark Burns Night and establish a new World Record for the greatest number of Burns suppers ever held. Every supper registered will be flagged on an interactive world map – demonstrating the global reach of Burns today. The website will also provide a range of Burns material including a step by step guide to hosting a Burns supper complete with menu ideas from some of Scotland’s leading chefs, invitation templates, poems, songs, film clips and music downloads.
Paul Bush, OBE, Chief Operating Officer of EventScotland said: “We are delighted to launch The World Famous Burns Supper Celebration with The Famous Grouse and encourage everyone around the world, whatever they are doing for Burns Night to join in by registering on the site. We hope to hear of a vast array of different celebrations including the largest ever Burns supper and perhaps the highest, such as one held on the top of Mount Aconcagua in Argentina last year.”
Those who participate in the celebration will be eligible to win some fantastic prizes including two Homecoming week-long trips, courtesy of The Famous Grouse with flights, dinner, bed and breakfast, car hire and VIP tickets to the Homecoming opening weekend events.
To mark the occasion The Famous Grouse has also specially commissioned 250 bottles of a limited edition of The Famous Grouse, 37 year old blended malt, signifying every year of Burns’ extraordinary life. The bottles will be auctioned to some of the most prestigious Burns Suppers around the world helping raise money for charity.
Gerry O’Donnell, Director of the Famous Grouse, said: “With an estimated 45 million Scottish descendents around the world, this is a great opportunity to bring everyone together to celebrate Scotland. And what better way to do this than with a dram of Scotland’s favourite whisky and one of Scotland’s best known exports, The Famous Grouse.”
The World Famous Burns Supper Celebration kicks off Homecoming Scotland 2009 - a year long celebration marking Scotland’s great contributions to the world with events and festivities running from Burns Night (25th January) through to St Andrew’s Day (November 30th).
Scotland is a great place to celebrate Burns Night, particularly in 2009, but if you can’t get to Scotland you can still take part in the celebrations by joining the World Famous Burns Supper Celebration. Invite your friends, families and colleagues to join you by logging onto www.burnssupper2009.com
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Please enjoy our whisky responsibly www.drinkaware.co.uk
If you would like any further information or photography, please contact:
Sharon Makepeace, Launch PR Manager, Homecoming Scotland Tel: 07771 981 236 email: sharon.makepeace@eventscotland.org
Katy Stollery, PR Manager, The Famous Grouse Tel: +44 1738 493 777 / Email: kstollery@edrington.co.uk
Mhairi De Luca / Katie de Courcy, The BIG Partnership Tel: 0131 555 5522 / Email: Mhairi.deluca@bigpartnership.co.uk / Katie.decourcy@bigpartnership.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITOR
Burns Night is held annually on 25th January. The Win a Homecoming Trip Competition, courtesy of The
Famous Grouse launches on 23rd October and will run until St Andrew’s Night on 30th November.
Please see website for terms and conditions.
The Homecoming Scotland 2009 programme kicks off over the weekend of Burns’ 250th birthday with events planned in key locations across Scotland including the Homecoming Burns Supper in Alloway – a focal point for the World Burns Supper Celebration; a major celebration of the Bard at Celtic Connections in Glasgow; Burns Light, a huge lantern procession in Dumfries and, for the very first time Scotland’s collection of Burns treasures will be brought together in a landmark touring exhibition, opening in Edinburgh.
A wider programme of Burns events will take place throughout the year – for details see www.homecomingscotland2009.com
About Homecoming Scotland 2009 (www.homecomingscotland2009.com) Homecoming Scotland is a Scottish Government initiative managed by EventScotland, the national events agency, in partnership with VisitScotland, the country's national tourism agency.
Robert Burns is the inspiration for Homecoming Scotland as 2009 is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland’s national poet. As well as Robert Burns, Homecoming Scotland events are also celebrating some of the other great contributions Scotland has given the world – golf, whisky, great Scottish minds and innovations, and as the ancestral home to millions of people around the world. Homecoming Scotland will 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.
About The Famous Grouse (www.thefamousgrouse.com) The Famous Grouse is the no. 1 whisky in Scotland and no. 5 blended whisky worldwide. The Famous Grouse is exported to over 100 countries. Created in 1896 by founder Matthew Gloag, it was originally called The Grouse Brand.
The brand became so popular that on August 12th 1905 it was renamed The Famous Grouse. The Famous Grouse Experience is located at Scotland’s oldest working distillery – Glenturret.
Originally established as a single malt distillery in 1775, today The Famous Grouse Experience is the most visited distillery in Scotland. (www.thefamousgrouse.com/experience).