City pupils in mass exodus to see Pope

Published on Tuesday 27 July 2010 13:02

SCHOOL pupils in Edinburgh are set to leave their desks for the day to join youngsters from all over Scotland in welcoming the Pope to the Capital.

Council chiefs will allow children from Catholic and non-denominational schools to attend the St Ninian's Day parade along Princes Street and watch Benedict XVI pass in his Popemobile.

The Pope will fly into Edinburgh on September 16 at the start of his four-day visit to the UK, and he will be whisked from the airport to the Palace of Holyroodhouse to meet the Queen.

Later, he will be driven through the city centre to a lunch at Cardinal Keith O'Brien's official residence in Morningside before a high-speed motorcade takes him to Glasgow.

The parade, featuring 1000 pipers, 800 children and a pageant of historical characters, is timed to take place while the Pope is meeting the Queen.

After leaving the palace, the original plan had been for the Pope to be driven the full length of the Royal Mile in his Popemobile on his way to Cardinal O'Brien's residence.

That was scrapped after police raised concerns about the number of vehicles in the motorcade and how quickly they would be able to leave the Royal Mile if there were any problems.

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A compromise route, which would have involved driving part of the way up the Royal Mile, then going down The Mound and along Princes Street before turning up Lothian Road, has now also been ruled out.

Instead, the Pope will leave the palace and be driven via Abbeyhill and Regent Road, then right along Princes Street and up Lothian Road to Morningside.

Organisers now face the challenge of ensuring there are enough people to fill the gardens side of Princes Street to watch the parade and then the Pope's motorcade. They have calculated it will take 16,000 people to fill the 0.8 mile-long street five or six deep.

A church spokesman said: "Princes Street is vast and we will be hoping for enough people to fill it.

"It puts the pressure on to fill it, but from a TV and visual point of view it is a stunning backdrop with the Castle and the gardens.

"I don't think it will be a problem. The focus for us will be on encouraging schools and school parties to come."

A council spokesman said: "Headteachers are being invited to send groups of up to 20 pupils from each school to experience the event. Once finalised, we plan to send details of viewing areas and other practical arrangements to schools."