Can't get Clans to pipe down

Published on Saturday 21 June 2008 12:30

As the clans prepare for next year's Gathering in the Capital, we recall two previous meetings.

THE 250th anniversary of Robert Burns' birth is set to be celebrated with one of the largest-ever Gathering of the Clans seen in Scotland.

The event is expected to draw massive crowds to Holyrood Park next year. But, however successful it proves to be, it is highly unlikely to prove as big a hit as a similar Gathering in 1951, held as part of the Festival of Britain.

Amazing scenes greeted the participants when a "march of 1000 pipers" made its way through the city on August 18.

Half a million people went to Princes Street to watch the march, which caused the police some serious crowd control problems as the pipers' route ended up being blocked.

A further 50,000 people showed up to the Gathering's formal meeting at Murrayfield. They watched a parade of the clans around the stadium, which caused some controversy. Due to the clans being paraded in alphabetical order, the Donald clan ended up alongside their old enemies the Campbells.

The crowds also enjoyed visiting exhibition tents set up by the clans, followed by a three-hour competition of the pipe bands.

Fast forward 26 years and a very different kind of sporting competition was born at the 1977 Gathering – the World Haggis Hurling Championships.

Rules for the first event, held at Prestonfield House Hotel, were strict: the Evening News reported it was illegal to "squeeze or otherwise interfere with the haggis in such a fashion as to impair its flavour". Bizarrely, the rules also stated that the haggis had to be "real".

The Gathering was held as part of Edinburgh's celebrations of the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

Another highlight of the 1977 Gathering was a special show at Ingliston. However, only half of the event's tickets were sold.

Next year's Gathering will see a Highland Games held over two days in Holyrood Park followed by a parade up the the Royal Mile.