Joe GallopAberdeen City Council has approved an events plan that is designed to ensure a year-round events calendar, new venues and an increase in the number and scale of events in the city.
Aberdeen City Council’s Finance and Resources Committee agreed to a three-year 365 Events Plan for the city which will aim to bring in more visitors to the city and region.
The committee said the council’s City Growth service will work the government, national and local partners to explore new event opportunities at local, regional, national and international level.
The new events include Spectra, (pictured) Aberdeen’s Festival of Light, which returns from 9-12 February and will include installations, interactive sculptures and architectural projections.
The report to committee said the 2016 365 Events Strategy identified Spectra and Look Again as headline events with growth potential, with others such as True North, Highland Games and Sound Festival having regional impact. It also proposed larger events such as the Tour of Britain and the Tall Ships Race.
The report said EventScotland has outlined that audience expectations have changed as a result of Covid-19 and reflecting these changes and new challenges in the sector during the Covid-19 pandemic, and more recently rising costs of living and delivery of events.
Finance and resources Convener Councillor Alex McLellan said, “I look forward to Aberdeen welcoming more people to the city as we build our ambitious programme of events, with the likes of the Tall Ships coming in 2025.”
Council co-leader Councillor Ian Yuill said: “As well as contributing to Aberdeen’s vibrancy and providing entertainment for people from Aberdeen and the North East, these events bring people to the city and boosting tourist numbers.”
The new plan also includes an emphasis on activating new city centre venues such as Union Terrace Gardens and a strategic focus on business tourism and conferences at P&J Live.
The Council has invested £1.6m supporting the delivery of events in the city in 2022/23 including funding of bids for events, financial support to existing events and support to secure business events at the Convention Bureau itself.