– in the Scottish Parliament at on 1 March 2017.
John Mason
Scottish National Party
3. To ask the Scottish Government how successful it considers Celtic Connections 2017 has been for Glasgow and Scotland. (S5O-00702)
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
Celtic Connections has grown since 1994. It is the largest winter music festival of its kind in the United Kingdom. In 2017, it hosted 2,375 artists, 800 hours of music on 26 stages throughout Glasgow. It sold 110,000 tickets and 80 per cent of shows were sold out, breaking all previous records.
An independent impact study conducted on behalf of Celtic Connections found that it generated over £7 million from visitors in Scotland, providing a benefit of over £4 million across Scotland. Successes and cultural highlights of 2017 included La Banda Europa, an “inspiring women” theme, a celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary and a very successful Brazilian music showcase.
John Mason
Scottish National Party
I thank the Cabinet secretary for that answer and very much agree with the points that she makes.
Some people feel that the definition of “Celtic” has become wider and wider. Does the cabinet secretary think that that is a good thing—because it is very inclusive—or does the definition of Celtic music need to be narrower?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
I am the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs. As far as decisions on the curatorial excellence of any cultural activity are concerned, I think that those are for the festivals, galleries and museums themselves. I will say that that internationalist outlook and particularly the fusion—whether it is of our own with Indian traditional music or, indeed, Brazilian music, as I have just mentioned—is very important. Next year will be the 25th anniversary of
Celtic Connections and I am sure that John Mason and others will be delighted to know that the partner country for next year will be Ireland, which is about as Celtic as you can get.
Annie Wells
Conservative
It has been well documented in the media that a T in the Park sister festival will take place in Glasgow this summer. What discussions has the Scottish Government had with the organisers and Police Scotland about managing the potential impact of antisocial behaviour on local residents?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
That matter is not my responsibility. For any major festival, the authority concerned, which in this case will be Glasgow City Council, will take forward discussions with Transport Scotland and Police Scotland. It is very much part and parcel of our events management across Scotland that those agencies work together to deliver a great experience for people, and I am sure that the festival will be of great economic benefit to the city.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
