Ingliston opens – as vaccine centre

In an irony lost to few in the farming world, the new multi-million pound members’ pavilion at the Royal Highland Showground at Ingliston, outside Edinburgh, has opened its doors for the first time – as a Covid vaccination centre.

The showground, which in addition to the show itself normally hosts over 220 events, attracting over 1 million visitors a year, has, up until this week, been largely dormant due to Covid-19 restrictions.

However the new £5 million members’ pavilion and events venue – which was completed days before lockdown began in March 2020 – will be deployed as a mass vaccination centre with the capacity to vaccinate more than 1,000 people every day, seven days a week.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“While this was not what we envisaged the first event at our new members’ pavilion to look like, we are delighted that we were able to offer it to aid in the battle against Covid-19,” said RHASS chairman, Bill Gray.

“We can think of no greater use for this building than to support the national vaccine programme and we are hopeful that our efforts will contribute to the return of events in 2021, and indeed our own flagship event the Royal Highland Show.”

Gray also said that the both directors and staff at the society were working to ensure that the Royal Highland Show - billed as Scotland’s biggest outdoor event, attracting 200,000 visitors over four days - could open its gates to the public once again this year after the event was cancelled last year due to Covid safeguards, costing the society an estimated £6 million in lost revenues.