2021 bid campaign racks up thousands of miles
Town’s story has travelled far and wide in two years
Advertising Advertising A global flavour has been added to Paisley’s bid to become UK City of Culture 2021 since work started on the ambitious campaign two years ago today.
The bid aims to use the past to transform the town’s future and put it back on the map.
Si n c e l aunching on November 13, 2015, the Paisley 2021 campaign has helped boost the town’s connections with the UK and the rest of the world.
The town’s story has reached people and places all around the world.
To mark the two- year anniversary of the launch, we take a look at a selection of the different places Paisley and its bid have been linked with over the two years.
These include: India — Paisley’s unique textile history holds close links to India through the original Kashmiri shawls, which the Paisley versions descended from.
These links were marked in January 2016 as the Paisley Pattern starred in a crosscultural fashion show in the town’s abbey by students from India and Paisley.
Also, a special Musical Tapestry show celebrated Paisley’s friendship with India at the launch of The Spree festival last month.
The event saw three Scottish musicians — Ross Ainslie, Angus Lyon and Ross Wilson — team up with Indian counterparts Smita Bellur, Asin Khan Langa and Sawai Khan, for a musical collaboration.
America — The town’s superstar namesake, multimillion- selling US country artist Brad Paisley, showed his support.
He posed for pictures with a specially-branded a Paisley 2021 taxi and was presented with a Paisley tartan tie ahead of his sold-out performance at Glasgow’s Clyde Auditorium.
Dubai — Photographer Gary Chittick snapped a Paisley 2021 flag in the United Arab Emirates and
Space — Not only has Paisley’s famous Pattern carried the name of its hometown around the globe, it also went out of this world.
A patch of the Paisley Pattern, several inches in size, was sent on board a rocket bound for the International Space Station on July 17 this year.
It was placed inside a capsule on the Space X Falcon 9 rocket for the CRS-9 mission launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.