It’s on: Piping Live! 2021 happening regardless of conditions (video)

Whether there are thousands of visitors in Glasgow for the World Pipe Band Championships or none, the 2021 Piping Live! Glasgow International Piping Festival will go ahead August 7-15 with “as many events as possible to allow audiences to attend, where that can happen.”

Organizers are hoping that the recent Scottish Government announcement that public concerts and gatherings may be returning soon, subject to capacity constraints, will result in nine days of recitals, competitions and seminars in a hybrid in-person and live-streamed format, “working to ensure a COVID-19 safe environment for any in-person events, working to strict hygiene guidelines so audiences can attend Piping Live! with confidence.”

The festival managed to put on a limited set of pay-per-view online events in 2020 in the wake of an almost total lockdown in Scotland and the cancellation of the World Pipe Band Championships.

We are preparing a fantastic line up and want our friends worldwide to be able to come together both online and, if possible, in person to enjoy the music that we all love. – Piping Live! Artistic Director Finlay MacDonald

Piping Live! is built around the influx of pipers, drummers and enthusiasts visiting Scotland for the World’s. Glasgow Life and the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association are so far still planning for the competition to take place August 13-14, but, even if the World’s goes ahead, few if any bands are likely to make the trip due to limited time to prepare, lack of funds, and international travel and quarantine restrictions that are expected still to be in place in August.

The festival plans to announce full details of the schedule of Piping Live! events at the end of May.

Originally named Piping Hot, Piping Live! started in 2003, inspired by successful grass roots events like the Lord Todd Recital-Challenge and the Pre-World’s Concert that capitalized on the potential of a bored captive audience of visiting bands killing time in between practices as they prepared for the World Championships.

The last full-on version of Piping Live! was determined to have generated £2-million for the city of Glasgow.

The World Pipe Band Championships are not officially part of Piping Live!, but each event benefits from the other’s success.

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