A SPECTACULAR pageant of clan members will snake through Edinburgh on the second day of the The Gathering next year, The Scotsman has learned.
It is hoped about 10,000 members from around the world will parade through Holyrood Park, before gathering for a "kirking" ceremony next to the Palace of Holyroodhouse as part of the world's biggest clan gathering.
A procession of clan members i
s already planned to head up the Royal Mile on the first day of The Gathering, before a huge historical pageant is played out on the Castle Esplanade.
Organisers have revealed that more than half of the 8000 "clan passports" – guaranteeing entry to all events at The Gathering, including the Esplanade pageant, have been snapped up, with more than 40 per cent of places booked from the United States.
About 140 clans are due to be represented at The Gathering, being held over three days in July next year.
More than 40,000 spectators are expected to flock to Holyrood Park for the main events, including one of the world's biggest Highland Games.
New details of The Gathering – which is planned to be the centrepiece of next year's "Homecoming Scotland" celebrations – were released yesterday.
The event will get under way with a 300-strong convention for clan chiefs on 24 July, 2009. Scotland's biggest-ever Highland Games event will be held in Holyrood Park over the subsequent two days, with entertainment including the World Highland Games Heavy Events Championships, live music, hill races, a kilted run and a food and drink emporium.
The Saturday evening will see the clan march and pageant, billed as the most spectacular event to be staged in Scotland since Sir Walter Scott's royal pageant of 1822 in Edinburgh.
A spectacular theatrical show telling the story of the clans' role in the history of Scotland will feature drama, music, spectacular lighting and sound effects.
Although numbers attending the Saturday night event will be restricted by the 8,000 capacity of the spectator stands at the Esplanade, Sunday's grand parade will be open to all.
Jamie Sempill, event director, said yesterday: "We've now reached the point where more than half of our passports are completely sold out. On the current demand, I'd expect we've have sold out completely by the end of the year."
Meanwhile, Deuchars IPA, the award-winning ale produced by Edinburgh's last remaining brewery, the Caledonian, will be the official beer of The Gathering.
Stephen Crawley, managing director of the Caledonian Brewing Company, said: "It is only right that Edinburgh's favourite beer will be there to support this historic celebration."
