Baillie Gifford backing of Wigtown Book Festival to end after 14 years as Scottish arts crisis escalates

Third literary event responds after protests and boycott threats from activists

A third Scottish book festival has severed links with Baillie Gifford after being threatened with disruption and boycotts over the investment firm's links with the fossil fuel industry.

Organisers of the Wigtown Book Festival, which is said to generate more than £4 million for the Dumfries and Galloway economy, will no longer be backed by the Edinburgh-based company – one of the biggest corporate supporters of Scottish culture.

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Baillie Gifford, the biggest sponsor of the event, has been supporting the festival for 14 of its 25 years. The festival attracts more than 10,000 visitors a year – roughly ten times the population of Scotland’s “national book town”.

The Wigtown Book Festival has been running since 1999. Picture: John DevlinThe Wigtown Book Festival has been running since 1999. Picture: John Devlin
The Wigtown Book Festival has been running since 1999. Picture: John Devlin

Wigtown’s event was one of nine UK literary festivals threatened with boycotts, author withdrawal of labour, and “increased disruption” by the Fossil Free Books campaign over links with Baillie Gifford.

The company has been holding crisis talks with event organisers since the Hay Festival in Wales suspended its sponsorship after being hit with a spate of late call-offs last month.

Wigtown’s decision was announced the day after organisers of the Borders Book Festival announced they had decided to drop Baillie Gifford after eight years due to “protests” over its backing of the event.

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The Edinburgh International Book Festival last week announced the end of its 20-year-partnership with Baillie Gifford due to the withdrawal of several authors and “threats of disruption from activists” this summer, and suggested the safety of audiences, authors and staff would have been “severely compromised”.

The Wigtown Book Festival has been running since 1999. Picture: John DevlinThe Wigtown Book Festival has been running since 1999. Picture: John Devlin
The Wigtown Book Festival has been running since 1999. Picture: John Devlin

Wigtown’s announcement said “It is with regret that we announce that the partnership between Wigtown Book Festival and Baillie Gifford is to end. We wish to offer huge thanks for their stalwart support over 14 years, which has allowed us to sustain and grow the festival and has provided economic, cultural and social benefits across our community.”

Festival director Adrian Turpin said: “Corporate sponsorship is extremely useful to festivals as it gives real flexibility and is a really important part of the funding cake. There is a lot of upset within festivals about what has happened with Baillie Gifford. It’s not just about book festivals, I think this will have repercussions for the whole cultural sector.

"This has also happened at the worst possible time given the current uncertainty over the future of public funding.”

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