Rhaiddin i. Duniwch, iawn. Fy fwy ymddangos i ddim yn Llywodraethach, mae'r dweud i ni os ymddangos i ddim yn Llywodraethach. Fos ymgyrchgoi i ddim yn Llywodraethach, mae'r dwych i chi roedd Ysgolai Aelod Reviewaidd. buttons now or as soon as possible. I invite the cabinet secretary to speak to and move the motion. I want to open the debate on Scotland's festivals and the success of festival 2014 and culture 2014, the two strands of the Glasgow 2014 convoce games cultural programme. It is fitting boilwyr ystafell yn yMyth cyffredinol, y mae'r fawr i gael hyd i eiMyth yn G consequence mewn chiwch, mae'n myth i adael rhael Technoeddит a feel, ac mae'n Pray i'r gwith i etoiholameil hwn i fy ngyd plus i'r aelun. Felly cuno o elu romai trofu arall o'u companyf processedur dyd Crossing 가지 o c Devlusfigur i'r musgwys. O sefydiandd y Plans o perceiveil hon i tokensiol i gaw Hearing, ac y ddim parly rienwr ar ei fofair, Always United, Eindr Read Order ac Howe. hispishes,that in nature. I'm sure that the chamber will also share my belief that this is the perfect time to reflect on the great success of Festival 2014 in Glasgow, which rang alongside the Commonwealth Games and the on-going work of Culture 2014 across Scotland, which will run until the end of August, both of which have done so much to share the great cultural riches of the Commonwealth across all of Scotland through dance, song, theatre, literature, byddwch weld yr wrth hyn yn i'r ffordd i ddwylliannol iawn, ar gyfer rhaid, ei amddian nhw'n ddiweddol ddwylliannol iawn, a'r ddwylliannol iawn yn ei ddwylliannol iawn. Felly, mae'n ddod o'r ddwylliannol iawn hefyd yn gweithio'r fforddol iawn. Mae'r Mhwylfyniedig Fyngdigol erbyn ei wneud i ddwylliannol iawn, ond mae'n dweud efo'r fforddol iawn, ond rhaid yn gweithio'r ffordd o'r pryd.� twfawr, gyn makeshows Washoe has a live for residents and visitors alike, because they host over 25,000 international artists, more than 1,000 accredited media audiences of more than 4 million. There benefit has felt far beyond Edinburgh. The economic, culture and social value of the festivals generates £261 million to the Scottish economy with £41 million spent on accommodation and 37 million in our cafes and bars. We know that 77 per cent of visitors from outside Scotland said that the festivals made them more likely to visit Edinburgh again in the future. That means that the festivals are one of the country's great tourism gateways, opening visitors' eyes to our wider tourism offer and benefiting businesses and communities across the whole country. We must not forget that Edinburgh festivals are a source of astonishing opportunity and inspiration for our artists as well, providing them with the platform to develop, present and promote their work and what is perhaps the greatest showcase of international performing arts and culture in the world. The Scottish Government's Edinburgh festivals expo fund supports the costs of new productions, events or exhibitions involving Scottish-based participants and are premiered at any one of the 12 Edinburgh festivals. This year, a total of £2.25 million will take the overall level of investment to £14 million since 2008. The Edinburgh festivals are a platform for the wider world, and I recently enjoyed a Mandela Day performance at the Jazz and Blues festival, where the incredible Mahotela Queens from South Africa held the audience in rapture with their vocal harmonies and age-defying dancing. If I tell you they were actually founded in the year I was born, that might give you a perspective. I also heard young people from townships near Cape Town perform jazz as part of the artscapes youth band, and we hope to work more with them. We are not resting on our laurels, and I am pleased that the Edinburgh festivals' key stakeholders will be undertaking a new forward-thinking study to consider the future sustainability, success and development of Edinburgh's major festivals. I also want to recognise and pay tribute to Sir Jonathan Mills in his final year as director of the Edinburgh international festival. I welcome Patricia Ferguson's amendment, which mentions that. It is fitting that he has just successfully overseen the second international culture summit at this very Parliament. Throughout his stewardship, he has not only brought many memorable productions together but has also shown great leadership in keeping the founding spirit of the Edinburgh international festival alive. He shall leave a strong and lasting legacy, and I am sure that all members will join me in wishing his successor, Fergus Llynehan, great success in his tenure. It is important that we appreciate the full spectrum of festivals and events that make Scotland such a vibrant place to live and to visit, with our cities, towns and villages playing host to well over 200 festivals each year. From the up Hellia in Shetland to this year's Royal National Mod in Inverness to the People's Art Festival and the Scottish Borders, festivals and events cover the length and breadth of Scotland all year round. I enjoyed speaking at the launch of this year's Glasgow comedy festival, which this year marked its 12th birthday and has emerged as the biggest event of its kind in Europe with over 100,000 tickets for over 400 shows in nearly 50 venues. I was also delighted to attend several events at this year's 21st Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow, which truly came of age with a vibrant programme that celebrated not only the incredible of traditional and contemporary Scottish music but its connections to cultures around the world. Some of our most vibrant and exciting festivals are our music festivals, which are as diverse in their styles and genres as they are as wide in their reach. I recently had the pleasure of attending the St Magnus International Festival in Orkney, where I attended a quite remarkable lute concert in the magical setting of the Italian chapel. I am sure that Liam MacArthur will also join me in noting the success of this year's Orkney Folk Festival, which is an exemplar of the collaborative community approach that lies at the heart of so many of our festivals. It is also an opportune time to congratulate perhaps our premier music festival, Tea in the Park, on what was a landmark year with brilliant performances from Paolo Nattini and Biffy Clyro. Not only did the event turn 21, but it saw the last ever festival held at Bellado. It came to an emotional close in front of 85,000 festivalgoers, including my 17-year-old son, in what is now seen as a rights of passage event in Scotland. It has also been a momentous year with Scotland embracing the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth Games highlights published this very morning reports on this being the largest multi-sport and cultural event to be held in Scotland in a generation, with Glasgow being transformed to provide a festival of culture for its games time visitors. Alongside the sporting action, the Glasgow 2014 cultural programme, is a national programme of new work by world-leading and emerging Scottish and international artists, the most ambitious national cultural celebration that has ever taken place in Scotland. I really would want to congratulate Glasgow Life and also Creative Scotland. All the partners who worked so hard to bring this festival together and all the partnerships that have been formed throughout Scotland to help to deliver the Scotland-wide programme. By the close of the programme on 31 August, around 1,500 events will have taken place, involving thousands of artists, performers and participants across hundreds of locations and venues the length and breadth of Scotland. The nationwide culture 2014 has showcased the best of Scotland's rich and vibrant cultural life. This year it started with some standout performances, including the premiere of the new music biennial commissions at Celtic Connections, the restaging of the National Theatre of Scotland's Glasgow Girls and the celebration of diversity through Janice Parker's glory. Get Scotland Dancing has thousands across the nation active. In May, the big dance pledge, created by a Scottish ballet, saw 67,000 people in 24 countries dance along to a special choreography created by a Scottish ballet, including 250 dances performing on the Skybridge. I had the pleasure of seeing the big dance taking place in Linlithgow, in my hometown, 750 schoolchildren, owning the square in my town, a great celebration of them as well as of the Commonwealth dance. On midsummer's day, people across the world joined hands in a global celebration of Scottish dance in the 24-hour Commonwealth Cailey. The Get Dancing initiative is continuing to show that dance is for everyone, with free dance classes on offer in hundreds of locations across the country. It is a recognition that, in terms of legacy, not everyone can be a Usain Bolt, not everyone can be an athlete, but everyone can dance and part of that activity in trying to make sure that all of Scotland is active in something that Get Scotland Dancing was all about. Big Big Sing has inspired thousands of people to sign up to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of singing. I heard some choirs singing earlier on in the Parliament today, so I think that in terms of choir and choral singing, there has been a great infectious enthusiasm being seen from international visitors but also with the Big Big Sing, inspiring people here in Scotland. The huge range of opportunities to take part included singing days, workshops, flash mob choirs, culminating in a 14,000 strong crowd singing their hearts out on Glasgow Reen on a Sunday in the rain during the Big Big Sing, which I had the pleasure to join. Of course, the visual art world has been well represented through a quite remarkable landmark generation project, an incredible programme of exhibitions celebrating 25 years of contemporary art in Scotland. This features over 100 artists and takes place at over 70 venues, the length and breadth of the country, exhibiting many of our turn of prize winners but also so many artists that have contributed so much over that 25-year period. So far, I have seen shows by Walker and Bromwich in Orkney and exhibitions at the national galleries in Edinburgh, including works by Stephen Campbell, Kiara Phillips and Alison Watt. During the Commonwealth Games itself, Festival of 2014 has proved to be an enormous success, transforming Glasgow with an invigorating mix of entertainment, culture and enjoyment, filling the streets, the spaces, the stages of the city. When people said that Glasgow was buzzing during the games, the cultural vibrancy at almost every street corner was a key part of that. There were over three quarters of a million visits to the live zones at Glasgow Green, Calvone Grove Bandstand, Merchant City and BBC at the key, while more than 6,000 performances were involved in over 1,000 performances in 100 venues around the city. It was a hugely diverse programme. One for me, my personal highlight was Boomerang. It was a celebration of indigenous cultures with 21 artists from Scotland, New Zealand and Australia, mixing Gaelic song and pipes with the haka, Maori vocals and traditional Aboriginal music. The Empire Cafe, based in the Brigitte, explored Scotland's relationship with the North Atlantic slave trade through a thought-provoking programme of music, academic lectures, poetry, debate and workshops. The river, which I had the pleasure to see, saw a 150 strong community cast of dancers, singers and musicians of all ages to get together with the Barreland ballad's small professional cast and told stories of migration and dance and sang along the banks of the Clyde as the audience followed them. Those examples additionally demonstrated the rich new international connections that have been developed through the culture programme. 109 projects have stated connections with Commonwealth countries and 27 of which have artists or participants visiting Scotland. The important thing about culture 2014 was not just about broadcasting what Scotland had to the world, it was an invitation for the world to join in that celebration. Of course, although it has been a truly momentous few months of activity, it is not quite finished yet. Culture 2014 is picking up the baton again, bringing it to Edinburgh to mix with the festivals here before climaxing in a final weekend of activity, including the King of Ghosts at the Edinburgh Mela, East End Social at Richmond Park, Scotland's first international inclusive dance festival, gathered together at the Tramway and Hannah Tulickie's Away with the Birds on Canna. The cultural programme has been delivered by a partnership between the Glasgow 2014 organisational committee, Glasgow Life and Creative Scotland, as well as hundreds of artists, cultural organisations and communities across Scotland and beyond. I emphasise my thanks to all of the partners for organising this unique, exciting and diverse programme of cultural activity, which has placed artists at the centre. In our reflection, with the 23 Governments that were here over the last few days as part of the International Culture Summit, great play and interest were focused on the cultural programme of the Commonwealth Games. Many countries are looking to learn what we do. For example, Tokyo was hosting the Olympics in 2020. It is very interesting what we are doing. Brazil has got the next Olympic Games and is very interested in what is happening here. Of course, what I have just described is a snapshot, for this is perhaps the greatest year ever for festivals in Scotland, both in the number and the sheer breadth of festivals taking place. Those range from the long-established and internationally renowned to small community events, which have risen up, buoyed by this year's fuel-good factor. In particular, I want to thank all the volunteers who helped make festivals happen, the length and breadth of Scotland, their enthusiasm, dedication and commitment are often the lifeblood for our festivals in our communities. Our festivals are vibrant, often challenging and always exciting. They provide a chance for audiences and artists to step out of the everyday and come together in new spaces and under new terms. They provide windows for transformation, both personally and for our communities. They bring neighbours together and promote understanding of other cultures and other experiences from all over the world. They improve our sense of who we are and why we matter. I look forward to hearing members' own reflections on the value of festivals in Scotland. I hope that, through the motion that I hope will be consensual this afternoon, Parliament will recognise what a groundbreaking year this is for our festivals. Acknowledge that success is often based on the motivation, passion and commitment of local communities. I recognise and I need to celebrate the great success of culture and festival 2014. I now call on Patricia Ferguson to speak to you and move amendment 10784.1. Ms Ferguson, you have 10 minutes or thereby please. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I move the amendment in my name. It is of course only right that we discuss in Scotland's parliaments the Edinburgh International Festival and the other important cultural events that are taking place this summer. I hope that we will consider the importance of festivals to our country and to its artistic and cultural life. We should also recognise the ways in which our lives and our culture are strengthened by the contribution of visiting artists and performers and celebrate the cross-fertilisation that keeps our culture dynamic and inspiring. We must also acknowledge the impact that our festivals have on the economy, particularly their contribution to our tourism and hospitality industries. I was reminded when thinking about this debate that we do not ask much of our artists and performers and those who work in the creative industries at festival time. After all, we only ask that they be the best they can be in their chosen field or practice and that they perform day after day and night after night to audiences large and small in a very diverse range of venues. Frankly, I use the word diverse because I thought that it was the politest way to describe some of the venues that I have visited over the years during festivals, but, year after year, they deliver and they come back because they know that Edinburgh in August is the place to be. It is where opportunities arise, sometimes unexpectedly, and where they will be received by knowledgeable audiences that, more often than not, are on their side and willing them to succeed. For established artists it is a showcase and for new artists it is a place to serve an apprenticeship or perhaps that should be a baptism of fire. For the audiences it is a chance to spot the next big thing, to spend an afternoon listening to clever, witty and challenging people discussing a variety of literary genres at the book festival and in the evening perhaps to watch stand-up at the fringe or opera at the international festival. On the walk from Waverley station every day, I am, frankly, mesmerised by the number of adverts for performances that are attached to the railings on Geoffrey street and I am often distracted as I walk down in the morning as I look at them and think of the scale of what is happening in the city at this time. Of course, we talk about the Edinburgh festival particularly to describe the events that take place in August, but, of course, Edinburgh's festivals are spread throughout the year. With the Hugmanay events in January, the Science Festival in April, Imaginate in May, the film and jazz festivals in June and July and storytelling in October, to name but a few. As the cabinet secretary said, in total 12 festivals, which between them host 25,000 international artists, over 1,000 accredited media representatives and audiences of over 4 million. Those numbers to me are quite staggering, so I make no apology for repeating them. So, too, is the effect that the festivals have on the Scottish economy, generating, as they do, some £261 million. We know that bed occupancy in Edinburgh's hotels reaches 93 per cent in August and £37 million is spent in cafes and bars alone. It truly is a staggering part of the energy and dynamism of this city. Of course, many of those who come to Edinburgh then journey on to other parts of Scotland and, indeed, the UK. In 2006, the Thundering Hooves report was published, which identified many of those important figures but also suggested that more could be done. One of its main recommendations was that the individual festivals needed to work more collaboratively and to have better relationships with other agencies, too. In early 2007, I had the privilege of chairing the first meeting of the festival's forum that went on to become Festivals Edinburgh, in which it enables strategic planning and decision making to be undertaken. I am delighted that it is now planning a further, rather, Thundering Hooves report, which I think will help to set out the direction of travel for the next 10 years and beyond and help Edinburgh to retain its jealously guarded preeminence in the field. My colleague Sarah Boyack will say more about that in her contribution. Before moving on from the Edinburgh festivals, I think that it is right, as Scottish Labour's amendment suggests, that we do mark the departure of Sir Jonathan Mills as director of the international festival. Jonathan Mills came to Edinburgh from Australia with an established reputation as an artist of renown in his own right, but also as someone who brought his fierce intelligence and love of the arts to the role of artistic director of the Melbourne international arts festival. He has stamped his mark on the international festival here, too, over the last seven years, and he will be missed. Thankfully, he is not leaving as entirely as I think he plans to stay in Edinburgh, but he is leaving the festival in good heart and, importantly, in good finance, something that I think his successor, Fergus Lai Nihon, will no doubt be grateful for. Sir Jonathan tells us that when he is in Edinburgh he plans to finish an opera that he is writing, and I am sure that we will wish him well in that endeavour. However, as the motion identifies, it is not only in Edinburgh that we find artistic and other festivals, and the efforts of Event Scotland to promote, encourage and to help to fund many of those events is welcome. I think that we are lucky to have organisations as professional and highly regarded as Visit Scotland and Event Scotland, working with local authorities and organisers, making Scotland a year-round destination for those with a love and an interest in the arts. From Edinburgh's Hugmanay to Celtic Connections in Glasgow, to Tea in the Park, to the Wicker Man and to Heptember, which I must admit was a new one to me, the calendar of events is packed. The Commonwealth Games incorporates an arts festival is one of the things that I think makes those games so special. In the original iteration, the Olympic Games also had a cultural festival. Indeed, there was a time when medals were awarded for artistic endeavour too. However, I think that that is one of the things that makes the Commonwealth Games so special, that this has continued this effort to this day. Because I was a Clyde sider, I did not have as much opportunity as I would have liked to experience what was happening in Glasgow during the games, let alone around the rest of the country. However, what I did see was remarkable. If I may say so, and it is always invidious to compare those things, but I did attend a lot of cultural events in Melbourne in 2006, I think that we did it a bit better. From the work done by Depoarchs in my constituency, on the day that the baton came through Apostle Park to the live zone at Glasgow Green, or indeed to the performance of our friend and colleague, Pauline McNeill, with the band MC4 in the Merchant City, there was some wonderful work going on. Of course, around Scotland, exhibitions like Generation feature people like Alison Watt and Toby Patterson, all of it interesting, challenging and free. We saw Glasgow and its people at their best during the Commonwealth Games. Indeed, somehow the entire country felt more invigorated and joyful than usual. If Edinburgh can host an arts festival every year, could Glasgow host a festival of sport on an annual basis? Before my colleagues and indeed the cabinet secretary get too worried about that, I am not talking about anything on the scale of the Commonwealth Games, and I am not necessarily talking about an event for our elite athletes. Yes, I do realise that the sporting calendar is already cluttered. However, could we host an annual event for perhaps young athletes, or very amateur athletes, or indeed for veteran athletes? Perhaps it would not work, but it just seems to me that we need to find a way to capture that enthusiasm and that spirit, and that perhaps a festival of sport would be an option, and indeed a fitting legacy of the sport and the culture that we enjoyed so much in 2014. There are so many festivals around the country that it is almost invidious to mention some without mentioning others. I am sure that my colleagues will mention those that they are particularly aware of in their own local areas. However, one thing that they all have in common is that they would not happen if it was not for the imagination and ingenuity of people who care about what happens in their communities, about people who care about what happens to art and culture in our country, and people who are determined to make a difference and to make sure that they, along with their local communities and their friends and neighbours, can enjoy the very best of what Scotland has to offer wherever it happens to be. I begin by saying that we are very happy, indeed, to support the Scottish Government's motion, which endorses the outstanding contribution that festivals generally make to the cultural, social and economic life of Scotland and the individual communities. We are also very happy to support the Labour amendment, which congratulates event Scotland and Sir Jonathan Mills as he completes his very distinguished career at the Edinburgh festival. Festivals are all about the celebration, or in some cases the commemoration, of a unique aspect of a community and its traditions. They are all about a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose, and usually they have their origin in the identity of social and religious or perhaps geographical groupings. As the cabinet secretary and Patricia Ferguson have both said, they are full of enthusiasm and, in this year particularly, of a real feel-good factor in vigorating the whole community. Some in Scotland have their history in early agriculture and in the celebration of the change of seasons. The Gallic Beltine fire festivals were all about encouraging the summer crops to grow. The Llamas festivals were about the power of the sun and the breaking of the first new bread following the harvesting of the grain. The Gallic Interpretation of the Saturnalian festivals, described by the Latin poet Catalyst, was all about celebrating the bounty of the land. Of course, in more modern times, we have the very Scottish interpretation of the autumn celebration of Halloween. In religious terms, many of the early festivals, particularly those in the middle ages, grew out of the crusades and the pilgrimages that people made in order to celebrate the life and work of religious saints, and many of those continue today. For some of more pagan views, there were other festivals, several of them dating much further back in time. For example, archaeologists believe that the standing stones at Calanich are there because of some of the earliest inhabitants believing that they could act as some kind of astronomical observatory that would allow them to follow and watch and, indeed, to worship the movement of the sun and the stars. In a similar way to some of the other festivals that I have mentioned, they were the monument to the link between man and his environment. I think that what is particularly interesting, cabinet secretary, as next week we will be debating the historic environment bill, is how we can interpret all of that in a more modern setting. The cabinet secretary herself mentioned the traditional music festivals, many of which have their foundation in the iconic Scottish instruments, such as the harp and the bagpipes, or the very best of Celtic and Gaelic songs and poetry. There are key means of understanding Scotland's rich history and how it has shaped those different environments. However, to have the festivals of a more sporting edge, I was interested in what Patricia Ferguson said about the possibility of perhaps having another one. The oldest Highland games, for example, dates back to series in Fife and has a particular interest this year, as it was the result of a charter that was awarded to the villagers on account of their loyalty to Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn. Highland games are so Scottish in their character, but they are also so international in their outreach. Increasingly, so, if you look at the countries in which they are being copied and the list of competitors in Scottish events when they come from all parts of the world—indeed on Sunday—I believe that at the Creef Highland games we are to have that great Lancastrian Freddy Flintoff proudly wearing his kilt as he tosses the caber. The cabinet secretary has also rightly said in recent times that culture has a worth within itself, and she is absolutely right in that, and one that should not be subservient to economic or financial gain. That is a very important context as we discuss the intrinsic values of our festivals, which define who we are and the relationships that we have with our past, as well as those that will help to mould our future. Nowadays, as the cabinet secretary has said, our festivals are diverse and as vibrant as anywhere else in the world. In the fields of music, art, science, film, food, leisure and religion, they reach far and wide, well beyond our local communities and to every corner of the world, and as such they are an increasingly popular attraction for visitors, as well as obviously for Scots themselves. The Edinburgh festival epitomises that breadth and depth of cultural experience since its inception in 1947. It has grown in both size and in stature, now encompassing just under 3,000 shows every August, and is still, for the most part, capable of attracting world-class artists on every stage. When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s—older the new cabinet secretary—I was very privileged to hear a great deal about the Edinburgh festival and its musical direction on the count of the fact that Dick Telfer, who along with Alexander Gibson, Ian Rodger, Ainsley Miller, was a family friend of my parents and grandparents, and the ethos on which they went on to found Scottish Opera is one that continues to be admired around the world and one that has always had the ability to ensure that Scotland is looking outward as well as nurturing the very best of the homegrown talent that we undoubtedly have. To Scottish Opera this year, Scottish Opera performed Ankara, bringing together New Zealand and different countries from all over the Commonwealth, so I think that that link is still strong in that outward impression. Yes indeed, cabinet secretary, and I think that it can be enhanced because I think that it is very much in the tradition of Scotland that we have to be outward looking as well as, as I say, doing the very best for our homegrown talent. I hope that that mix is something that we can always look at, and particularly in the context of whatever happens in the outcome of the referendum, that whoever we are, whatever political parties we support, that is something that binds us all together, because I think that these are very important strands. Culture, for me, is always at its best when it can make Scotland relevant in the international community in a way that celebrates the very best of our nation, but which also challenges our imagination and our creativity in which it can strengthen our cultural and social future. If any proof was needed, no one would need to look further than Glasgow this summer. Not only did that city lay on a highly successful Commonwealth Games, but also a terrific cultural experience in terms of Festival 2014 and Culture 2014, much of it free in terms of entry and one that went very much hand in glove with the traditions and the colour of the Commonwealth nations. Just to finish up, Glasgow excelled itself in so many different ways this summer, and we debated that last week in the Parliament about what the legacy would actually mean. Clearly, I think that cultural legacy is very much part of that, and I have no doubt that those two festivals will be the reason why many visitors will return to Glasgow in the years ahead. Festivals are an integral part of any nation, whether they are held within the very small communities and sometimes organised on a financial shoestring or within the large communities, and they are very often the means by which those communities bind themselves together. They matter to the economic fabric of Scotland, but much more than that they matter about who we are, they define who we are, and as such, we must not only celebrate that, but do everything that we can to support them. We now move to the open debate, and we have six minute speeches or thereby, and I call on Clare Adamson to be followed by Sarah Boyack. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I am very pleased to be called to this debate this afternoon. Scotland is simply one of the most exciting places to be in the world this year. As someone who has enjoyed the Why Dance Youth Festival during the Commonwealth Games, George R.R. Martin only this week at the Book Festival, I have to pay tribute, and others already have done, to the tremendous work that has been done across Scotland to make 2014 one of the most exciting and successful in Scotland's festivals history. I was very lucky to be an observer at the second international culture summit held in this Parliament at the weekend and over the Monday of this week. It was incredibly interesting and informative summit, attended by over 20 countries from across the globe, and they examined some of the cultural challenges facing us. It was brought together by this Parliament, by the UK and Scottish Governments, with support from the British Council and perhaps a very fitting swan song from Jonathan Mills, who is also part of the steering group of the culture summit. There were some very compelling and interesting presentations at it, and it examined some key themes of advocacy and identity in culture, cities and cultures, and quite controversially, of course, values and measurements of culture. George Syval performed with a collective of international medieval musicians and then spoke about how his music had informed his piecework across the world. Ia Sola, a choreographer, a French-Vietnamese choreographer, talked of how her work in Vietnam had helped to heal the elderly population and helped to deal with some of the traumatic experiences that they had had in their lifetimes. Perhaps one of the most compelling was from Nandi Mandela, who talked about cultural identity and a source for positive change in the global environment. As she spoke the words of her grandfather, it had a great profound impact on me listening about how important cultural identity is in nation shaping and our understanding of one another. One of the Polish delegates summed up the measuring and values part of it as saying, not everything that can be measured counts and not everything that counts can be measured. I think that our own cabinet secretary summed this up in the Talbot rice lecture from last year. We can't discuss the economic benefits of culture without also acknowledging the contribution that our cultural work makes to help to build long-term relationships and trusts overseas. As a country, we continue to punch it well above our weight internationally using heritage, culture and creativity to attract other nationals to live, work, study, travel and do business in Scotland, all of which contributes to growth. Culture helps to support engagement with priority countries and regions identified in the Government's international framework, and we have some good stories to tell. I hope to enlighten the chamber this afternoon with a good story from this very Parliament this afternoon. We had a compelling debate yesterday about Gaza led with a very moving opening speech by Drew Smith. In all the debates that we had then and in all the debates over the term of the international culture summit in all those deliberations, I think that in a small few minutes of some live singing in this Parliament this afternoon, it all came together and could have been summed up by the performance in the Robert Burns room. We had absolute delight of listening to one of the most emotionally powerful shows at the fringe, courtesy of the Delocal High School Choir, which has come from Laza Township in South Africa. The 30-strong choir of incredibly talented young people who sang and dance for us are all the more remarkable because they hail from a desperately poor township outside Durbin and in an area where violence and sexual crimes are all too commonplace. They are having their international debut at Edinburgh's festival. This was funded by an online campaign crowdsourcing from the Scottish charity Iris Initiative. It was very fitting that, in the Robert Burns room, the man who penned the words, a man, a man, the world over should brothers be for all that. They performed this afternoon included in the repertoire a stunningly beautiful tribute to Nelson Mandela. One young man stepped forward to speak the words of what their beloved Mandiba means to them. In doing so, and without blame or accusation and despite their own struggles and their own experiences of life, they expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine. The choir was accompanied by Mr Wallace, a retired teacher from Edinburgh, who has been involved in the Jubilani project for eight years. They have taken a Scottish award, the John Burn award, a prize that young people in Edinburgh out to Durbin, and they have been using it to work with schools out in Durbin. It is an incredibly important prize because it involves young people in expressing their reactions to other works of culture. Jubilani, just in Edinburgh, in South Africa, is to stimulate discussion of values and ethics. It is a wonderful example of cultural exchange, cultural understanding and what those festivals can mean to a world where we could understand one another's cultures and, in doing so, become a more peaceful and prosperous world. I very much welcome the debate today and I hope to focus my remarks on Edinburgh and the importance of our festivals to our culture and to our economy. The Edinburgh International Festival was established in 1947 in the wake of the Second World War and its founders believed that the festival should enliven and enrich the cultural life of Europe, Britain and Scotland and provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit. That ethos, I would say, is live and well today. Sixty years on, the Edinburgh International Festival is exciting and is challenging, but the world has changed and there are now many other cities jealous of Edinburgh's success. We are keen to emulate our international festival and to generate the economic and cultural benefits that come from such a flagship event. It is appropriate, given that we have only had nine directors of the festival since 1947, that we should acknowledge the work that is being done by Jonathan Mills. It is a significant commitment that somebody makes when they become the director of the Edinburgh International Festival, but what an absolutely magnificent, unrepeatable experience for one person to be able to have. Over the years, though, the festival has grown, and I think that that is where I want to focus. The festival has grown into a series of nearly year-round events. Festivals Edinburgh alone comprises of 11 different annual festivals, and each festival adds something special to the life of the city, but they are all important in their own terms, whether it is social, artistic, scientific or economic. However, I want to focus a bit today on the Thundering Whos report. It was published in 2006 and commissioned to address the fact that other cities were beginning to get their act together. There are other festivals, and there are other big cultural global sports events going on. It has been a hugely important report for all the different stakeholders, everybody involved in the festivals, and the construction of the forum has been hugely important so that there can be a strategic co-ordination, strategic discussion and some sense of collective interest of overall our festivals, but also crucially in terms of looking at the challenges and thinking about what needs to be done. I think that the things that I would want to pull out, given that we are having a review and a refresh of the Thundering Whos report with a report back next spring, thinking about progress and investment and leadership, not just for the international festival but for all the festivals, who comes next, who are our next performers, how are those productions managed, what investment are we getting in research and development and crucially in programming. The nuts and bolts of the festival need investment. We look at the stars, we look at the globally successful people that give face to the festival, but there is all the work underneath that surface, that brilliance, that work needs to be invested in as well if we are going to retain our preeminence as a festival city. One thing that I would particularly want to highlight is support for artists in the future. At the moment there simply is not enough space, there are not enough places for artists to develop their skills, to develop their craft and to develop their arts. We do have one or two venues in the city that are hugely important in Margaret's house, the work of wasps, but there is not enough for the demand that there is now in the city of artists who are both drawn to Edinburgh but also grow up in Edinburgh. We also need a lot more investment in venues. Over the year the city councils had to make some really tough decisions and has not been able to invest in everything as fast as it would like, but there are major venues that still need more investment, the King's Theatre, the Queens Hall and I think our venues, although they are expensive, they actually are hugely important terms of the character of the festival. If you look at the film house they have aspirations as well, they need investment and they have aspirations for the future. I think one of the key things that came from the Thundering Who's report was the suggestion that we need to continue the support from the Scottish Government. It is absolutely essential, so many of the initiatives that the cabinet secretary mentioned I think are crucial to the long-term success. The investment in our galleries, our national portrait gallery, our national museum, the work of creative Scotland, they all underpin the capacity to put on the international festival. They are important and without that national investment the Edinburgh international festival just would not exist in its current life nor would the fringe, nor would the range of other festivals we have. I want to add in a plea for support for contemporary music. We have recently lost the picture house on Lothian Road, which was a hugely important all-year-round venue and we do not have a replacement in the city. Thundering Who's also recommended some really difficult stuff. It recommended that the council increase its own cultural spend from 2.8 per cent to 4 per cent, but only as a start, that the aspirations were much bigger. The challenge, though, is, as the report noted, the relatively small tax base of Edinburgh compared with other comparator cities. We are actually quite a small city. The city doubles in size in terms of population through the international festival and the fringe, but we do not have a tax base to generate all the investment that we need around it. We have cross-party support in the council for the concept of a tourist levy, one of the key ideas that came out of Thundering Who's, but we have not yet seen support from the Scottish Government. On the day when the COSLA commission for strengthening local democracy argues for much more financial flexibility and scope for local decision making, I would like to leave that as a challenge for the minister to pick up. If not this afternoon, then I hope that there may be a private discussion with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance. That would be a very practical way to empower and enable the city to do an awful lot more. I would also want to flag up the fact that we have new festivals springing up all the time, and an all-year-round approach would be really great. We've got the Interfaith Festival, the Just Festival, the Take One Action Festival that I particularly love. It starts on 19 September. That's a day that we can all look forward to. That's a campaigning festival, and I think that we could leave it there. We've also got the Scottish History Festival. It's in November. The point that I want to make is that the international festival, the fringe, our official festivals are fantastic. They need more support. We particularly need to think about the next generation coming through our universities, our colleges and our schools, our next playwrights, our next set designers, our next programmers, our artists, our musicians, our singers. All of those young people coming through need support. We need the infrastructure, we need the money, we need the marketing, we need the support from the Scottish Government, but we also need to think about our schools, our colleges, our universities. The future of the festivals are crucial as well. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I have to say that I agree with quite a lot of what Sarah Boyack has just said as an Edinburgh MSP. Scotland really is the nation of festivals. All through the year, up and down the country, you can usually find a local festival. As the cabinet secretary has said, the 2014 could be the greatest year that we have had in terms of events, culture and sport. As an MSP for Edinburgh Western constituency, I am delighted that this debate is happening at the same time as the world's best and most famous culture extravaganza that is the Edinburgh festivals. For this reason, and with respect to festivals across the country, I would focus my comment rather like Sarah Boyack to that of Edinburgh, only because lessons learned here in the capital can help other areas. As a resident of the capital, I have grown to love the atmosphere, the colour, the diversity, the opportunities that present themselves at this time of the year. It was, however, only after being elected to the City of Edinburgh Council, I became aware of how vital the Edinburgh festivals are to the economy of the city and beyond. The global reach of the Edinburgh festivals is phenomenal. Consider the amount of free international advertising that Edinburgh and Scotland obtain when shots of the castle, Prince's Street or the Royal Mile are shown on TV screens across the world. It would probably take the entire Scottish Government block grant to pay for the equivalent advertising space globally. As an example, the 2013 review of Edinburgh's festival fringe says that there were 45,465 performances by 2,402 companies, which included some of the 24,107 performers from 41 countries in 273 venues. Those figures are just for the fringe. When you include the official festival, the book festival and others, we can see how successful the event that is the festival actually is. The festivals have to, however, overcome some logistical problems, some similar to that of which Glasgow had to overcome recently during their magnificent Commonwealth Games. The issues of transport management, particularly from the west of the city to the city centre, is something that local authority transport officials will have to deal with anyway, but during the festival times things can get quite crazy. With thousands of performers and visitors coming to the city, as well as festival inflation, where accommodation costs soar as lodgings become more difficult to obtain, becomes a problem, this is one of the main problems festivals have in terms of sustainability. If they are not seen to be seen as elitist in terms of allowing those who wish to break through into performing arts, showing exhibitions or indeed being able to go and see a show, we have to find a way to keep the costs down. Another plus side for the festival, of course, is Edinburgh airports obtaining more direct flights. As Edinburgh gets more accessible, it becomes vital that the logistical problems are identified and addressed. On the left-lamorous side of things, there is the issue of costs of performance and venue safety. One of the most difficult things that I had to do when I was convener of the City Edinburgh Council Regulatory Committee was to find ways of keeping the cost of public entertainment licences down. The arts, culture and sport should not only be for those who have money. I am delighted that, through the Scottish Government's Expo Fund, it has helped with the increased investment of £2.25 million from 2012, which helped to leave it in another £1.5 million from other sources. In terms of strategy, there has been much success in that the advertising and sales pitch for the Edinburgh festivals has been linked with other events such as the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. Not working in isolation but in partnership, feeding off each other and offering tourists an option that allows them to take in many events in the whole country, not just in Edinburgh. I think that that is an example of team Scotland in action. So, while Edinburgh and Scotland's festivals are absolutely first class, there cannot be room for complacency. As has been mentioned on numerous occasions today, back in 2006, the City Council commissioned the Thundering Hooves report. The threat from emerging festivals across the UK and Europe in terms of artistic prestige, patronage, affordability and accessibility are required to be looked at seriously. I welcome the news that the festival forum will review the way things are done. Over the years since Thundering Hooves, the City Council, festivals Edinburgh as well as the individual festivals have taken up the challenge. I would like to mention five people out of the many who have worked to maintain Edinburgh's prominence as the world's leading festival city. Faith Lidl, the director of festivals Edinburgh whose work brings together into a coherent unit the festivals here in the city. Kath Mainland, the CEO of Festival French, whose magnificent work has earned her a CBE in the Queen's birthday honours this year. If ever there was anyone so perfectly placed in a job at Kath Mainland, I would mention Sir Jonathan Mills, who has left his mark on the festival over the years. Two local politicians are not something that we hear very often here, but there are two of them that I would like to mention. First of all, the Edinburgh festival invents champions, Councillor Cardowney. It is fair to say that Steve Cardowney has developed a sometimes controversial image in the city, including playing a cadaver in a Ukrainian play at the festival some years ago. However, his work over a number of years has shown an incredible commitment to the Edinburgh festival's profile at home and abroad. I would also like to commend, in the same way, Councillor Eric Milligan from the Labour group, who has shown the same passion for the festival over a number of years. I am deeply proud to have been involved with many who are a part of this festival. With Scotland's festivals, we can look forward to many successful years, and not just in Edinburgh. I now call on Rora Grant to be followed by Rob Gibson. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and this is a very welcome debate. We should all remember that festivals are not just social occasions, enjoyment and recreation. They can also have a huge impact on local economies, and that is especially in areas such as the areas that I represent in remote rural areas, in which there are much smaller populations. The benefits can be huge to draw in visitors from other areas. It is not just festivals as such. It is the county shows, the Highland games and the agricultural shows. We have seen the Edinburgh Royal Highland show, what impact it has. Up north, we have the Black Isle show, which is, I suppose, our answer to the Royal Highland show, but it brings people in from the whole of the Highlands and Islands and beyond, boosting the local economy. We also have things such as pipe-band competitions, for instance the worlds, which, unfortunately, this year has gone to Glasgow rather than Denun, and that is a disappointment for the people in Denun. I hope that they will win the competition back, because it had a huge impact on the economy of Denun. We have to be very careful when looking at festivals and the movement of them, or encouraging more in them. I think that she is confusing some of the competition. The world pipe-band championship has been in Glasgow for the last number of years. It has been regained in Glasgow, but the Denun championship is a different championship. Perhaps I could write to the member to help to explain that. I would certainly appreciate that, because I know that it has had a big impact in Denun, and it is important that we try to get that back to make an impact on the local economy, which has been disadvantaged over a period of time. We have had additional events this year, such as the Commonwealth Games, the Bannockburn re-enactments and the like, for homecoming 2014. While welcoming those additional events, we need to be very careful about the impact that they have on other events. I do not want to bring down the debate, which has been a great celebration of things. In my own area, the Rockness musical festival has been cancelled this year because of competition from other events. I think that that is unfortunate, because a lot of those events have been in the central belt, rather than out in the more remote rural areas. It was a prime musical festival for young people, and the impact of losing it has had an impact on the economy of not only Inverness, but the south side of Loch Ness, which was very dependent on that. I want to put something across to the member. In our area, we have the Commonwealth Games, and we always have the Merchant City Festival. We move the dates of the Merchant City Festival to coincide with the Commonwealth Games. Is that something that you might think in the areas that you were speaking about, that you would not clash with other festivals and that you could get the best of both worlds? I think that that is a good point that Sandra White makes, but I think that the problem was this year that the calendar was so packed that there was not an opportunity to move that. I am really asking that some thought be given when pushing forward, looking at groundbreaking events and the like, that we make sure that we do not push out other events that have the ability to become annual events and impact on those local communities. I am asking for careful planning when looking for increased events to make sure that that does not impact on our more remote rural areas that cannot compete to the same level. We have wonderful festivals in the north. The head fest, for example, has been running for a number of years and has had a huge impact on that economy. It attracts big names and spreads throughout the western isles with traditional and modern music. There is something for everybody and it not only happens in Stornoway but it happens in community halls throughout the islands, allowing everybody to have an opportunity to attend and enjoy that festival. I might ask the cabinet secretary to have discussions with colleagues about transport for such events. Events that happen on islands are very dependent on transport by boats. I know that there are concerns in the western isles about the Newloch seaforth that many folk had hoped for, for two smaller boats that could have increased capacity during those peak times to provide additional sailings to allow people to come and go. There are concerns of the one boat that is dependent on a link span that has Stornoway and Ellipoll. If there was a problem with the link span in Stornoway, it could not be used at all to ferry people to the islands. I might ask the cabinet secretary to raise that in discussions with colleagues to make sure that there are contingency plans at such times. I remember last year's Orkney folk festival, where the boat from Scrabster to Orkney had been cancelled for a number of weeks ahead of that. Bad weather ensued when the boat went back on, leading to a big pressure on all the sailings, both from Scrabster and Aberdeen, and some people missing out on the festival because of those transport issues. I would also like to mention Belladrum. I should maybe register an interest to do that, because I was invited to perform, because that is what it said on my wristband, but it certainly speaks at the verb tent to Belladrum. Belladrum is very much a family festival with music—all kinds of different music. You see people of all age groups, indeed. I saw wee cots on wheels that wheeled very young people around, especially in the evening when their parents were enjoying some of the events. They also have debates, conversations and discussions with experts and campaigners on what they call the verb tent, which is very interesting, certainly to a politician who can go in and put forward views and ideas, which I think is probably unique in all the festivals that we have throughout the country. We also have other festivals throughout the area. Pelea is one, but many more, which I think is too many to mention in this debate. We need to recognise the importance of them, not only for enjoyment, as I said, but also for the impact that they have on our local economy, and especially that they are disproportionately dependent on those economies in remote rural areas. I now call on Rob Gibson to be followed by Nenette Milne. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I welcome this motion today and much of the debate that has taken place around the festivals that we can celebrate around the country that enhances life in our small country in many, many different ways. I would like to really concentrate on some of the aspects of festivals that go on from year to year, and in particular those in my part of the world. I should say that it is those large and small festivals across the country that are the backbone of the festival movement that you, if you are lucky, can rely on taking place if the funding can be found through the systems that exist to pay for part of their existence. I would make a plea for Creative Scotland to make sure that it does not always seek new ways to spend money, that it recognises that having festivals from one year to the next is in itself a creative activity. One of the festivals that I want to deal with is that of the fashion, the festivals that promote the Gaelic language. Around 13,000 young people annually participating with another 4,800 taking part in the youth music initiative that it organises and indeed the benefits for Gaelic culture and history which flows from this. After 10 years of the Fesh movement in 1996, a report by Comedia pointed out that, in the case of the adult Fesh, which takes place in May in Aleppo, the fashion makes a hugely valuable contribution to their communities at very little public expense. Comedia cited the example in 1996 that the fashion provided a considerable amount of year-round activity for less than half the public subsidy allocated without hesitation to a single swimming pool and sports hall in Aleppo. In other words, there are many, many very valuable and growing events that are supported in cultural terms with a lot less money than perhaps many other sorts of events are. I think that we have got to remember that fashion and Gael is increasing its reach around many parts of the country and that, indeed, according to Highlands and Islands, an enterprise report in 2001, the original vision of a community-led festival that passes on the skills of traditional music, song and dance, has developed into a highly effective network of volunteers, tutors and supporting organisations with centres of activity across most parts of Scotland, where there are active Gaelic communities. That is a tremendous volunteer-led effort that has public recognition and contributes to some of those widespread festivals that I talked about. However, I would like to turn to another aspect of festivals that I think is very important and to congratulate the cultural festivals that took place associated with the Commonwealth Games. I think that one of those events, which a small smidgen of it was presented last night by Jim Sutherland and Fiona Mackenzie, is part of the Strelag show. As they said originally, Gaelic is used to be spoken all over Scotland and the descendants of its speakers are spread across the world. The scutter of people is the Scottish Gaelic diaspora and Strelag, sure to sure, maps the further stretches of this amazing diaspora connecting with people who feel the call of a culture that is etched into their DNA. That show, children of the smoke, which was presented in Glasgow, is one of the major elements of creativity that has been created in the call of making sure that we had such a vibrant cultural outpouring at the time of the sports activities at the same time. Jim Sutherland, its creator, has to be hugely thanked for creating that opportunity in festival 2014. We then have to ask what about supporting future performances so that many other people can actually see that as well. It is in that context that we have to draw some support. Fiona Hyslop was speaking in the Talbot Wright gallery in Edinburgh University in June last year, who said that Scotland's cultural life and heritage cannot be reduced to a single style or image. Rather, it is a wealth of what we might describe as stories that take many different forms, as diverse as the land, peoples and places of this complex country. When you build on that vision, you have to make sure that culture in all its forms is supported by our Government, but recognise that that can only happen when not only do you have the powers to promote it but you have the money behind that to make sure that we can make the best of those cultural outpourings that are innate in our people as they are in the peoples of every other country of the world. I very much welcome this afternoon's very timely debate following the hugely successful Commonwealth Games and associated Festival 2014 and Culture 2014 and during this year's Edinburgh International Festival and the Festival Fringe. I am delighted to be taking part in the debate and I make no apology for devoting my speaking time to celebrate another important Scottish festival that is very close to my heart, the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, or AIYF, as it is known, of which I have been a trusty and a friend for a considerable number of years, and in this connection I refer members to my register of interests. AIYF has just finished its 42nd successful season and it is now recognised as one of the best celebrations of youth arts held anywhere in the world today. We have had Governments backing in recent years with successive ministers attending its opening ceremony including Patricia Ferguson and the current Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop. Unfortunately, Ms Hyslop was unable to be in Aberdeen this year because of our Commonwealth Games commitments, but AIYF is very appreciative of her on-going support. The festival was created in the late 1960s by the late Glyth Major Music Director of the Midland Youth Orchestra and the late Lionel Breyer, Chairman of the International Youth Federation. They conceived the idea of bringing together youth orchestras from all over the world using music as a unifying bond to promote international understanding. The first festival of youth orchestras was held in 1969 in St Moritz in Switzerland. Invited by the British Tourist Authority, the festival moved to the UK and established a base both in London and Aberdeen for the following five years, during which the festival was able to expand to incorporate all forms of dancing, jazz and choral music, thanks to the excellent facilities and local support in the city of Aberdeen. Such was the support within the city from the council, the university, local businesses and great audiences, that the decision was made to focus the event entirely on Aberdeen at the northeast and in 1980 the name was changed to the AIYF that we know today, which now embraces dance, theatre, world music, both traditional and modern choirs, orchestras, opera and jazz. This year we even had a large Chinese marching band from Beijing. In recent years, audience numbers have increased steadily and AIYF has continued to expand its educational and community projects and is able to select the most talented individuals and groups from all over the world, giving them a platform to show their talents in a celebration of youth culture, recognised universally as one of the best in the world. The festival is held in high regard by Aberdonians and the extended festival performances within towns and villages in Aberdeenshire are enjoyed by capacity audiences wherever they take place. AIYF lives up to its founding principles of using music and other art forms to promote international understanding, so important in the divided and strife ridden world we inhabit today. At this year's opening ceremony on the 27th of July, when the participants' national flags were paraded into the music hall to the accompaniment of the national anthems, it was very moving to see young attendees from Ukraine, the Netherlands, Russia, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the USA, Mexico, China and Japan, as well as Scotland and England, all applauding each other's anthems and also the Saltaire and the Union flag, with everyone standing for the British national anthem and their faces were at pictures always when the renowned Buxburn junior pipe band entered into the hall to conclude proceedings and I know that the minister and previous minister have experienced that. The ensuing week of performances within and beyond the city brought a colour and atmosphere to Aberdeen which we only see when AIYF is in town. This year, of course, we were blessed with the same wonderful sunshine enjoyed at the Commonwealth Games, except I have to say when we entertained the American Schools Orchestra from New York to a pre-performance barbecue at Bremark Castle when it simply poured with rain. It was hard to believe that the talented performers in evening dress who entertained us to Beethoven's eighth symphony just an hour later had been dripping wet in the type of Scottish weather that previously just heard, talked about. Perhaps my sherry trifle had something to do with their good humour, said their conductor, appreciated it. To see choirs and orchestras performing magnificently together after the scantiest rehearsal time is quite humbling and I know this was repeated across many different venues where dance, theatre and international music delighted their audiences. The performers are catered for in the university halls of residence and every evening the young people who have not been performing that day do an impromptu concert for the others and have a great time socially. This way over many years friendships are made across language and political divides and a number of visiting groups are now brought to Aberdeen by directors and leaders who first came to the festival as teenagers themselves. One group that has come to Aberdeen for many festivals since 1979 is the Saga Ballet Company from Tokyo. This year they were accompanied once again by their founder and choreographer, fondly known to us as Toshi, now a very fit and sprightly 82-year-old who I'm told still dances. Toshi is a non-refriend of AYF and an enormous fan of Aberdeen and of course we were delighted to hear back again. I was particularly pleased on Tuesday this week to attend the event here sponsored by Christian Allard to showcase the North East Folk Collective who also performed at this year's AYF. This group was formed in 2009 by Shaden Hassan, a local fiddler from Inch in Aberdeenshire and plays traditional music from the north-east and other parts of the world. We had 22 of them on Tuesday and all had our toes tapping to their talented performances and I was delighted here from Shaden that she's a large number, even younger children coming up with the ranks of her group, safeguarding the future of our traditional music for many years to come. Presiding officer, I could go on all afternoon but suffice to say that AYF is going strong and its current director and CEO, Stuart Aiken, is doing a splendid job of leading it with very limited staff resources and a budget which is ever tighter as is the case with most cultural festivals. Core funding from the City Council and Aberdeen University and the financial support of many sponsors to numerous dimension individually but led by the oil majors BP and Shell is absolutely essential and has to be vigorously pursued every year. There are on-going discussions about our future governments and development of AYF but I have no doubt to this a will to ensure this future for many more years to come and plans in hand for this. Time precludes me from saying more but I can assure members our warm reception and an exciting cultural experience if they come to Aberdeen between the 24th of July and the 1st of August next year. Thank you, excuse my voice. Thanks much. Now Colin Stewart, Stevenson to be followed by Fiona McLeod, six minutes all thereby please. Thank you. Thank you pardon. I've lost it. My apologies. Willie Coffey to be followed by Liam McArthur, my mistake. My apologies. I very much, Presiding Officer, a poor substitute for my colleague, Stewart Stevenson, but we'll hear from him in a minute or two. I think it's appropriate to have this to be in celebration of Scotland's culture in the middle of the Edinburgh festival. The fringe is the biggest arts festival in the world and when you walk up the high street you would think that the whole world has come to Edinburgh. As Kath Mainland says in her welcome, the fringe is the greatest cultural event in the planet and we should expect the unexpected. With what looks like around 4,000 fringe events in the programme to choose from, it certainly is unboring, as it says on the programme, and there's something for everyone to enjoy. I've managed to attend two events so far. One was called, intriguingly, and the goat remained a goat. About one Harry Price, a ghost hunter and man of mystery by Professor Richard Wiseman and the fabulously talented musicians The Creative Martyrs. That was so weird and so funny, as I must see for colleagues in the chamber. The other one show that I managed to see to a packed out audience was by the Scottish falsetto sock puppet theatre. I've never laughed so much in years and seeing adults and knots a puppet show was entertaining in itself and it seemed to lift everyone's spirits and we all felt like kids again for a wee while anyway. Enough of the plugs. The festival here in Edinburgh is a massive event for Scotland and the city itself is the perfect stage for what must surely now be the best festival in the world, bringing huge numbers of visitors in and providing an incredible boost for the city's economy. It's important for Scotland too, of course, and we have been blessed with some major festivals and events, including Celtic Connections, celebrating I think it's its 22nd year next year and I think it is now attracting well over 100,000 visitors to Glasgow in January. We've had a huge tea in the park this summer too, mentioned by the cabinet secretary, with the equally huge Kilmarnock band Biffy Clyro starring once again. With Advannock Barn, the Edinburgh Festival, the major events of the Commonwealth Games and the Rider Cup to come shortly, of course. Surely, Presiding Officer, 2014 will prove to be the biggest and greatest year for Scotland ever. From Glasgow to Edinburgh and from Shetland to the Borders, Scotland has opened its doors to the world. Visitors have come in huge numbers to sample the best of what Scotland can offer and the Scottish people have been the most fantastic hosts. The lonely planet, wanderlust and rough guides, travel guides have put Scotland way up there amongst the top recommendations for people to visit this year and I'm sure when we see the figures coming out what a hugely successful year this has been for Scotland. The events, of course, are important in themselves for the economic benefits and international prestige that they bring to our country, but we all want to see the positive impact that they will have in our communities in the long run on things like health, on participation in sport and on increasing the general quality of life and job opportunities for our citizens. Those, I think, will be the real markers of success. In my constituency over the summer, there have been a number of local festivals and events of note. Our Sturton Bunnet Makers Guild festival has been on the go since 1933 and the Corshall Queen this year shared the limelight with when the Commonwealth Games baton came into town. Only last weekend I attended the New Millans community gala, which I'm told has been on the go since the days of King James the First. So, if that's true, some other festivals have a wee bit of catching up to do. Thirdly, our dear, dearly beloved Darvel music festival is now in its 14th year, attracting an increasing number of visitors and fantastic bands under the dedicated guidance of Neil and Sheila McKenna. Of course, to make all of the festivals, whether national or local, the successful events that they are, we need a rich variety of ingredients. Funding from the Scottish Government, the local councils and private investors makes it all financially possible. The artists and sportsmen and women need a stage in which to showcase their talents, but what really makes these festivals and events tick for me are the people in the ground who make them happen. The people with a smile on their face when you're lost and can't find your way to a venue who answer the same questions day in, day out without complaining and who go out of their way to make sure that our visitors have a wonderful time. The people in our local communities, such as Stuart and Yamill and Darvel, who put endless time and energy into organising these local events, celebrating their local history and culture, keeping up the traditions that are loved by all and which help to define us as a nation. This is what turns festivals into great events. It's not just about the shows and the performances, it's the warmth of the welcome afforded to the people who come to visit us that makes the difference, and it's what our visitors treasure. We can't fund that or buy that. I think that Scotland has been the most exciting place in the world to visit this year. Our people know how to celebrate, to put on a show and to have a great time doing it. We're a nation re-emerging with greater confidence than ever in our history, and the greatest celebration, I hope, is shortly to come. Many thanks, and I now call Liam McArthur to be followed by Stuart Stevenson. Thank you very much, everybody. For a moment there, I thought I was about to be thrown out with the Willie Coffey bathwater, but anyway, I'd certainly welcome this debate. I'm wholeheartedly in support of the motion and indeed Labour's amendment. In fact, I think it's quite a welcome antidote to the debate on welfare that I sat through yesterday. I give new warning. I make no apology like others have done for concentrating most of my remarks on the excellence and vibrancy of what's going on in my constituency in Orkney, touching on some of the themes that I raised during the recent youth arts strategy debate. But, like Patricia Ferguson's amendment, I would like to start by paying tribute to what is being achieved here in the capital, notably by festivals Edinburgh. It truly is a world-class celebration of culture demonstrating the intrinsic value, as Liz Smith pointed out, but the variety is truly astonishing, and I think a fitting legacy left by Sir Jonathan Mills, as others have referred to. Despite that intrinsic value, I don't think that we should be in any way embarrassed about the economic value of these festivals. I think that Edinburgh is testimony to the extent to which culture and festivals drive tourism generate economic benefit directly, but also by providing the sorts of places that people want to live and work, and by extension delivering economic benefit in that way. It's obviously unusual for us to be here in Edinburgh during August. It is not, as colleagues might be surprised to learn, all upside. Nevertheless, for those of us travelling for further appeal, it does give us a first opportunity to attend the festival of politics this weekend and also to immerse ourselves a bit in the festival and fringe when all the moment. Those who know me will know that I'm no expert or necessarily aficionado of modern dance, but nevertheless, earlier this week I found myself at a production by Black Grace, a New Zealand dance group with Samoan roots who produced something that was truly exhilarating. The cabinet secretary suggested that everybody can dance. I have to say if I tried half the moves that she put on, I'd be in traction at the moment. Nevertheless, I put on record the thanks to Creative New Zealand, whose efforts in supporting Black Grace and a number of other New Zealand artists to be present in the festival enriches the experience for all of us. It's my conversion to modern dance. It can be attributed to the powers of persuasion of fringe chief executive and off-quoted calf mainland. As Colin Keith has suggested, her CBE is richly merited and I think recognition of the achievements that she's made in building on the success of the fringe. I congratulate Cath and her remarkable team on what looks like being another record-breaking season for the fringe. It's no surprise of course that Cath is a native orcadian. I recognise that it's not a competition but few places surely can lay claim to the range and quality of festivals that take place each year in the islands. I represent. Like Edinburgh, Orkney's calendar is now packed almost throughout the year, the one-act play festival in February, where Orkney groups reached the national finals for both the adult and youth categories this year. There's real excitement about the fact that Orkney arts theatre will be playing host to the Scottish finals next year. I think it's a reward for the hard work put in by far too many people to mention but also recognition of the very healthy state of drama in the islands. We then move on to the Orkney folk festival, internationally renowned, as the cabinet secretary kindly acknowledged, and attracting acts from all over the world, but firmly rooted in the folk music traditions of Orkney. Strombness was again alive with the sound of music coming from every bar, every hall and of course spilling out onto the street and it really was a wonderful atmosphere. I declared an interest as the brother of somebody who is integral to organising the festival but it was particularly gratifying to see a number of young acts over recent years who've gone on to star at Celtic Connections and other festivals in Scotland, the UK and further afield. We then move on to St Magnus festivals in June and it similarly enjoys an international reputation, blending quality and variety exceptionally well, while also I think taking steps to engage for the wider community through concepts in the smaller isles, in rural parishes and workshops in the schools. Agricultural shows then take centre stage for a couple of months before the science festival gets underway at the beginning of September. This is a truly eclectic mix of talks, workshops, concerts and gatherings of every conceivable sort based, often rather loosely, around particular scientific themes. Something for everyone is how we first the organiser often rightly observes and quite rightly in my mind one of the small number of festivals that receive support through Government funding. If I may start the process of post referendum peace and reconciliation by inviting the Cabinet Secretary up to Orkney again for the Orkney Blues Festival, it runs from the 19th to the 21st of September and perhaps more so even in the festival referred to by Sarah Boyack, perhaps an ideal opportunity to harness the minister's mood at that time. The story as the nights close in and we settle down for Orkney's storytelling festival at the end of October. Given those array of festivals, as well as the wider cultural and artistic activity that takes place in Orkney over the course of the year, I was delighted but not surprised to hear earlier this week that a two-day creative orkney event is planned for the end of September. It is being hosted by the Centre for Nordic Studies and is a celebration of Orkney's vibrant culture creative scene, which will include field trips around Neolithic Orkney, tours of the Peer Arts Centre, jewellery workshops and discussions of the work of photo journalist Goonnie Moberg, whose photos have adorned the walls in this Parliament. All very positive, but if I could sound a slightly discordant note before concluding, these festivals thrive and perhaps survive by being able to attract visitors to the islands. It is therefore disappointing that such significant cuts were made to the lifeline ferry services across the Pentland Firth under the current contract negotiated by the Government. I know that some sailings have been put back this year to coincide with the year of homecoming, but if we are really to be successful in growing those festivals, extending the shoulders of the tourist season and capitalising on the wider economic opportunities, ministers need to review the decision. However, I conclude by saying that I very much welcome this debate and acknowledge the wonderful story that Orkney and indeed Scotland has to tell with regards to our festivals in this year perhaps more than ever before and look forward to seeing a number of colleagues at the festival of politics in this Parliament over the Kent. Many thanks and I now call Stuart Stevenson to be followed by Fiona McLeod.  Indeed, my wife, when she discovers I've been speaking in a debate in culture, will no doubt express some considerable astonishment. However, where we live, it's a three-hour round trip to get to the nearest cinema, three-hour round trip to get to the nearest professional theatre, a two-hour round trip to get to the nearest amateur theatre—a very good seasonal offering it is. However, that doesn't mean that we don't have culture in my part of the country because culture is often small-scale and local. I was slightly surprised that the culture cabinet century didn't, of course, mention at the Llyfridog Folk Festival that there will be inadvertently in the week immediately before the referendum, thus restricting the ability of some people to be able to go and participate in it. Next year, indeed, part of the event will be the celebration of Matt McGinn's life and contribution to Scottish culture. In Llyfridog and in communities all around Scotland, we have a smaller scale but very effective and focused and very engaging of large proportion of local people in the festivals. Rob Gibson talked about the fission. I would have said more than I am going to now say, but in particular I think the fission on Barra and Vattersee, which has been going since 1981, makes a terrific contribution to sustaining garlic culture and many of the instruments that perhaps are not much used in other parts of Scotland. I was a great fan of the parahandy tales when I was a youngster. I have probably bought the tales of the parahandy book on probably six, seven, eight or nine occasions because I keep giving it away and I do not get it back because it is a compelling read. Over 100 years since much of it was written and yet the politics in it, in its discussions, a lot of it still echoes today, interestingly. But anyway, his instrument of choice was the trump.  That is probably even beyond my musical abilities and it is the simplest of all instruments, but I have not heard the trump played for a very long time. Perhaps we should have some government money for that and keep alive parahandy's favourite instrument. Rhoda Grant suggested that local festivals cannot compete. I am not so certain. I heard a sort of corporatist view of life that there should be great overarching coordination of dates and activities. I have taken an entirely contrary view of the anarchy that comes from grass roots activity and a little bit of survival of the fittest but some focused financial and organisational support. Platforms such as are offered by homecoming 2014 to publicise local events is the kind of help that happens but by no means should we be interfering in any way, shape or form, with that helpful anarchy that comes from a few enthusiastic individuals in communities across Scotland. Now, what actually is a festival? It comes from the Latin festum, festa, which just means feast. Now, we have not heard much about festivals of food. Now, in the north-east, we have festivals of food, so I very much welcome that. Of course, coming from that derivation and being applied across Scotland in so many different ways, it can cover almost anything but getting co-operation and engagement from across our communities is what sustains our communities. How many festivals have we got in Scotland? Well, it is quite interesting. I put in Scottish festivals 2014 to Google and I got 38.5 million hits. I thought that that might be slightly too many, so I refined it down. The lowest figure that I could get with the most restrictive hit for 2014 was 3,500. There is a lot going on in Scotland. It is worth saying that not everybody is a great fan of festivals. Detective Inspector Rebus, the creation of Ian Rankin, drinks in the Oxford bar in Young Street Lane. That used to be the pub that was owned by a guy called Willie Ross. Willie Ross was a homophobe, anglophobe and misogynist. He hated almost everybody. He used to shut his pub for the three weeks of the festival and put a notice in the door saying, shut due to festival. Thankfully Willie Ross now deceased so we can be as rude about him as we want to be and should be was absolutely the exception. I have a Giles cartoon book from 1948 that has a cartoon about the fringe, the first year when the fringe sort of sputtered into life. It has been around the long time and very quickly travelled across the world and across public discourse. In my constituency, the most important festival of all takes place and that is the Scottish traditional boat festival. Starting 21 years ago, when 200 people came to Port Soy, now attracting 20,000 people. Occasionally we get good weather as well. We have lots of festivals. I've got a huge long list. I suppose we're hoping that politicians don't get greatly associated with the Scot's Fiddle festival, think about it. Let me just say that the whole point about festivals is not about levelling down great international events, it's about raising up local aspiration and achievement, preserving local cultures, Presiding Officer. Many thanks. I now call Fiona McLeod to be followed by Hans Alamalee. It's important and fitting that we are having this debate today about the major national and international festivals that are being held across Scotland this year. However, I want to talk about them very much as the major festivals that we have, how they encourage, they raise the profile and the participation of local festivals and themed festivals across Scotland not just this year but every year. However, just one personal anecdote, if I may, we've been talking about the Edinburgh international festival. In 1947, at the first Edinburgh international festival, my mother-in-law Elizabeth Watson, the soprano for the Orphous Choir, sang for the king and queen of the day, a family piece of history that we're all very proud of. However, when we're talking about festivals and about culture, for me, I was thinking, why are we having this and why do we all enjoy festivals? Because isn't this about us being able to indulge our passions but at the same time to stretch our horizons? It's about us almost having a cultural work out when we attend festivals. It's so much about community as well, isn't it? We've heard that from other speakers, the cabinet secretary has talked about it, Patricia Ferguson and Willie Coffey. A festival is a community of itself. It's a community of those that attend, it's a community of those that perform, but it's very much a community of those that produce the festivals, especially when we're talking about the small local festivals. I was delighted that other members, Liam McArthur, including Willie Coffey, paid tribute to our many local volunteers who work so hard to produce our local festivals. You won't be surprised that I want to use a fair bit of my speech to talk about the festivals that we have in Strathkelven and Bearsden, my constituency and those that work so hard to produce such fantastic events for our communities. Liam McArthur has beaten me because his list of events and festivals for his constituency I think covered every single month of the year. I've got to highlight just four festivals in my constituency, but out of a large number but four that I thought were very important to highlighting this debate. One of the ones that's been going for a few years now in Bishop Briggs in my constituency is the festival for Thomas Muir. Thomas Muir, many of you will know, has the title of the father of democracy, not just democracy in Scotland but across the world. Thomas Muir was born and lived in Bishop Briggs in Huntershill House, and we've been having a Thomas Muir festival there for quite a few years now. We now have a Thomas Muir trail, so we don't just listen to the history and debate the philosophy, we actually go and walk the streets and byways that Thomas Muir himself walked. Next year will be the 250th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Muir, and I'm hoping that we will be able to have an event here in Parliament to celebrate that most important of births in the democratic calendar. A new festival that just started last year in my constituency is the Bearsden festival. It began last year, one weekend in September. It's incredibly successful now. Bearsden has a population of about 9,000 people. For one event over that weekend, the craft festival, 1,500 people, turned up. In the millions of numbers that we've been talking about earlier, that sounds insignificant, but 1,500 people out of a population of 9,000, that's quite a significant community turnout. This year they're going on, spurred on, we're having more festivals in Bearsden this year. They decided to split it over three, and we've already had the first. When the baton came through Bearsden, they had the Bearsden Sport and Commonwealth Food Festival, and I understand that everybody ate themselves to stand still despite the rain pouring down. Do you remember the baton that went all round Scotland in the sunshine when it came to us? It poured all day. Very quickly, Easton-Bartonshire cycle festival in Bishop Briggs has been going on a number of years now. Two years ago, I think it was, it became not just a festival of freewheeling cycling, but we managed to add fair trade in as well. A fair trade cycle festival, please look and learn, we can promote lots of things at the same time. Let me finish on the Kirkantilloch canal festival. Sunday, 24 August, I invite you all to join the 25,000 people who come through Kirkantilloch in one day. Kirkantilloch, a small town in the centre of Scotland, attracts 25,000 people. It's a fantastic day. So far, for the last few years, it's been sunny every Sunday. Festivals are fun, they're educational, they're neighbourly, but they also boost the local economy. The 1,500 people through Bairstain cross one afternoon, and the 25,000 people through Kirkantilloch in a day. As a librarian, I have to very quickly mention the festivals of reading that we have across Scotland, Book Week Scotland in November, and the summer reading challenge that we have in our public libraries for young people sponsored by Tesco Bank. My two favourites, perhaps, the one that you will expect me. Last year, we had a whole year of festivals in my small village, but Sky's Tattibogo festival in Mnganis. It's different, it's quirky and it's great. Please go, they've got a Facebook page and look at all those scarecrows. Festivals are for us to enjoy, for us to join in, but I think also to take this opportunity to thank the many people that act in them, perform in them, but most especially help us to produce them. Thank you very much and good afternoon, Presiding Officer. I welcome the opportunity to talk about Scotland's festivals, especially the smaller community-based events that take place all over Scotland and get very little recognition for what they do for us. I want to particularly thank all the parents, the aunties and the uncles and the grandmothers and the grandfathers who take toddlers and young people to various clubs up and down the country and who sit in the evenings and stitch all sorts of garments for them at their own personal expense and make them proud and make them proud in the sense that they can actually achieve something in the community. They enrich us on a daily basis and these events take place all over the country throughout the year and I've seen it time and time again when these small groups apply for funding in councils and various other places written off because they're too small, they're not important enough. Believe me, that's where it all starts from because that's where you get that niche, you want to do things all your life, you want to support other activities throughout the country, so I think that sometimes we underestimate their value and I particularly want to thank all those people who make such a huge effort on a weekly basis to support their young people, engage in community events and festivals up and down Scotland and over the past year I have been involved with many events where the community gets together and celebrates all that Glasgow has to offer. It is also a way to keep building on the quality and skill of gigs which encourage visitors coming through all year every year and you know I think that's important, it's not only about people celebrating small events within the communities themselves, we actually want to share that, not only amongst ourselves but everybody else. On paper people come to Glasgow in January to hear traditional music, sounds like a big ask, but Celtic Connections continues to go from strength to strength, huge achievement on their part. One of the festivals which is close to my own heart is the Glasgow Mela. This is a mela that has been going on since the early 90s and the Glasgow life is one of the departments that is playing a keen role in assisting the organisation of that every year. The event celebrates Glasgow's in fact Scotland's diverse communities, its multi-culturism society. The Mela has been in Glasgow now for so long that there are waiting queues, there are people waiting from all over the UK who want to actually come and participate in the Mela. It is so popular now despite the fact that it gets to the end of every second year but we still continue to get an interest and it is supported by many organisations as well as just simply the council which is a wonderful thing because eventually I would like to see organisations like that become self-sufficient. This could not have happened without the tremendous support that they received from Glasgow City Council over the last 20 years or so and I'm a witness of that as a councillor in Glasgow that I've seen it again and again and the fact that it is so popular that now it had started off as an ethnic minority Mela however it's now a Glasgow Mela and it is very diverse and very rich in who it attracts and what they actually do, fantastic event every year. Sometimes people wonder how much of this activity is created to, is this because we are part of the UK or is it down to local spirit? Well I know the minority community has copied many events from down south but have adapted it to the Scottish design and culture which shows I believe a spirit that is amongst the Scottish communities that what we do in Scotland even though we may import it from other parts of the world we tend to adapt it to our own culture which is a wonderful thing I think because it shows diversity again and the fact that we can take on other communities activities. However when they adapt it is a the Scottish design when it's adapted I think what happens then is we create a brand new cultural activity. So I know that the Indian Bollywood who come to Scotland quite frequently to film their films and the Pakistan, Lahore, Lollywood film companies also come to Scotland to record and make films. They actually tap into the local communities because of the talents they have but more importantly because of the different talent they have to offer which is not it's different from their own home town which means that not only are we offering them something this is which is similar to their own tradition but we're actually giving them something quite unique and it is amazing the level of expertise and skills that our young have that they can offer that and that's fantastic this is why perhaps many other countries come and and film in Scotland and Glasgow in particular and some of our rural countryside I think that you know we benefit from that but it is because of the expertise and the skill that our young have developed over the years. So festivals are important as they add so much richness to our people's lives in today and I would request the cabinet secretary to make a commitment to the people of Scotland that funding for such such activities wouldn't be cut and the government would strive to fund resources to support such activities I think it's very important and I think that you know if if you can do that that would be fantastic. I'm not expecting the cabinet secretary to give me any figures or anything just now I wouldn't I wouldn't dare put you on the on the spot I'm just simply echoing the wishes and the requests of all those people who put festivals together on shoe string budgets they really need the support from many of the councils as well as the government and therefore if support could be directed in that area I'm sure it would be it would be made very very welcome and to finish off presiding officer I just simply want to say that you know I've had the opportunity and the and the privilege to travel around the world and I can assure the house today that what we can do around Scotland in terms of festivals nobody can match us we should be really proud of that fact and that's the reason why I can I always continue to thank all those relatives who actually work so much with their children to develop their skills thank you very much many thanks I know call Nigel dawn to be followed by Eileen Murray thank you very much presiding officer this is an interesting debate and we all have our own different perspectives and I have to say as I reflected on my own experience at the Edinburgh festival in particular to the fringe I thought what excites me about that actually is that it's life performance members will know that I have a particular interest in music I was up the road in the Calingate church and in last week I think for a life performance of barks be mine amass a magnificent work I had never heard life before it was a stunningly professional performance quite a moving experience equally last week I think at some point I was in St Giles Cathedral with the resident organist Peter Backhouse played a wonderful instrument there and a wide variety of sounds but the thing that I remember is at the very end he got Louis Viennes Carillondo Westminster going and there's a growling from that instrument that can only be experienced by actually being there it's a physical thing as well as the sound it's absolutely fabulous live experience I also went with my wife to see how to succeed in business without really trying which is a wonderful parody for how you might succeed in politics without really trying as well actually get fabulous performance by students from Dundee University I think it brings back memories for my wife but we don't discuss how long ago that was and if members have not heard our own Fred Macaulay discussing current political life I did last night he's on good form and I do recommend it. Nanette Milne has previously discussed the Aberdeen international music festival which I youth music festival which I was going to it it is a fabulous again activity which gets down to my part of the world in in in North Angus and the Moons and it gets to both Stonehaven Montrose Breakin and Lawrence Kirk and this is hugely important because it means that these youngsters come to very different environments often relatively small venues enthusiastic audiences and bring something would otherwise never hear I'd like to just consider what happened in Stonehaven town hall very recently it was a typical concert we had the Madison boy choir from Wisconsin I think we had the blackburn and Darwin big band that's from Lancashire and then we had some traditional Scots musicians previously discussed and what struck me after that was that when I looked at some of the material that had been produced by those organizations of course the faces were different even from last year and I was reminded that these are groups that just develop from year to year and we are still handing down the tradition and the skills from one year group to another they are learning their craft not just from wherever it is up the front but actually from the the performers around them at the very time I guess by a minute. Nanette Milne thank you very much for taking intervention. I totally agree that the peripheral festival is very much appreciated I think I said in my speech and I mentioned Aberdeenshire clearly it was into Angus as well sadly the festival gets no financial support from either Aberdeenshire council or Angus council I wonder if as the MSP for that area if he uses good offices to prime for a little bit of pressure Angus council or perhaps continue supporting the festival the benefit from. Can I say I will try. Local festivals yes I am going to discuss them very quickly if I may because North Angus and the Merns is absolutely full of them when I just go and check up. Forthirk my biggest town has the Forthirk festival in May and the Forthirk harvest festival coming in September. Breikings music festival is a long weekend at the end of August in a couple of weeks time. The Montrose music festival happened earlier in the summer and this pretty much uniquely I guess in my part of the world is banging the middle of town and they're quite literally set up outside the townhouse and you can hear them probably for miles away downwind. These festivals bring all sorts of things together they have all sorts of small performances mostly I have to say in pubs and church halls because those are the kind of venues that we have and they all work because everybody just mucks in and makes it happen. The same applies of course to the Stonehaven folk festival which again was a couple of weeks ago and I have a happy memory of sitting on the harbour wall listening to Ian McFadden playing his pipes on one side and the traditional musicians over the other side of course you can hear them both mingling across the across the water and we also at Stonehaven have the world paper and comb championships in St Bridget's Hall. This is a serious event folks and well recommended. More poignant this year is the Mearns Connection Festival which happens at the Lewis Grasic Gibbon a centre near Arbathnaught and of course Lewis Grasic Gibbon is famous for Sunsort Song which is a story set in the First World War and actually depicting the Mearns in which he lived and wrote so there is an extraordinary poignancy about that this year. We also have a new festival Scotland's Tea Festival in Lawrencecac this well I'm sure come as news to members it's it's very soon August the 22nd and it celebrates local man James Taylor who apparently more or less invented the salon tea industry in the 1880s after disease had wiped out their coffee crop so not only did we invent most of the things in the world but it appears that we even invented salon tea and I would just like also to mention the Johns Haven fish festival others have mentioned that there are non-musical things this is an annual event down the harbour in Johns Haven stalls music and a wonderful raft race now all these organisations all these things have to be organised and like others I would like to give my thanks and congratulations to those who organise and because without those organisations it simply would not happen I'm going to take the rare opportunity as others have actually of quoting the cabinet secretary because in that Talbot rice gallery friends lecture she said and I quote our size is only limited by our imagination our reach as extensive as our desire and our capacity to explore that struck me as an extraordinarily accurate phrase for artistic endeavour not just for our nation but for anybody and anywhere our capacity is largely limited by what we think we can do but it is of course also limited by the opportunities we have and in particular by the educational opportunities that we have when we young and I think that is the thing that I would want to leave the cabinet secretary in the chamber with a huge commitment by the Scottish Government to Systema for example I'm thinking particularly about music I think we need to make sure we also work very hard and it's not the cabinet secretary's room it I know to ensure that instrumental tuition within our schools is developed it's enormously important that our youngsters have an opportunity to do those musical things and so I would leave that with the cabinet secretary's thought for the future thank you many thanks I now call Eileen Murray to be followed by Sandra White thank you Presiding Officer as others have said the major festivals such as those taking place at the present time here in Edinburgh are world famous and attract visitors from across the globe contributing many millions to the national economy but like others I want to point out that it's not just the international stage where festivals make a valuable contribution I also want to highlight the contribution regional festivals make to their local communities and not surprisingly this will be with reference to my own constituency as done freezing gallery boasts a wide range of popular festivals throughout the year many of which have been in existence quite a bit longer than the Edinburgh festival now it won't be an exhaustive list and I apologise to any festivals who I have omitted but this is a sample the first festival of the year actually is only three years old but it has been remarkably successful on this short period of time the big burns festival a contemporary festival including Vinciture as a burlesque burn supper takes place over the weekend the year's burns night and last year it attracted 14,000 visitors 15% of whom came from out with Dumfries and Galloway as a consequence plans are now underway to extend the festival over nine days next year and it also involves a very large public arts outdoor arts celebration which is quite unusual at that time of year so hopefully we always have our fingers crossed that the weather is not going to be too bad wildlife tourism is valuable to the region and that is encouraged by the wild spring fed festival in April May this this year this involved around 100 wildlife events featuring several iconic species native to Dumfries and Galloway such as red squirrels barnacle geese otters and red kites the spring fling is a visual arts and crafts festival which takes place in May and in the same month that Dumfries and Galloway arts festival is a celebration of the performing arts in venues large and small across the region recreational tourism is attracted by a number of walking festivals including in lower anondale moffat rangham and upper nithsail the region also hosts a number of musical festivals famously the wicker man over in galloway but also the eden festival at ray hills in anondale in june and just last weekend youth beats a free music festival for young people in the region presented by Dumfries and Galloway council and youth work nithsail there are jazz festivals in cacubry in june and in lockerby in september the latter was spectacularly headlined by ruby turner last year so i'm looking forward to finding out who's coming this year moffat and corbets a traditional musical festival into its programme for the annual gala and the little village of money life which is a population only of 487 hosts not one but two annual music festivals folk festival in may and the micklemas blue grass festival in september now i think i'm the only representative of the debatable lands taking part in this debate today so of course i must mention the gallas common ridings and ridings of the marches which are celebrations of the culture and history of the site of scotland first virtually every village has its own gala the larger communities of lockerby dimfries anand langham and sanker have common ridings or ridings of the marches followed by gallas and parades these regularly attract between 100 and 200 horses and riders all beautifully turned out with but with probably more attention to the appearance of the horses even then the riders could take many hours to get a horse ready for its riding of the marches most of the gallas date from the early 20th century langham is older and started back in 1759 but their origins go back centuries to the border rivers in the 13th and 14th centuries in those times the marches were ridden to check that no neighbouring clan from either side of the border had made off with the town sheep or cattle or poor lion to some of their territory some argue that the origins of the common ridings are even earlier than that and lie in the Celtic summer festivals to which Liz Smith referred in her contribution which the summer ones involved horse racing and horse trading langham common riding attracts former residents who return year after year to stand up in Kirkwine to witness and I think it was 174 horses this year gallop passed at full pelt I'm always surprised how some health and safety person hasn't found this out yet and they also witnessed the crying of the fair three times this involves a man standing on the back of a horse shouting while surrounded by the entire population of the town and beyond one time the horse took some exception to it it was a new horse and looked as if it couldn't put the man off he managed to cry the fair and the horse then bolted most places the surrounding population would be frightened but being langham people just stood back and let the horse bolt through and came back together again allen combines its scala and riding of the marches with a pipe band competition which culminates in the performance by a mass by pipe bands in the town's high street and can I see the performance of Highland Cathedral by these mass pipe bands on annan high street I would defy any hairs on the back of somebody's neck not to stand up to hear that performance moth it with its history as a market town in the wool trade prefers however to celebrate the sheep rather than the horse with the installation of the sheep and his lass the evening before in the shepherd's ball the evening before the gala and also holds an annual sheep race which will take place this Sunday and that is quite an event also so of course there are festivals to suit all ages and interests but importantly one of the aspects they all have in common and others have mentioned this is that they wouldn't happen if it wasn't for volunteers and it's often the same volunteers year after year putting in a huge amount of time and effort one of the local councillors tells me that in langham the planning for next year's langham common riding started the day after this year's langham common riding these regional local events do generate income to do not generate the income which allows them to employ people to apply for grants or to fill in the necessary notifications or to engage participants in performance it's ordinary people ordinary volunteers who have to do all that work and it can be pretty owners and as I said often in the organisation for next year's events start as soon as one year's has taken place these festivals do provide more more provide more than activity enjoyment or celebration they do more than just attract visitors or contribute to the local economy they promote a sense of the community a sense of it the identity of the community and they contribute towards its wellbeing and its cohesion I think actually that sort of work that's done around the festivals help communities to survive some of the bad times that they form that can come and I think we've seen that in Dumfries and Gallery I think this is a good opportunity this debate to to pay tribute to all those people and to thank all those people who work so very hard to make these festivals happen so thank you to everybody in in Dumfriesshire who contributes to our wonderful array of festivals many thanks and to now call Sandra White thank you much president officer I've thoroughly enjoyed the debate I think all of the contributions have been absolutely fantastic letting us know what happens not just in my area but throughout Scotland as well and I think it's indeed a very timely debate you know coming after the success of the calm wealth games going on to Edinburgh festival has already been mentioned the MTV awards which is in my city of Glasgow I think the whole debate and the actual debate that's been conducted has been a really great showcase for Scotland to let us know exactly what we've got here what we've got to offer it's been a showcase for the whole world and what we really have to offer and my goodness when you listen to what everyone has said we really do have a fantastic country when you see the calm wealth games on the television throughout the world being broadcast throughout the world you know you had a lump in your throat you were so proud to see everything that was going on throughout not just in Glasgow but beyond now I'm in a very very fortunate position to be the MSP that represents Glasgow city centre Glasgow Kelvin and a number of festivals probably too many to mention I won't mention all of them I actually take place within my constituency the Celtic connections which you know other members have mentioned features some of the best scottish talent and international talent as well we've got the eye right the Glasgow book festival celebrates writing books reading the best of scottish writers and international authors also we've got Glasgow which is a wonderful colourful and inclusive festival we've got the comedy festival the jazz festival and many many more which all take part believe it or not in the Glasgow Kelvin constituency and I do apologise as others have done if I have left any out at all I do want to concentrate on a couple of festivals which basically are very close to my heart and I attend all the time as well as trying to attend the many many others that are in the constituency the west end festival in you know Kelvin Grove 400 events taking place over 80 venues the parade and buyer's road is absolutely fantastic spectacular this year it was absolutely spectacular involves thousands of visitors and local community groups we also saw the restoration of the Kelvin Grove bandstand this year which lain derelict for many years brought back to life much loved and much used during the festival and of course the commonwealth games also and I do want to thank everyone voluntary groups everyone was involved in ensuring the restoration of the bandstand and the west end festival you know is running a pretty tight budget people have spoken about budgets already it's running a pretty tight budget and I do also have to thank the many people who put their heart and soul into the west end festival so that we can enjoy it year after year next year is its 20th birthday and I don't like maybe a bit cheeky but perhaps I'm looking at the cab second you know perhaps we could perhaps look at some way of it I'm not saying get money from the government but some way of getting a wee bit more funding for the west end festival I'm sure Michael Dale and others will be very pleased to speak to you cab second we could do something like that the mella has been mentioned by Hanzala is another fantastic event which is held during the merchant city festival it's in Kelvin Grove park and it celebrates all the diverse cultures not in all in Glasgow but throughout Scotland as well and one of the things I think it's fantastic about the mailer is it makes it traditional with the modern and therefore all these groups actually go along and thoroughly enjoy the Glasgow mailer and yes Hanzala is right it did rain pretty badly this year unfortunately but we still went and we still thoroughly enjoyed it and now I mentioned the merchant city festival earlier when speaking to the member Roda Grant and it's a fantastic success fantastic success also within my constituency not far from where I actually live so I know exactly on the doorstep what was going on it's a success every year but it proved an even bigger success this year as a cab sec had said in their opening remarks Glasgow was buzzing and it certainly was and no more so than in the merchant city we had food zones with fantastic food throughout from throughout the world we had stages with live groups we also had acrobats we had a marvellous maze where the young kids took part and I think well maybe I'm a young kid at heart so it was really really good to to look at the maze the sunshine absolutely wonderful and of course the people not just the glass regions but the people from throughout the country and the world who came along to enjoy the festival and its droves and certainly it'll go on to strength next year as well I want to say something in conclusion presiding officer and that's what Patricia Ferguson raised an issue or an idea excuse me of a festival of sports and particularly for younger people you know I think there's a bit of merit some merit in what Patricia has said and I know it's not the cab sex portfolio but obviously Shona Robison cab sex portfolio in regarding sports but we're looking at the commonwealth games and we're talking about the legacy that's left perhaps a good way of exploring exactly what legacy was left and continue on with the success of the commonwealth games and it's something that you know I certainly would be happy to be involved in in my opening remarks I said we've got something to celebrate here in Scotland and we certainly do have I think it's been a great debate as I said I've loved it and I'd love to be able to take you know a couple of months off and travel around the country from the shetlands to Dumfries I thought Elaine gave you know was fantastic didn't know what goes on halfway across Scotland and it just shows you that we don't even know what goes on in our country but plenty of other people throughout the world do know certainly more so from this year because the promotion that Scotland's had it's a great place to live great place to be and I look forward to more success of a not just you know other local festivals but festivals with an international flavour as well thank you very much Presiding Officer many thanks can I just take the opportunity to remind members to use full names if possible and not nicknames because the official report can sometimes find it difficult to report proceedings I now call on Cameron Buchanan because we moved to closing speeches and six minutes please thank you Presiding Officer the danger is when speaking at the fag end of the debate is not to avoid duplication we've had a very informative discussion today and had a great deal of praise for all of Scotland's festivals festival 2014 including culture 2014 we're all agreed on the success of this year's festivals thus far and it's fantastically such unanimous praise for the deserving performers, organisers, backup teams and volunteers I too would like to add my voice to the chorus of praise from all parties to the blithora festivals held amongst them the 20th Commonwealth Games festival 2014 culture 2014 and many others with more than a thousand forms across 100 venues in Glasgow including so many activities free of charge festival 2014 delivered for Scotland and displayed our prowess to the world furthermore more than a thousand events over the course of culture 2014 span words movement song dance music theater designs films ideas and art even every cultural event is catered for we must of course pay tribute to the people and organisations whose commitment has enabled such a spectacular show to be put on I'd like to echo the sentiments of fellow members in this regard the tributes paid by my fellow members have rightly highlighted the fantastic impact of these additions to our country's cultural prestige it is thanks the people of Glasgow 2014 organising committee Glasgow life creative Scotland and many community and cultural organisations Scotland's international reputation for cultural prestige has been so entertainingly demonstrated 3000 festivals as my learned friend said furthermore these events have highlighted the wealth of cultural talent in Scotland and our ability to put on cultural celebrations that people around the world will remember I would of course like to take this opportunity to redraw our attention to the biggest and most repeated demonstration of Scotland's creative talent and our rich cultural heritage that of course is the Edinburgh international festival and the festival fringe the largest art of art festival in the world as an Edinburgh local and as an MP for Lothian MSP for Lothian I take pride in all aspects of the Edinburgh festival and would like to pay tribute to its organisers its performance and its lasting impact on this city the success of the festival is not attributed to a particular team of organisers or to a particular selection of performances rather its success and worldwide fame is owed to the ability of Scotland's people to repeatedly put on a show that allows our best talent to flourish as well as attracting the world's best performers to our nation's capital the list is too long to mention the name of famous or people who've come to the festival in the fringe were not famous at that time but it now become worldwide names as we've heard already from Sarah Boyack the Edinburgh festival was founded in 1947 in a post-war effort to encourage participation in the arts and has been attracting performers and audiences from around the world in ever greater numbers ever since it also employs or also bring up a lot of impresarios and other people who want to see what who the coming attractions are and what is happening the same can be said of the Edinburgh festival fringe which has grown from a gate crashed by eight theatre companies two of which have an unbroken record of attendance and I challenged my learner friend to tell me the two that are having an unbroken festival unbroken record of attendance indeed the 2013 festival saw 45,464 performances of 2,871 shows and I'm pleased to see this year's also a sell out this spectacular growth and repeated success demonstrates the innate cultural prize of the people of Scotland which I'm sure we're all proud of and wish to wholeheartedly celebrate today the fact that these festivals go on all over Scotland is very indicative of the strength of our arts performance and music it's important that we acknowledge the breadth and spectacular variety of performances on offer every august for drama musicals opera to dance comedy comedy and acapella singing the international festival and fringe truly offers to me for everyone even if the comedy doesn't always succeed when you consider that there are now 10 other major festivals that we've heard in the annual festivities including the Edinburgh international book festival the science festival the jazz and blues festival and the international military tattoo the scale of Edinburgh's achievement achievement is truly amazing and does deserve the greatest admiration it's only in Edinburgh in august that I could attend a book talk in the morning enjoy whichever style of comedy suits my taste in the afternoon watch the military tattoo at night and hear the taxi drivers groaning about the crowds as I come home that in itself has grown since 1949 to attract 220,000 visitors each year this is the tattoo and an annual tv audience of over 100 million yet is further testament to Scotland's ability to put on a worldwide international show we've celebrated Scotland's recent cultural festivities in festival 2014 and culture 2014 as well as touching on our our own country's spectacular heritage as demonstrated by the Edinburgh festival I would however like to redraw the chamber's attention to the number of festivals that highlight not only the strength of Scotland's cultural tradition but also its breadth tea in the park fringe by the sea Lenox love book festival Wicton book festival Dundee women's festival Aberdeen jazz festival five comedy festival to tradfest penfest colourfest any of festival you like and we all know the origin of the word festivals so I won't go into that the comworth games festival 2014 and cultural 2014 delivered on the world stage and our fine festival heritage makes it clear that we can do it again and again as well as applauding the fantastic work of Glasgow 2014 organising committee Glasgow life creative Scotland and the many community and cultural organisations that continue to enrich our culture I would like to highlight one of the key aspects of the festivals that we're celebrating today and that they are truly international international participation amongst both performance and audience has risen higher and higher in our festivals to foster international understanding and strengthen our well-earned reputation as one of the best countries in the world for all the arts both visual and musical to flourish accordingly presiding officer I hope that Scotland continues to add to our fantastic repertoire of festivals and shows and every sort of cultural event imaginable and because we have shown what we can deliver and the world is impressed furthermore I hope this debate and the attention that these festival celebrations bring also bring also deliver some of the recognition that Scotland's festival organisers and performers deserve for their invaluable contribution to Scotland the arts and international collaboration have no hesitation in supporting the motion and the amendment thank you thank you very much we have now caught up with our time I call on Patricia Ferguson eight minutes please thank you Presiding Officer this has been a very interesting debate and it has been worthwhile to hear colleagues talk about what interests them and about what is happening in their local area and I would want to add my thanks to all the staff of Glasgow life and Glasgow City Council who worked so hard to make festival 2014 such a success and I would also want to thank all the volunteers who participated in the opening and closing ceremonies at one point I counted that some of the dancers performed constantly for two hours in very bright sunshine wearing what looked to me like very heavy costumes and brandishing chairs for some of the event too so our thanks go to them also I think my one regret about 2014 is that the calendar has been so cluttered not to mention the fact that we have another interesting debate coming up in the event rather coming up in just a few weeks and that has made it very difficult to actually get as many things as I personally would have liked to have attended but I suppose it's not a bad thing to have an embarrassment of riches looking back in the debate I think Liz Smith brought a very welcome historical perspective to our festival offering and I'm very glad t