[Source: EventScotland] The Scottish Government has today (15 December) announced new funding of £13 million to provide further support for the events sector in Scotland, much of which has been unable to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of this, £6 million has been committed for the establishment of a new fund which will open this week to support those event businesses which are critical to Scotland’s events sector, and without which the capacity to deliver major events would be significantly reduced.

The Pivotal Event Businesses Fund will provide grants from £25,000 up to a maximum of £150,000 to support approximately 50 to 100 event businesses whose primary role as organisers, suppliers, contractors and venues is critical to the survival of the events sector in Scotland, and upon whom the wider events industry and supply chain are most reliant for their own business and operations.

Organisations applying to the fund must meet the eligibility criteria including having an annual turnover in excess of £500k prior to the COVID-19 pandemic; be directly involved in the delivery and organisation of at least five major events, festival or business events each year; employ a minimum number of staff, and events must be the primary source of the organisation’s income. This Fund is intended to support those pivotal businesses who operate at a size and scale in their sector and/or location where the loss or insolvency of that business would have a significant and detrimental impact on Scotland’s ability to continue to host and stage major events. Additionally, the fund will be targeted to support businesses which are experiencing critical financial problems that threaten insolvency or significant job losses due to the impact of COVID-19.

The remaining funding will be used to set up a separate fund to provide broader support to businesses across the full range of the events sector, including the supply chain, and will be announced early in the new year.

The latest funding follows the £10 million announced by the Culture Secretary in July for the events industry, of which £6 million was allocated to the now closed Event Industry Support Fund while £2 million was allocated to Scotland’s Events Recovery Fund currently being run by EventScotland.

Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “The events sector has faced severe challenges throughout 2020 as the restrictions necessary to contain the coronavirus pandemic have left most businesses unable to operate. While the arrival of a vaccine offers grounds for hope, the events sector and its wider supply chain will continue to experience difficulties for some time to come.

“We were able to provide financial support for the events sector in the autumn but we have continued to listen and we acknowledge that further funding is required. This additional £13 million will allow us to help hard-pressed businesses going forward and ensure that they are ready to support the recovery when it is safe to operate again.

“Scotland has a well-earned reputation for delivering successful events at local, national and international level. We are working collaboratively with the industry to ensure that the sector has a future to look forward to and that we maintain our position as the perfect stage for events.”

The Pivotal Event Businesses Fund will be administered by VisitScotland, with eligible organisations first asked to complete an Expression of Interest form to demonstrate they meet the eligibility criteria. This form will go live at 12pm on Wednesday 16 December and will be open for one week until 5pm on Tuesday 22 December with full details of the process and requirements available at: https://www.visitscotland.org/events/funding/pivotal-event-businesses-fund

From the expressions of interest, approximately 50 - 100 organisations which meet or exceed the eligibility criteria, and which are assessed to represent a sectoral and geographical spread of the most significant event organisers, suppliers and venues operating in Scotland, will then be asked to submit a full application.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland Director of Events, said: “Scotland’s events industry continues to be severely impacted by the ongoing effects of COVID-19. The £6 million Pivotal Event Businesses Fund will provide vital funding to businesses critical to our industry’s survival, and without whom our capacity to deliver major events would be significantly reduced.

“Events play a key role in our communities by sustaining livelihoods and bringing, social, cultural and economic change so ensuring the industry’s survival is key to Scotland’s recovery from this pandemic.”

The full application process has been designed to ensure that funding reaches the businesses where it is needed the most to ensure the recovery of the sector. Organisations who have been in receipt of other COVID-19 funding are not excluded from submitting an Expression of Interest as long as they meet the eligibility criteria.

For the purpose of this fund, events are defined as one off or annual occurrences including live sporting and cultural events and festivals that are open to the public to attend, and major business events, incentives and conferences.

A kickboxing competition; the World Coastal Rowing Championship; a brand-new music festival celebrating the very best of The Highlands; and a special anniversary for a significant Scottish landmark are just some of the events which will benefit from a share of £143,500 from EventScotland’s National Events Programme Fund.

A total of 10 events, taking place across eight local authorities, have been awarded grants from milestone Round 40, to enhance event delivery and to further develop Scotland’s diverse events portfolio.

Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at VisitScotland, said: “Over the years, our National Events Programme has played a crucial role in our work to increase domestic tourism across Scotland, complementing our International Programme of major events and supporting our long-term strategy of sustaining Scotland’s global reputation as the perfect stage for events.”

“It’s great to see the continued success of the programme, and we’re delighted to be able to support the ten events awarded in this latest round to develop and grow.”

Among the events to receive funding through the National Events Programme is the WKC (World Karate and Kickboxing Commission) Aberdeen Open, taking place at the AECC in May. The action-filled event, which is Scotland’s largest kickboxing competition, will offer spectators the chance to see local kickboxing talent as well as internationally acclaimed fighters from Ireland, Europe and the USA compete.  This is the first time that the WKC Aberdeen Open has received funding through the National Events Programme, with the event being awarded £5,000 to support PR and marketing activities.

Malcolm Evans, President of WKC Scotland, said: “We are extremely grateful to EventScotland for supporting The Aberdeen Open 2019, Scotland’s biggest kickboxing event. This is the fourth year of the competition and it has grown year on year to attract some of the best local, national and international kickboxers. Our main objective is to demonstrate the real benefits of kickboxing and increase public participation in the sport. The generous support of EventScotland has helped us work towards achieving this through investment in promotional activity which has allowed us to communicate the mental and physical health benefits associated with kickboxing, as well as attracting new audiences by building excitement ahead of the event on May 5.”

Also receiving funding the celebrations for The National Wallace Monument 150^th Anniversary. Two special events will be held to mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the National Wallace Monument; Wallace 150, a unique evening illumination event, marking the start of a special programme of celebrations, and Wallace Wha’ Hae, a family-friendly festival with activities themed on Wallace and his legacy. £25,000 has been awarded to the events to support the delivery of both headline events.

Ken Thomson, Marketing Manager at Stirling District Tourism said: “2019 is a really important year for The National Wallace Monument – as we mark the 150th Anniversary of the famous landmark – and we are really looking forward to welcoming everyone who joins us for the commemorative events in September.  We really appreciate the support of EventScotland – which has been invaluable in helping us to prepare for these celebrations.”

The other events to receive funding from the latest round include:

• Dundee Design Festival - Dundee Design Festival has a new location for 2019. The city’s third design festival will explore the theme of what makes a Liveable and Loveable city from inside a challenged shopping centre in the heart of the city.  Designers across all disciplines will be based at the Keiller Shopping Centre alongside a new exhibition and pop-up shop as part of a week-long programme of interactive workshops and talks where visitors can experiment with the process of design. To support its ambitions, the festival has received £20,000 to expand its marketing activity, develop its new venue and expand the capacity of ‘PechaKucha Night’, which will be its biggest to date at Dundee’s Caird Hall. 
• The Gathering – This new one-day festival, in the grounds of the historic Northern Meeting Park in Inverness, will feature a host of exciting traditional and folk based bands from The Highlands and Scotland alongside a line-up of the finest craft food and drink suppliers from the region. The event has been awarded £10,000 towards its infrastructure.
• Barrhead Rainbow Run -  A 5km fun run, where runners of all ages and abilities tackle a number of interactive challenges on-route, including paint stations, inflatable assault courses, slip ‘n’ slide and foam pits, has received £4,000 to enhance the visitor experience and encourage extended stays by participants in East Renfrewshire
• Run the Blades – a unique trail running event held within the UK’s largest windfarm, Whitelee Windfarm, and incorporating three distances – 10km, half marathon and 50km ultramarathon – Run the Blades has been awarded £12,500 to enhance the spectator experience of its event village, including a large outdoor screen and additional marquees. 
• Solas Festival – A family-friendly weekend arts festival at Errol Park, Perthshire with performances and workshops in music, theatre, dance, literature and visual arts, as well as talks and debates has received £9,500 for infrastructure costs to enhance the children’s and wellbeing area as well as its social media marketing for this strand of the programme. 
• Youth Beatz –Scotland’s largest free youth music festival returns to Dumfries’ Park Farm in 2019 with a spectacular line-up of acts, including Professor Green and Sigma.  The festival has received £25,000 to maintain the size and scale of event following its key part in Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018 signature event programme, ensuring a continued legacy from the Themed Year.
• Stranraer SkiffieWorlds - A colourful and friendly celebration of coastal rowing. Stranraer and Loch Ryan in South West Scotland will host the major international coastal rowing event ‘SkiffieWorlds 2019’ which will see up to 1,000 participants compete. The event has been awarded £22,500 support an enhanced on-shore festival for visitors as well and increased marketing and PR activity for the event.
• St. Andrews Voices - A unique 4-day Scottish festival devoted to vocal and choral music, 2019 will see the beginning of a new partnership with light projection artists Luxmuralis, who will create a unique, immersive voice and light event themed around the universe over two evenings which will take over iconic buildings across the whole town of St Andrews with the main event taking place in Holy Trinity Church. Live music will be performed by Owain Park and Gesualdo Six, as well as creative input from local community groups in the festival’s annual learning and participation programmes £10,000 has been awarded to support the addition of this new partnership.

Since establishing the Programme back in 2004, EventScotland has invested more than £5.8 million into 511 events covering the length and breadth of the country. The support has allowed for the strategic development of events which occur outwith Edinburgh and Glasgow, to help drive domestic tourism, deliver economic impact for local communities and generate media profile for Scotland. It is estimated that to date the Programme has contributed £97.6 million in total to the Scottish economy.

Many of Scotland’s best loved events, including Wigtown Book Festival, Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival and the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon and Festival of Running, have greatly benefited from the Programme’s support and have subsequently gone on to progress to EventScotland’s Beacon and International Programmes.

Malcolm Sutherland, Event Director of Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running, said: “The National Events Programme was instrumental in contributing to the growth and development of the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running into one of the UK’s best loved marathons and Scotland’s largest participatory sporting events. We have seen very positive outcomes from EventScotland’s support over the years, with an increase in those travelling from outside Scotland to take part in the marathon and the resulting economic impact and benefits to the surrounding area of staging a high-profile sporting event.”

The National Events Programme is a strategic development programme with eligible events able to bid for a maximum of three rounds of funding. The deadline for the next round of the National Programme is 7 June 2019 with events taking place from January 2020 onwards eligible to apply. Guidelines for entry are available on www.eventscotland.org.

• Twelve events from across 10 local authorities are to benefit from nearly £100,000 of funding from EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate
• Among them are five events receiving funding for the first time, including Cream o’ the Croft in Comrie Croft, Perthshire, and The Eliminator Mountain Bike Festival in Newburgh, Fife
• The National Programme Fund plays an integral role in developing domestic tourism across Scotland by help grow the country’s diverse events portfolio

Nearly £100,000 of funding has been awarded to 12 events and festivals across Scotland from the latest round of EventScotland’s National Programme Fund.

Among them are Cream o’ the Croft and The Eliminator Mountain Bike Festival, two of five events and festivals receiving funding for the first time from EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate.

Taking place in June and August respectively, and organised by Muckmedden Ltd, the two family-friendly mountain bike events offer more than just your average mountain bike festival. With something for everyone, including mountain bike racing, live music, gourmet food and drink, and wild camping, the two events are the perfect book ends to the summer.

Both events have been awarded £5,000 each to enhance the PR and marketing support and activity around the event, including video production and online advertising.

Aaron Gray, Events Director at Muckmedden Ltd, said: “We would like to sincerely thank EventScotland for their invaluable support with Cream o’ the Croft and The Eliminator. The generous funding we have been awarded will allow us to promote both of our family-friendly festivals to all of the UK. The investment also gives us the freedom to significantly improve the quality of infrastructure and entertainment at both venues as we seek to attract not only mountain bikers, but young families and music festival-goers to Highland Perthshire and Fife.”

Also receiving funding is Bonfest, the three-day rock music festival that celebrates the life and music of the AC/DC legend Bon Scott. Held in his home town of Kirriemuir, and organised by Scottish charity DD8 Music, this is the third year the festival has received funding from EventScotland. Over that time the funding has helped the festival expand its offer and increase its attendance, with a record attendance of 6,000 from 27 countries turning out across the three days for last year’s festival. This year the festival has been awarded £9,332 towards increasing the capacity and quality of the campsite as well as for staging in Bellies Brae car park, next to the Bon Scott Statue, that will showcase young bands as part of Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018. 

Graham Galloway, DD8 Music Chairperson, said: "DD8 Music are delighted that Bonfest is being supported for the third year by the National Programme Fund. The fund has enabled the festival to grow significantly over the past few years, and we would have found this very difficult to achieve without the help and support of EventScotland. As a youth music charity, we are very excited to be one of the many amazing Year of Young People events happening all over Scotland, which are celebrating the talent and ambition of our upcoming generation."

The National Programme Fund supports the strategic development of events which occur outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow, with the aim of driving tourism, delivering economic impact for local communities and generating media profile for Scotland. Since 2008, EventScotland has invested more than £3.9m into 363 events across the country. Building on existing event activities, extending marketing reach and enhancing the on-site food and drink offer are just some of the ways funding is put to use by events and festivals.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “We are delighted to be funding these 12 amazing events and festivals from the latest round of EventScotland’s National Programme Fund. Taking place across 10 local authorities between May and October, these events and festivals will bring real impact by attracting visitors and driving economic impact in their local area.

“The National Programme Fund plays a vital role in maintaining Scotland’s reputation as the perfect stage for events and it is through events like these that we can ensure we continue to have a dynamic events portfolio that benefits everyone.”

The full list of events receiving support from Round 37 of EventScotland’s National Programme Fund are: