Edinburgh Gathering loses £600,000

[McClef]

I am absolutely sure that price was not the only problem. I still meet people, up here, who still know nothing of this "homecoming" thing. I also know of many people who would have liked to have gone to the event -----had they known about it.

Well I have no idea how much of the publicity budget was spent in Scotland itself, seemingly not enough.

[Galician]

But, just by labeling it "Homecoming," wasn't the event targeted at those of Scottish descent around the world, rather than the local populace?

[beowulf67]

But, just by labeling it "Homecoming," wasn't the event targeted at those of Scottish descent around the world, rather than the local populace?

On this side of the pond it did seem to be marketed that way, and that makes sense. But I don't understand the reasoning behind not making a bigger deal of it in Scotland. I mean if you are having a "homecoming" you want someone at home to be ready to welcome you.

I know that for me at least the Gathering did get me to plan and make a nice trip to Scotland and now I'm eager to return. So the long term benefits should be good for the countrys economy.

[cessna152towser]

But I don't understand the reasoning behind not making a bigger deal of it in Scotland. I mean if you are having a "homecoming" you want someone at home to be ready to welcome you.

My thoughts entirely. There was little or no marketing here in Scotland and as far as my own clan was concerned no opportunity for the home based Scots to become involved as hosts, since the gathering organisers chose a recently formed small group from the eastern USA to host the clan tent rather than the long established clan society which had worldwide membership and would have mustered Scottish based members as hosts. I certainly felt like an outsider at an event being run by and for overseas visitors and I had no desire to pay a significant amount of money to be allowed to march up the Royal Mile as a Clan Alba member when I already belong to Clan Cunningham with whom I can march at other events, often for free. Isn't it rather ironic that when the supposedly big show of the year came to Edinburgh which is only 55 miles from my home, my only participation was as a paying member of the public on the Sunday afternoon, and only because I wanted to get inside to meet some x-markers and a clan member, yet this season I have actively participated as a representative of my clan in the full weekend programme of events at The Muster of the Clans (a spin off from the Edinburgh gathering held in the Scottish Borders in September specifically for lowland and border clans) and in the recent games at Ventura, California, which is 5,500 miles away.

[Chas]

If it hadn't been for this forum, I wouldn't have known anything about the Homecoming.

Regards

Chas

[McClef]

The first homecoming event in Dumfries was very much home based and was successful and well attended.

There was no ticketing or charges and I have not heard of any financial disasters that resulted from it.

When some Pride events started charging a lot of money they found that they did not do as well and had to think again.

This will I think have to be the case with such events in the future and with more consideration given to informing those who are close and not just those who are far away.

[bricelythgoe]

Beware when a government gets involved.

[Mael Coluim]

The adverising I saw here was brochures at Highland Games that I attended. If there were TV advertisements, I did not see them.

[ThistleDown]

We are mixing Homecoming with the Edinburgh Clan Gathering. They are not one and the same.

The former is a year-long promotion by VisitScotland aimed at drawing folk from the diaspora back to the homeland and with the ultimate goal of a decade of good economic spin-off. It is not yet over and it has -- I daresay -- already been declared a success. Especially so given the world's economic condition after commitments were already made.

What we are talking about here is the Edinburgh "clan" pageant. We must remember that this was a private company undertaking to make a profit for itself from day one. It was able to obtain the grumbling acquiescence but eventual enthusiasm of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs; that body didn't invest anything other than time and its members' good names, but neither was it (nor they) reimbursed for expenses or otherwise paid.

VisitScotland came on board, but acknowledged its trust position and devoted a very small budget strictly limited to off-shore print advertising tied in with its own Homecoming promotion, with a bit of personal appearance thrown in. The Scottish Executive gifted its premises to the SCSC for a one-day session. Those are the sole costs to the nation. The costs to Edinburgh -- policing and other -- should be thought of as additional to the one-half of 600M sought now by the organisers from the City and its tax base.

The way these things are usually budgeted, all of the sponsorship money should have been assigned to the bottom line with all ticket sales set aside to cover costs -- or the other way around. One or the other and not all mixed together.

Attendance at Day One was in excess of 30,000 and, on Day Two, slightly over half that. Attendance was in all, therefore, more than double what was anticipated. And the march up the Royal Mile? Who could have expected more than did attend to attend. Nobody.

So what went wrong? Nothing.

It was not lower revenues that caused the loss, but vastly enlarged expenditures, costs 'way out of line with the benefits to be gained, in the fore knowledge that these could be recouped when all was said and done.

What does it really matter anyway? For whatever reason the company was unable to get Edinburgh to issue a guarantee in advance. They have, however, been able to prove to the City's purse-keepers that the benefits of the Gathering far outweight the potential subsidy of 300M.

I think we can be assured that if that proof were not there Edinburgh would be satisfied to send the company down the road and put an end to speculation about a second Coming. Oh, sorry -- Gathering. Was it Lord Semple who said that would be three or five years from now? I wouldn't make that commitment if I had just lost a whack of ruples and had to go begging.

[CSCunningham]

Sorry to hear this news. I agree what might have been the bigger picture. Clan Cunningham brought 20 members over, most of us stayed for 2 or more weeks. I know I dropped a lot of $$$ around Scotland.

I also agree, very few locals knew anything about the event, yes it was an international event, but also needed to be a local event. They missed the mark on the local side of things.