Mod's arrival is music to ears of town's businesses

Published on Sunday 12 October 2008 22:05

FALKIRK is expected to receive a significant economic boost thanks to being the host of the Royal National Mod.

Click here for Saturday's Mod results

Thousands of visitors and competitors will converge on the town this week to participate in this year's festival of Gaelic music and culture, being held in Falkirk for the first time.

Angus MacDonald, a local councillor who heads the organising committee, said: "Obviously, with the Mod coming to Falkirk, it will bring a major economic boost to the area.

"We expect an economic boost to the tune of 1.5 million, which is clearly good news for local retailers and hoteliers given the current economic climate.

"Local firms have embraced the Mod coming to Falkirk and we hope to see a significant boost to local trade once the main competitors arrive."

Mr MacDonald said that the Fiddlers' Rally concert on Saturday had proved one of the highlights so far.

"The feedback we received was fantastic and it followed on from a tremendous launch on Friday night," he said.

Formal competitions began on Saturday, when Pipe Major Gordon Walker from Ayrshire won the senior piping title.

The competition was somewhat marred when only five of the 15 listed participants turned up. However, Mr MacDonald said that it did not detract from the overall success of the event.

"It was a bit disappointing that so few turned up but the standard was still very high," he said.

An economic assessment of the effects of the Mod in 2005, when the festival visited the Western Isles, showed that it brought around 1 million into the local economy.