NOEA SCOTLAND

VICE CHAIRMAN – JONATHAN REID

As I write this, we are in the grip of a very cold spell of weather. The summer events all seem a lifetime away with their light nights and t-shirt temperatures! Looking back, what a rollercoaster year we have had in 2022. Starting the year still with the spectre of Covid, fortunately Scotland’s creative and hardworking teams delivered a very full calendar of events despite financial crises’, rocketing fuel costs, the terrible ongoing war in Ukraine, three changes of Prime Minister and now a winter of rising energy costs and picket lines. You couldn’t make it up!

The plus, at least, is that everyone I speak to in our industry has had a decent year and there have been some fantastic milestones in 2022 – for instance, The 150th Open Championship was help in St Andrews in July and saw record crowds attending this most prestigious golfing event. Equally the 200th Royal Highland Show was held at its home in Ingliston in June and again we saw massive crowds flocking back to a much-loved event.

There has been an enormous amount of music this summer too – Hampden has never been so busy, plus of course our many annual festivals all returned to capacity crowds.

Of course, these are only a few from a list of many thousands of wonderful events throughout the country and it is great to see our industry so busy and vibrant.

Not before time of course and as far as I can see, there are some really exciting events programmed already for Scotland in 2023:

I am very excited about The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships which is an inaugural event scheduled for early August in Glasgow, and various other venues across Scotland.

The Championships will then be held every four years (in the year preceding the Olympic Games) brings together various disciplines of cycling, including the Road Racing, Mountain Biking and Track Cycling. Back in 2011, I was fortunate to be in Shetland for The Tall Ships Race – it returns to Lerwick in 2023 and will no doubt again be a magnificent spectacle. I will not make it this year, but I look forward to the footage and wonderful photography that will no doubt circulate from our most northern point. Again, just an exceedingly small example of what is coming to Scotland and looking even further ahead, we also have World Athletic Championships, World Orienteering Championships and so much more.

Lastly, please do not forget to raise a glass for the hard-working teams of crew out braving the cold this winter to make all sorts of celebrations including Hogmanay and New Year celebrations run smoothly and safely across Scotland.

Jonathan Reid Vice Chairman, NOEA Scotland

Member Benefits

As part of our continued drive to support our members, your Council are currently exploring new member benefits which would be beneficial to you in delivering your event or running your business. We already have an extensive range of opportunities available to members including legal advice, support with your event insurance, asset purchases and factoring however we are looking to increase this range of benefits throughout 2022.

If you have any ideas or benefits, you would like to suggest or offer our members then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with susan@noea,org.uk

So, keep your eyes across our newsletters, social networks and website for updates throughout the year. Whilst, being a member of NOEA offers an unrivalled network of event and industry professionals to support you in your business, we are working hard to improve the suite of member benefits through a range of ever-improving partnerships!