Taxpayer hit by £300,000 'clan' bill

Published on Thursday 15 October 2009 22:07

ORGANISERS of the centrepiece event of Scotland's Homecoming celebrations have left behind a huge trail of debts that have cost the taxpayer £300,000.

Public funding that made up almost half of the 600,000 loss racked up in the wake of a huge clan gathering in Edinburgh has had to be written off.

The event, which featured a two-day Highland Games event in Holyrood Park, suffered the losses despite attracting more than 47,000 people.

It is hoped a last-ditch bailout of the firm behind the event, which almost went into liquidation this week, will lead to The Gathering being revived to coincide with the London Olympics.

The global downturn is being blamed for the failure to sell enough tickets. The cost of all- inclusive packages was slashed after a slow take-up overseas, while crowds on the second day were well below expectations.

A string of contractors, suppliers and performers are still waiting to be paid – despite The Gathering being hailed a huge success by organisers, tourism chiefs and council leaders.

The Gathering is still thought to have generated 10.4 million for Scotland's economy, more than 25 per cent of the target for the Year of Homecoming.

The Scottish Government has been forced to write off a 180,000 loan it stumped up just weeks before the event, after a plea to help resolve a cashflow crisis. Other public bodies, including Historic Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council, have agreed to scratch 120,000 debts from the event.

The Gathering had already received 490,500 in public grants, including 180,000 from official Homecoming funds, 100,000 from the government and 100,000 from the city council.

Lord Jamie Sempill, the former Tory parliamentary candidate who created an events company to stage The Gathering, has agreed to hand over all "intellectual property rights" as part of the rescue package.

The capital's new promotional body, which has agreed to take on 300,000 of private-sector debts, is handling all of The Gathering's assets, and is expected to lead efforts to get it off the ground again in 2012.

Questions remain over the ability of the Destination Edinburgh Marketing Alliance (DEMA) to pay off the host of creditors. It emerged in August that the public-private partnership, created by the city council in April, is heading towards losses of 300,000 in its first year and has already warned it may have to scale back on promised promotional work.

One source at DEMA said: "If The Gathering had been allowed to fold, there would have been no hope of having another event. The rescue package means it could be staged again in 2012, but from this position it's a tall order. A lot of public money has been written off."

Lord Sempill said: "Unfortunately, due largely to events outwith our control including an unprecedented global financial crisis, our income streams were lower than we expected and we have been unable to satisfy all of our creditors."

Steve Cardownie, the council's festivals and events champion, said: "I'm very pleased we've been able to lend our support in facilitating the quick action to secure a longer-term arrangement for this event. The next one will further underline the many reasons to visit Edinburgh in Olympic year."