No Buchan Queen for Peterhead Scottish Week

There will be no Buchan Queen for this year’s Peterhead Scottish Week it has been confirmed.

The town’s annual gala week kicks off on July 15 but it will have a slightly different low-key opening this year after it was decided that there would be no queen or princesses for the 2023 event.

The first Buchan Queen was Madeline Kelman back in 1962, and there has been a Buchan Queen and two princesses every year since, aside from 2021 when Scottish Week had to be cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.

Scottish Week chair, Karen Day, told us: “It’s been a struggle to get nominations year after year and the girls just can’t take time off work as they used to.

The Red Arrows will be taking to the skies as part of the town's biggest ever air display.

"With the cost of living it’s also hard for businesses to let staff go for a week, so we decided this year to drop the event and have a rethink for next year as to how we will approach it.

"Graham Barron and Elaine Cay will be the public faces of Scottish Week this year, and they will be around for the week’s events.”

But don’t worry….there are still plenty of events to keep everyone occupied during Scottish Week, including the largest ever air show featuring the Red Arrows, a Spitfire, Lancaster Bomber and Typhoon, which will be taking to the air above the Lido on Friday, July 21.

The event is being sponsored by Peterhead Port Authority, Asco and Maritime Developments Ltd, and also marks the 55th anniversary since the RAF's first public display in the town during Scottish Week 1968.

A packed programme of events will keep townsfolk and visitors entertained.

The opening day will focus on the truck and van show and a strongman competition at the academy car park, while a ribbon-cutting at Drummer’s Corner will mark the official opening, with the town’s popular market also being held there on the Saturday.

The Best of Buchan also returns this year on Saturday, July 15, when awards will be presented in a host of categories including two new categories – Green/Sustainability of the Year and Health Care Worker of the Year.

An also making a return for 2023 is Strictly Dome Duncin’ which proved a massive hit with audiences first time around. It will be held on Friday (July 14) at the town’s Palace Hotel and tickets are now on sale priced £15 which includes either macaroni or stovies.