Show’s over for Paisley Pipe Band Championships Council say they’ll focus on more popular events
Pa i s l ey Pipe Band Championships have been cancelled this year as Renfrewshire Council focuses on more successful town centre events.
The annual competition had been held in County Square in Paisley town centre since 1999.
But over the years it has become less important in the area’s events calendar with the bigger British Pipe Band Championships at St James Playing Fields attracting a much larger crowd.
The British Pipe Band Championships have been held since 2016 and organisers the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has chosen Renfrewshire as the venue for the event until 2021.
A council spokesman confirmed the Paisley Pipe Band Championship wouldn’t go ahead this year.
He said: “Paisley is now established as a key destination for events within Scotland – but to keep building on that we have to concentrate on the ones which generate the most benefit for the people of Renfrewshire.
“We extensively evaluate all our events in terms of total attendees, numbers of visitors to the area and benefits to the local economy.
“The Paisley Pipe Band Championships has a much smaller impact than others which now attract tens of thousands of people – such as the Paisley Food Festival, Sma Shot Day and Weave, The Spree, and the Halloween Festival.
“Also, with Renfrewshire confirmed as the home of the British Pipe Band Championships until 2021 – one of the biggest events in world piping and worth around £ 300,000 for the local economy each year – it was felt there was less need in the calendar for the smaller piping event in Paisley town centre.
“This allows us to concentrate our efforts on growing the most popular events further, and frees up resource to add others which will take Paisley to new audiences throughout Scotland and beyond – which we will do in the next few years as part of the legacy of the town’s UK City of Culture 2021 bid.”