Tickets for the Forth Road Bridge Festival
Golf in the Park
Buttercup Farm
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Loretto School
Tickets for the Forth Road Bridge 50th Birthday Party and Torchlight Procession will go on general sale at 10:00am today.
This unique and spectacular event will include fireworks and thousands of torches which will light up the Forth Road Bridge on the evening of Saturday 13 September, celebrating 50 years since the bridge opened and forming the finale to the Forth Bridges Festival as well as a signature event in the Year of Homecoming Scotland 2014.
2,014 torch-bearers will form a kilometre-long river of fire across the bridge to Fife before returning to a giant ‘Bridge Party’ in South Queensferry. Party-goers will enjoy a range of first-class food, drink and entertainment, including an exciting programme of live music headlined by legendary Scottish rockers Big Country and special guests Bwani Junction, who last year famously performed at the top of one of the bridge’s 156m towers.
A highlight of the Bridge Party will be the spectacular fireworks finale, launched from the Forth Road Bridge at precisely 10:06pm in recognition of the structure’s 1,006-metre main span. This statistic made the Forth Road Bridge the fourth longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest outside the USA when it first opened in 1964.
The fireworks display will be set to music, with Bridge Party ticket-holders enjoying the very best experience of this one-off spectacle with a magnificent view of the bridge and the soundtrack amplified throughout the party arena.
The event will conclude with a giant outdoor ceilidh – the “Forth Fling” – before party-goers are transported back to Fife and Lothian by free shuttle bus.
Only 2,014 tickets, priced £23 plus booking fee, are available to take part in both the Torchlight Procession and the Bridge Party. Additional tickets are also available for the Bridge Party only, priced £13.50 plus booking fee.
Tickets can be purchased from 10:00am on Friday 15 August via the Forth Road Bridge website www.forthroadbridge.org and the Forth Bridges Festival website www.forthbridgesfestival.com.
For safety reasons the Torchlight Procession will be restricted to over-16s only. The Bridge Party will be open to all ages but under-16s must be accompanied by an adult.
No local parking will be available at the event or in the surrounding area, so free shuttle buses are being provided for all ticket-holders from a choice of locations both north and south of the Forth.
For safety during the fireworks, the bridge will close to all traffic in both directions at 10 p.m. for a maximum of 30 minutes. Temporary traffic restrictions will also be in force in both North and South Queensferry in order to minimise disruption and ensure public safety.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, Convener of the Forth Estuary Transport Authority, said: “The Forth Road Bridge was a huge engineering achievement for Scotland when it opened in 1964, and in the 50 years since it has provided fantastic service, carrying over double the weight and volume of traffic envisaged by the engineers who designed it. The bridge has transformed the economy of the east of Scotland and the lives of millions who now take crossing the Forth for granted.
“With the new Queensferry Crossing set to open in 2016, this is a pivotal moment in the history of the bridge. The torchlight procession and Bridge Party on 13 September offers members of the public a chance to take part in what is sure to be remembered as a unique and historic event.
“We are grateful to EventScotland, City of Edinburgh Council and Fife Council for their support in making this celebration possible. We look forward to bringing both sides of the Forth together for a spectacular and memorable occasion.”
Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland, said: “As a signature event of Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Forth Bridges Festival is set to be a spectacular celebration of these iconic landmarks. Homecoming Scotland boasts nearly 1,000 events up and down the country, each one offering a distinct slice of Scottish culture. Taking part in the Forth Bridges Festival is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I, for one, would not miss this party for the world!”
Edinburgh’s Lord Provost Donald Wilson, said: “I am delighted Edinburgh will be hosting such a spectacular public celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Forth Road Bridge.
“The ancient burgh of Queensferry is a beautiful conservation town with a thriving community centre, and the bridge over the Firth of Forth water will provide a truly unique setting for the torch procession and fireworks display.
“The events will also highlight the impressive history of engineering in this part of Scotland and celebrate how the Forth Road Bridge has brought communities from Edinburgh and the Lothians with the Kingdom of Fife closer together for half a century.”
Councillor Jim Leishman, Provost of Fife, said: “The Forth Bridges Festival is a great celebration of these world famous icons which provide a magnificent gateway to Fife for visitors and locals alike.
“The bridges are an essential link to and from the Kingdom, used by many thousands of people every year, and something we maybe take for granted. The 50th birthday of the Forth Road Bridge is an ideal opportunity to take time to learn about the rich history of the bridges and the surrounding area and celebrate these unique landmarks on our own doorstep.
“The Torchlight Procession will provide the perfect finale to the Festival, bringing 2,014 people across the bridge to Fife.”
The Forth Road Bridge Birthday Party and Torchlight Procession is being produced by Edinburgh-based Unique Events, Scotland’s leading independent events company, best known for the world famous Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations along with firework partners Titanium, the team behind the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Midnight Fireworks and London 2012 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.
Funding for the event has been provided by Homecoming Scotland, City of Edinburgh Council and Fife Council.
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Building around the buzz of the Edinburgh Festival and the forthcoming Ryder Cup, a new golf event will be held in Edinburgh later this month – one hoped that will become an annual gathering.
Golf in the Park, which is being organised by the Edinburgh Golf umbrella group, takes place at Bruntsfield Short Hole Course on Saturday August 23.
The event is based around golf’s historical past, but hopes to inspire and encourage people into golf in the future. Terrific prizes will be on offer on the day, including tickets to The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles next month.
“Whilst it is Ryder Cup themed, we see this being an annual event, under ‘inner city’ golf, where we can really develop in future years an exciting and amazing package to showcase golf,” said spokesman Bill Buchan, who sits on the SGU Board for Participation.
“This year we plan to take golfers on a journey from 500 years ago – golf has been played at Bruntsfield Short Hole Course for about that period – up to today and will encourage people to dress up in plus fours, use hickory clubs etc, with people from the World Hickory Open on hand.
“We are also trying to bring more community to golf, by hosting an ‘inner city’ event right in the heart of the capital. We have also spent considerable time in improving the facility at the Meadows, free of charge, so that after the 23rd there will be some benefit to the general public.
“We are also promoting health and fitness within golf by including Pure Gym on the day who plan to develop golf specific programmes for golfers of all levels.”
The event will take on a team format, the cost to enter being £100 per team for businesses and £50 for golf clubs. Also backing the event is the adjacent Golf Tavern, who have been a terrific help, and where golfers have been replaying their rounds since the 1400’s.They will effectively be the clubhouse for the day.
“We see this as a great opportunity to connect with clubs, as we expect to have over 20 clubs from the Lothians there,” added Buchan. “Also, as the day is during the Edinburgh Festival, I feel that we have a great opportunity to attract a lot of interest from golfers from all over.”
“We have developed great links with the business community,” continued Buchan. “We have a lot of great prizes in place, including Ryder Cup tickets, Open Championship tickets, free use of a £90k Jaguar Coupe 5.0 sports car for a long weekend from Stratstone for nearest the hole at the 18th, fourballs from the likes of Royal Dornoch, Nairn and Kingsbarns and a great deal with Royal and Awesome to kit out a team.
“Ultimately, we want to develop this further in future years to help break down the barriers that sometimes surround golf. Our overriding aims are to build awareness of golf in Edinburgh, promote clubs as friendly environments and to show everyone that golf can be fun.”
Almost 50 teams have signed up already so hurry to book your place! Register here.
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There was a sense of nostalgia in Drumbrae when community members joined to open the first new park in Edinburgh for 15 years.
On Wednesday, Mr Ewing’s relatives, including great nieces and nephews and children of former poultry farm workers, some of whom had lived on the farm, helped to officially open the aptly-named park.
Charlie Cumming, Chief Executive of ELGT, said: “Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust has been proud to be a partner in delivering Edinburgh’s first new park since 2000 and we look forward to working with local residents on future projects as the park progresses.”Napier-Bell will talk about his career and what led him to write his latest book, Ta-Ra-Ra-Boom-De-Ay, the world’s first definitive account of the music industry, which goes back 300 years.
The former manager of acts including The Yarbirds, Boney M, Japan, Marc Bolan andWham! will also discuss why he opted to crowd-source his latest publication, enlisting the support of an impressive cast of music industry figures and writers. These include Jeff Beck, Simon Cowell, Julie Birchill, Mark Knopfler, Miles Copeland and Vicky Wickham.
“Olaf first invited me to speak at a Born To Be Wide event three years ago, and I am delighted to finally be able to accept the invitation,” says Napier-Bell, who will fly in from his home in Thailand to take part in the evening. “I am very much looking forward to making my debut at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.”
Napier-Bell’s previous works were based on his own experience in the recording industry, and provide an entertaining insight into different areas of the business. His first book, You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me focused on the swinging 60s and was followed byBlack Vinyl, White Powder, which explored the role of sex and drugs in British popular music. Meanwhile, I’m Coming To Take You To Lunch, recounts how Napier-Bell wined and dined Communist Party officials to ensure Wham! became the first western pop act to play in China.
“There are several authors who have written a great book about the music business, but only Simon has written four,” says Born To Be Wide’s Furniss. “Combined with Dan Willson and The Jellyman’s Daughter, the evening promises to provide a fantastic insight into music-related writing, and will be accompanied by some wonderful musical interludes.”
Following the Born To Be Wide Talk Show, Napier-Bell will sign copies of his books, with DJs drawn from the Scottish music scene, providing background music.
Event Details:
Monday 18 August
2100-2300hrs [followed by book signing and DJs until 0100]
Born To Be Wide Talk Show with:
Simon Napier-Bell, Dan Willson, The Jellyman’s Daughter and host Olaf Furniss
Free Entry [please arrive promptly to ensure admission]
Jura Unbound at The Guardian Spiegeltent, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh
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Loretto School in East Lothian is celebrating another excellent year for A level results.
Sixth Form pupils achieved a 99% pass rate and 39% of the A levels were passed at grade A* to A, an increase of 2% from last year and outstripping this year’s national average by 13%.
A record 69% of the results were awarded A* to B grade. 11 pupils achieved an impressive straight A* or A grades across a range of subjects.
Hamish Lamotte, 18 from Haddington, a prefect and Loretto’s Pipe Major in his final year at Loretto, achieved a remarkable 4 A*, securing his place to read Natural Sciences at Selwyn College, Cambridge.
Pupils have won places at a wide range of universities and many will be going on to the more selective universities including Oxford, London School of Economics (L.S.E.), Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Durham and Glasgow to read such subjects as medicine, law, architecture, engineering, physics and economics.
Headmaster, Dr Graham Hawley said, “I am delighted with what is another strong set of results at Loretto across the whole ability range. These outstanding achievements pay testament to the hard work of the pupils and the work ethic of the School. The pupils should be justifiably proud of their success and they will undoubtedly continue to thrive in their further studies. Loretto has always prided itself in developing the whole person in mind, body and spirit, and preparing its pupils for life after school. We are delighted that such a high percentage of our leavers enter their chosen university.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
and no a mension o the daddy o them awe the forth raiRAIL BRIDGE???
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