Stirling Highland Games Set to Return with Support from Leading Companies
The Stirling Highland Games, a historic and much-anticipated annual event celebrating Scottish culture, is set to return this year on Saturday 17th August with support from two new sponsors, Anatomical Concepts and King’s Park Hospital, joining their loyal long-term supporter, Specsavers Stirling. The Highland Games, renowned for its traditional competitions, busy Traders Village, and engaging creative arts offering, will be bolstered by a new Adaptive Heavyweights supporter and Track & Field Supporter, ensuring prize funds are covered and planned activities can go ahead.
Specsavers Stirling, Anatomical Concepts, and King’s Park Hospital are among the funders stepping in to support the Stirling Highland Games this year. These organisations, recognized for their commitment to community engagement, are providing essential funding and resources that will allow organisers Ceangail to continue delivering their event plans. Matt McGrandles, Ceangail’s Executive Director, said, “I am delighted to welcome both Anatomical Concepts and King’s Park Hospital on board as supporters of the event this year. This level of support provides the backbone of event funding, and through this collaboration, it will allow us to continue delivering these competitions and the many benefits the event brings to the city.”
Anatomical Concepts attended the event in 2022 to see the para-athletes compete in the Adaptive Heavyweights events. When the opportunity to become a supporter came up, they jumped at the chance to get involved. Their support over the next few years will allow the competition to build on its success. Anatomical Concepts UK Director Carolyn Jones said, “We are proud to support Stirling Highland Games, particularly the Adaptive Heavyweights Competition. We believe the best work happens when people work together, and SHG is an excellent example of dedicated partners coming together to build excellence in culture, competition, and community.”
Carolyn went on to compliment the Highland Games’ outlook on inclusion by saying, “The Adaptive Heavyweights is a unique event in the Highland Games calendar, and we want to raise the profile of the sport and of the athletes competing. Over the next few years of our partnership, we hope to increase the number of competitors and attract more spectators to the event so the games committee can continue to provide the same level of competition and prizes as athletes without a disability.”
King’s Park Hospital, a keen supporter of Stirling events, is sponsoring the Track & Field competition, one of several competitions at the Games. Their contribution will ensure the competition goes ahead with entries expected from top athletes across Scotland. “We are delighted to be supporting Ceangail and the Stirling Highland Games this summer,” said King’s Park Hospital’s Executive Director, Elizabeth MacLeod. “It’s great to engage with the local community through this much-loved event, and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone having a great day!”
The sponsorship from these companies will ease some of the financial burden Ceangail is experiencing as the deliverer of the event. The social enterprise, whose mission is to inspire young people into tourism through its Skills Connect Academy, brings together vocational training for groups of young people and practical learning. With more event suppliers increasing their hire fees, the not-for-profit will need to be creative about what it can deliver on its budget while still providing Stirling with a professional outdoor sporting event. Visitors can look forward to a well-organised event with the usual broad range of competitions, on-site traders, and creative arts. However, Ceangail’s Executive Director Matt McGrandles explains that some hard decisions will need to be made in the not-so-distant future. “There is no question that small events are feeling it this year, with most suppliers increasing their costs. I think we have seen four other highland games fold because of a lack of financial security. I think Highland Games are caught between a rock and a hard place as the event can’t continue to pass on these increased costs to customers through ticket sales. Decisions will need to be made at some point soon about this year’s scheduling, so I can’t thank our current Supporters and Friends enough for seeing the vision we have for the event and getting behind it, but we do need more support.”
Since the pandemic, supplier hire fees have skyrocketed, and this year sees a 10-year partnership with Active Stirling ripped up, with a hefty £1700 bill to hire the field in its place. “I was certainly disappointed to be told that the Active Stirling Board and Senior Managers at Stirling Council decided this was the right approach. All reasoning has fallen on deaf ears to date, so we did have to increase our entry ticket price slightly to try and cover their costs.”
The generous support from Specsavers Stirling, Anatomical Concepts, and King’s Park Hospital will allow these competitions to continue, with the event having a positive impact on the Stirling community. This year should see a
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.