3,000 Pipers Head For Annan

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010 at 10:20 pm Text size:

3,000 pipers are heading for Annan on Saturday 26 June for the British Pipe Band Championships.

This will be the biggest gathering ever of pipers in the south of Scotland, with 131 separate bands registered to compete.

Bands from all over the UK have booked to compete from all over the UK, including the 15 times world champions the House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead will bid to become British Champions 2010.

From further afield, there is a band making the trip from Belgium and two Australian bands, which have members currently studying and working in Scotland.

Two Grade 1 bands, the Field Marshal Montgomery from Lisburn in Northern Ireland and the Saint Laurence O’Toole from Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, are making trip across the water to compete.

It is estimated that the British Pipe Band Championships will create an economic boost approaching £150,000 this year, a figure expected to increase in 2011 and 2012.

Accommodation providers, pubs and restaurants and the local businesses that have taken out trade stands at the event are set to benefit from the influx of visitors to the area and the event.

Councillor Ian Carruthers, who chairs the planning group for the championships, said, ‘Anticipation and expectation is rising in Annan and the whole community is getting geared up for the British Championships being held in our town. The Council too is fully geared up for this massive and prestigious event and looking forward to making it an event to remember.’

Dave Wilson of EnergySolutions, the event’s main sponsor, said, I’m pleased and excited that EnergySolutions have been able to help bring this prestigious event to Annan. This builds on the long tradition of Chapelcross providing support to the local community. I’m sure it will be a fantastic event and a boost to the whole area.

The British Pipe Band Championships is one of the major events promoted by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association. Dumfries and Galloway Council has secured the rights to co-manage these Championships with the RSPBA until 2012. This is being done with the assistance of a very active planning group based in Annan.