Scotland lining up bid to secure National Television Awards ceremony

Dermot OLeary hosted nominations event at V&A. Picture: Getty

Government agency VisitScotland persuaded the National Television Awards to stage a special nominations event with host Dermot O’Leary at the new V&A Dundee museum.

It is now harbouring ambitions to stage the main event at the Hydro arena in Glasgow, which has previously played host to the MTV Europe Music Awards and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards.

The agency has also set out ambitions to stage more major events at V&A Dundee, which X Factor host O’Leary said could “easily” play host to the talent show in future.

VisitScotland’s head of events, Paul Bush, who led talks to bring the NTA to Dundee for its nominations announcement, said: “We could have the NTAs in Glasgow. It could be held anywhere in future. All events are portable now. We’re always looking for new products.

“Big events should come out London more. It shows that they are not London-centric and there are also some great facilities outside of London.

“It’s about having an ambition, aspiration and desire to work with partners to bring it all together.

“The NTA had never done a nominations event anywhere before we suggested doing one at V&A Dundee.

“We’ve always recognised that V&A Dundee was going to be an iconic new facility and venue for Scotland.

“It’s first and foremost a museum, but we’ve been really keen to see it become an event space as well.

“You could do fashion shows, opera, music and film events, and really special dinners. You just need to be a bit innovative.”

Speaking at the new V&A Dundee museum, which has attracted more than 350,000 visitors since September, O’Leary said: “I had no idea what to expect here, as I I don’t think it got the publicity down south. It’s a beautiful place.

“I love the way it marries really well with the town and it also looks really maritime. It juts out and has a lovely granite feel to it on the outside yet it feels very Scandinavian on the inside.

“I don’t see any reason why X Factor couldn’t come here. If we can go to Newcastle we can easily come here.

“It’s about how many people could you fit in here. It’s a two-fold thing - it’s about getting the people there and about how many people you can into the room.

“It’s hugely important to take events outside of London. There is a lot more to Britain than London.”