Parade of decorated vehicles in city will celebrate Scotland

Published on Thursday 21 August 2008 10:24

A PROCESSION of cars decorated to capture the theme of Scottish history and heritage will drive down the Royal Mile as part of a major art event.

The Illuminated Art Car Parade will take place next year and is expected to capture the imagination in the same way as the Cow Parade, with community groups and professional artists involved in decorating the vehicles.

One car is to be made to look like a giant set of bagpipes, while golf, whisky and Robert Burns are also set to feature. Scottish inventions, including the Dunlop car tyre, tarmac roads and electric light bulbs are also to be represented.

The city council has secured 30,000 of funding for the event from the Scottish Government's Homecoming Scotland 2009, which is to encourage people with an affinity to Scotland to visit.

Norman Ireland, events and special projects manager at the city council, said: "It will be a major event that will celebrate Scotland. In a city like Edinburgh we are used to having international performers on our doorstep but a growing number of people also want to celebrate their own history and culture.

"It will be a car version of the Edinburgh Cow Parade and I think it will definitely capture the imagination as a major one-off event. The Cow Parade was a real mix of professional art and art at a community level and this should be similar."

The Cow Parade was held in 2006, and featured more than 150 fibreglass cows, decorated by artists, celebrities, businesses and community groups.

It is understood that the city will also incorporate some of the themes of Homecoming Scotland into this year's Hogmanay events, with a major new celebration of Scottish culture planned for December 30.

Sinead Guerin, regional director at VisitScotland, said the November parade, which follows a similar event staged in Manchester in 2007, would be a "fantastic" highlight of the homecoming events.

"The Cow Parade, which had the whole of Edinburgh talking when it hit town two years ago, showed the impact that a community art event can have, and we have high hopes that the Car Parade will be a similar success.

"There will be so much going on in Edinburgh next year, from art exhibitions to events, including the Gathering, when more than 8000 clansmen and women from around the world will descend on Edinburgh."