Dumfries one of only two locations in Scotland to broadcast Olympics Ceremony

Large screen to show Opening ceremony of London 2012 

 An announcement today by The Big Burns Supper Festival and Dumfries & Galloway Arts Festival was made by following a decision to broadcast the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics at the Midsteeple in Dumfries on Friday 27^th July

The project has taken weeks of talks between Council Officials and two of the towns leading Festivals, in a bid to find a way to increase the legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games, following the huge success of The Olympic Torch back in June.

The event will be presented as part of the In Our Town programme which runs throughout the summer, and the event will be delivered by The Big Burns Supper Festival, running from 6pm until around midnight.

The whole event will see Dumfries being the only location outside Edinburgh to stage the Opening Ceremony, and the evening will include special performances by local talent in the build up to the live broadcast later in the evening, including one of the regions premier bands, Finding Albert.

“We go live to London at around 20.30pm – and we have been in talks with our colleagues both here and in London about how best to create a programme of events which supports the event, commented Festival Director of The Big Burns Supper Festival, Graham Main

The event will include a live screen which will be installed at the Midsteeple.  Families are encouraged to take part in the event, and there will be food available from outlets close to the area, although the public should bring their own seating if possible.

A leaked document of the playlist for the Olympics opening ceremony which was published earlier in July gave an insight into Danny Boyle’s music vision for the £27 million extravaganza

The most controversial choice on the playlist is the inclusion of the antimonarchist punk song 'God Save the Queen' by the Sex Pistols. This is a bold decision by Boyle considering that the Queen will be at the ceremony to officially open London 2012 in front of an estimated global television audience of a billion.

“This is a brilliant opportunity for Dumfries, and it could really help the night time economy, which is expected to benefit from the Screening… the show which is directed by Danny Boyle, will be one of those once in a lifetime opportunities, and we wanted to give local people the chance to come and witness it together”, added Graham.

Contact graham@bigburnssupper.com  07901 897 997