The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
EVELYN GLENNIE ‘ASTONISHED’ BBY FESTIVAL BLOW
Festival: Funding axe ‘very sad day’ for city
Celebrity backers of the threatened Aberdeen International Youth Festival (AIYF) have argued that withdrawing funding for the event would be a “very sad day” for the city.
World-renowned Scottish percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire principal Julian Lloyd Webber have weighed into the row.
Last week councillors on the education committee unanimously voted in a private session to cut the council’s £150,000 contribution to the annual event – thereby putting its future in doubt.
The authority has instead pledged to invest £100,000 for events to mark Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018.
As a cultural phenomenon, which has run for the past 46 years, AIYF attracts hundreds of performers from around the world to the Granite City.
But it is understood that around £110,000 of the festival’s total £468,000 budget is allocated to staffing and a number of events are not held in the city.
However, Dame Evelyn said she was “astonished” to hear of the decision. She added: “I see these budget cuts as a devastating blow to the city of Aberdeen, a city that takes pride in its artistic development.”
Cellist Professor Lloyd Webber, the younger brother of composer Andrew, responded: “This would be a very sad day for Aberdeen.”
Former council leader
“I seet hese cuts as a devastating blow to the city of Aberdeen”
Len Ironside, who was chairman of the festival between 1996 and 2003 and then again between 2014 and 2017, said: “If the funding is withdrawn it would be an absolute tragedy.
“This kind of money is a drop in the ocean when you look at the council’s £600million budget.
“I have seen Arabs and Israelis dancing together to the sound of bagpipes – where else does that happen? The festival is a badge of honour for the city.”
AIYF chief executive Stewart Aitken confirmed the trust would continue to push for the “critical” council cash. He added that the full cut had come as “a complete surprise”.
Council education convener John Wheeler argued the new £ 100,000 pot would put young people themselves as the “driving force”.
He added: “With this new fund, we’re making a step change from the way in which money has been allocated historically.
“Some felt that public money was becoming tied down in salaries and administration rather than creating the environment sought after by young people at festival events.
“This new approach is designed to make sure young people are the driving force in creating a cultural scene their peers would want to participate in,” added Mr Wheeler.