I am delighted to open this debate on Scotland’s festivals and the success of festival 2014 and culture 2014, which are the two strands of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games cultural programme.
It is fitting that we are holding this debate at this time of year. For many people, August in Edinburgh is inexorably linked to the Edinburgh festivals and the excitement and energy that they bring. They electrify every nook and cranny of the city. The festival of politics will, of course, open tomorrow in the Parliament.
I would also like to take the opportunity to celebrate the many festivals that take place throughout the year across Scotland, which add just as much inspiration, colour and joy to our lives.
I am sure that members will share my belief that this is the perfect time to reflect on the great success of festival 2014 in Glasgow, which ran alongside the Commonwealth games, and the on-going work of culture 2014 across Scotland, which will run until the end of August. Both have done much to share the great cultural riches of the Commonwealth across all Scotland through dance, song, theatre, literature, music, visual art, comedy and much more. Indeed, although 2014 will be remembered as a momentous year for many reasons, we should not forget that it has, arguably, been the greatest year ever for Scotland’s festivals.
The Edinburgh festivals have woven their way into the very fabric of the city to such an extent that it is sometimes almost too easy to take them for granted. Throughout the year, the festivals bring Edinburgh alive for residents and visitors alike, as the city hosts more than 25,000 international artists, more than 1,000 accredited media, and audiences of more than 4 million. That benefit is felt far beyond Edinburgh. The economic, cultural and social value of the festivals generates £261 million to the Scottish economy, with £41 million spent on accommodation and £37 million spent in our cafes and bars.
We know that 77 per cent of visitors from outside Scotland said that the festivals made them more likely to visit Edinburgh again in the future. That means that the festivals are one of the country’s great tourism gateways. They open visitors’ eyes to our wider tourism offer, and they benefit businesses and communities across the whole country.
We must not forget that Edinburgh’s festivals are a source of astonishing opportunity and inspiration for our artists as well. They provide them with the platform to develop, present and promote their work in perhaps the greatest showcase of international performing arts and culture in the world.
The Scottish Government’s Edinburgh festivals expo fund supports the costs of new productions, events or exhibitions that involve Scotland-based participants and are premiered at any of the 12 Edinburgh festivals. This year, a total of £2.25 million will take the overall level of investment to £14 million since 2008.
The Edinburgh festivals are a platform for the wider world. I recently enjoyed a Mandela day performance at the jazz and blues festival in which the incredible Mahotella Queens from South Africa held the audience in rapture with their vocal harmonies and age-defying dancing. If I tell members that the Mahotella Queens were founded in the year in which I was born, that may give them a perspective. I also heard young people from townships near Cape Town perform jazz as part of Artscape’s youth band. We hope to work more with them.
We are not resting on our laurels. I am pleased that the festivals forum, which includes key Edinburgh festivals stakeholders, will undertake a new forward-thinking study to consider the future sustainability, success and development of Edinburgh’s major festivals.
I want to recognise and pay tribute to Sir Jonathan Mills in his final year as director of the Edinburgh international festival. I welcome Patricia Ferguson’s amendment, which mentions him. It is fitting that he has just successfully overseen the second international culture summit in the Parliament, because throughout his stewardship he has not only brought many memorable productions together but shown great leadership in keeping the founding spirit of the Edinburgh international festival alive. He will leave a strong and lasting legacy, and I am sure that all members join me in wishing his successor Fergus Linehan great success in his tenure.
It is, of course, important that we appreciate the full spectrum of festivals and events that make Scotland such a vibrant place to live in and to visit, with our cities, towns and villages playing host to well over 200 festivals each year. From Up Helly Aa in Shetland to this year’s Royal National Mòd in Inverness and the Peebles arts festival in the Scottish Borders, festivals and events cover the length and breadth of Scotland all year round.
I enjoyed speaking at the launch of this year’s Glasgow comedy festival, which this year marked its 12th birthday and has emerged as the biggest event of its kind in Europe, with more than 100,000 tickets on offer for over 400 shows in nearly 50 venues. I was also delighted to attend several events at this year’s 21st Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, which truly came of age with a vibrant programme that celebrated not only the incredible array of traditional and contemporary Scottish music, but its connections to cultures around the world.
Some of our most vibrant and exciting festivals are our music festivals, which are as diverse in their styles and genres as they are wide in their reach. I recently had the pleasure of attending the St Magnus international festival in Orkney, where I attended a remarkable lute concert in the magical setting of the Italian chapel. I am sure that Liam McArthur will join me in noting the success of this year’s Orkney folk festival, which is an exemplar of the collaborative, community approach that lies at the heart of so many of our festivals.
It is also an opportune time to congratulate perhaps our premier music festival, T in the Park. In what was a landmark year with brilliant performances from Paolo Nutini and Biffy Clyro, not only did the event turn 21 but it saw the last ever festival to be held at Balado come to an emotional close in front of 85,000 festival goers—including my 17-year-old son, in what is now seen as a rite-of-passage event in Scotland.
This has also been a momentous year with Scotland embracing the Commonwealth games. The Commonwealth games highlights, which were published this very morning, report on the games being the largest multisport and cultural event to be held in Scotland in a generation, with Glasgow being transformed to provide a festival of culture for its games-time visitors.
Alongside the sporting action, the Glasgow 2014 cultural programme is a national programme of new work by world-leading and emerging Scottish and international artists—the most ambitious national cultural celebration that has ever taken place in Scotland.
I congratulate Glasgow Life, Creative Scotland and all the other partners who worked so hard to bring the festival together, as well as the partnerships that have been formed throughout Scotland to help to deliver the Scotland-wide programme. By the close of the programme on 31 August, around 1,500 events will have taken place involving thousands of artists, performers and participants across hundreds of locations and venues the length and breadth of Scotland.
The nationwide culture 2014 strand has showcased the best of Scotland’s rich and vibrant cultural life. The year started with some stand-out performances including the premiere of the new music biennial commissions at Celtic Connections, the restaging of the National Theatre of Scotland’s “Glasgow Girls” and the celebration of diversity through Janice Parker’s “Glory”.
The get Scotland dancing initiative got thousands across the nation active. In May, the big dance pledge, which was created by Scottish Ballet, saw 67,000 people in 24 countries dance along to special choreography created by Scottish Ballet, including 250 dancers performing on the Skye bridge. I had the pleasure of seeing the big dance take place in my home town of Linlithgow, with 750 schoolchildren owning the square in my town. It was a great celebration of them as well as of the Commonwealth and of dance.
On midsummer’s day, people across the world joined hands in a global celebration of Scottish dance in the 24-hour Commonwealth ceilidh, and the get dancin’ initiative is continuing to show that dance is for everyone, with free dance classes on offer in hundreds of locations across the country. It is recognition that, in terms of legacy, not everyone can be Usain Bolt or be an athlete, but everyone can dance, and the get Scotland dancing initiative is part of the activity to try to make sure that all of Scotland is active.
The Big Big Sing has inspired thousands of people to sign up to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of singing. I heard some choirs singing earlier today in the Parliament, and a great, infectious enthusiasm for choral singing has been seen both from international visitors and with the Big Big Sing inspiring people here in Scotland. The huge range of opportunities to take part included singing days, workshops and flash-mob choirs, culminating in a 14,000-strong crowd singing their hearts out on Glasgow Green on a Sunday in the rain during the big Big Big Sing, which I had the pleasure to join.
Of course, the visual art world has been well represented through the quite remarkable landmark “Generation” project: an incredible programme of exhibitions celebrating 25 years of contemporary art in Scotland that features more than 100 artists and takes place at over 70 venues the length and breadth of the country, exhibiting many of our Turner prize winners and so many artists who have contributed so much over that 25-year period. So far, I have seen shows by Walker and Bromwich in Orkney and exhibitions at the national galleries in Edinburgh, including works by Steven Campbell, Ciara Phillips and Alison Watt.
During the Commonwealth games, festival 2014 proved to be an enormous success, transforming Glasgow with an invigorating mix of entertainment, culture and enjoyment and filling the streets, spaces and stages of the city. When people said that Glasgow was buzzing during the games, a key part of that was the cultural vibrancy at almost every street corner. There were over three quarters of a million visits to the live zones at Glasgow Green, Kelvingrove band stand, the merchant city and the BBC at the quay, while more than 6,000 performers were involved in more than 1,000 performances in 100 venues around the city.
It was a hugely diverse programme. My personal highlight was “Boomerang”, which was a celebration of indigenous cultures with 21 artists from Scotland, New Zealand and Australia mixing Gaelic song and pipes with the haka, Maori vocals and traditional aboriginal music. The “Empire Café”, based in the Briggait, explored Scotland’s relationship with the North Atlantic slave trade through a thought-provoking programme of music, academic lectures, poetry, debate and workshops. In “The River”, which I had the pleasure of seeing, a 150-strong community cast of dancers, singers and musicians of all ages, together with Barrowland Ballet’s small professional cast, told stories of migration and danced and sang along the banks of the Clyde as the audience followed them.
Those examples additionally demonstrated the rich new international connections that have been developed through the cultural programme: 109 programme projects have stated connections with Commonwealth countries, 27 of which have artists or participants visiting Scotland. The important thing about culture 2014 is that it was not just about broadcasting what Scotland has to the world; it was an invitation for the world to join in that celebration.
It has truly been a momentous few months of activity, but it is not quite finished yet. Culture 2014 is picking up the baton again and bringing it to Edinburgh to mix with the festivals here before climaxing in a final weekend of activity that includes “The King of Ghosts” at the Edinburgh mela; “East End Social” at Richmond park; Scotland’s first international inclusive dance festival, “Gathered Together”, at the Tramway; and Hanna Tuulikki’s “Away with the Birds” on Canna.
The cultural programme has been delivered by a partnership between the Glasgow 2014 organising committee, Glasgow Life and Creative Scotland, as well as hundreds of artists, cultural organisations and communities across Scotland and beyond. I want to emphasise my thanks to all the partners for organising this unique, exciting and diverse programme of cultural activity, which has placed artists at the centre.
In our reflection with representatives of the 23 Governments that were here over the past few days as part of the international culture summit, great interest was focused on the Commonwealth games cultural programme, with many countries looking to learn what we do. For example, the Japanese city of Tokyo, which is hosting the Olympics in 2020, is very interested in what we are doing, and Brazil, which has the next Olympic games, is also very interested in what is happening here.
Of course, what I have just described is only a snapshot, for this is perhaps the greatest year ever for festivals in Scotland, both in the number and in the sheer breadth of the festivals that are taking place. They range from the long-established and internationally renowned to small community events that have risen up, buoyed by this year’s feel-good factor. I want to thank all the volunteers who help make festivals happen the length and breadth of Scotland. Their enthusiasm, dedication and commitment is often the lifeblood of the festivals in our communities.
Our festivals are vibrant, often challenging and always exciting. They provide a chance for both audiences and artists to step out of the everyday and come together in new spaces and under new terms. They provide windows for transformation, both personally and for our communities. They bring neighbours together, they promote understanding of other cultures and other experiences from all over the world, and they improve our sense of who we are and why we matter.
I look forward to hearing members’ reflections on the value of festivals to Scotland. I hope that through consensus on the motion this afternoon Parliament will recognise what a groundbreaking year this is for our festivals, acknowledge that success is often based on the motivation, passion and commitment of local communities, and recognise and, indeed, celebrate the great success of culture 2014 and festival 2014.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises that Scotland’s culture is in vigorous health and that this is reflected in the continued success of Scotland’s festivals, including the Edinburgh festivals, which are internationally renowned for their excitement, vision and artistic ambition; congratulates all of those involved in the successful Festival 2014 and the ongoing Culture 2014 on enabling people across Scotland to share in the cultural celebration of the Commonwealth Games; celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of Scotland’s music festivals; acknowledges the importance of all of Scotland’s festivals, both large and small, across all the country, and notes the enjoyment that they bring and their impact on tourism and local economies, and is especially appreciative of the hard work that communities contribute to ensure that smaller regional festivals are a success.
14:45