Sleep in the Park named as city’s best cultural gig

A mass sleep-out in Princes Street Gardens that raised £4 million to tackle homelessness and was backed by Sir Bob Geldof, Liam Gallagher, John Cleese, Deacon Blue and Frightened Rabbit has been named Edinburgh’s best cultural event.

More than 8,000 people braved sub-zero temperatures to take part in the first “Sleep in the Park” in December, with the event recognised in the country’s flagship tourism awards.

The event, which was instigated by the social enterprise and sandwich shop chain Social Bite, will go forward to Visitscotland’s national Thistle Awards final after being recognised in the regional ceremony at Edinburgh’s Prestonfield House Hotel.

Social Bite founder Josh Littlejohn, who billed Sleep as in the Park Scotland’s answer to Live Aid, will next month expand the event to Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee, as well as a return to Princes Street Gardens.

It is hoped 12,000 participants will sign up for the second Sleep in the Park, which will see Scottish singing stars Amy Macdonald and KT Tunstall flying around the country in a helicopter to perform in each city.

Other acts lined up for next month’s expanded version include Eddi Reader, Lulu, Kyle Falconer, Irvine Welsh, Kathryn Joseph and Withered Hand. The first event helped pay for 500 homes to be made available to homeless people.