Music festivals are a growth industry in Scotland

Sunday Herald - The best venue in the world? It’s Scotland: "Experts are even claiming that the events are creating a new social trend of serial festival-hoppers and enriching Scotland's cultural life.

'This summer will be amazing,' said Paul Bush OBE, chief operating officer of Event Scotland. We are keen to demonstrate that, while festivals are economic benefits, they also bring social and even environmental opportunities.

'Festivals are economically important - as a snapshot, the MTV awards, which were hosted in Edinburgh in 2003, brought in £8.8 million to the Scottish economy.

The economic boost that the various festivals will bring is likely to run into hundreds of millions of pounds by September. While a strong appreciation of music and a culture of live bands in Scotland are contributing factors, the boom has also been fuelled by a supportive public sector and no shortage of talented music entrepreneurs.

'Festivals of all kinds are definitely a growth area, and Scotland is very lucky in that local authorities and other public bodies actually want to help events,' said Jane Ali-Knight, head of the festival and events management degree programme at Napier University. 'South of the Border and elsewhere, organisers quickly run up against a lot of red tape. There is encouragement for festivals in Scotland which is a huge plus, and we are also lucky to have entrepreneurs such as Geoff Ellis and Pete Irvine who have pushed and pulled some events into being.'"