Scotland celebrates ‘outstanding’ World Pipe Band Championships

Councillor Archie Graham, chairman of Glasgow Life and depute leader of Glasgow City Council said: “The World Pipe Band Championships have become firmly established in Glasgow’s Cultural events calendar and this year has shown once again the incredible talent of the musicians taking part”.

Ian Embelton, chief executive of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association, said: “The World Pipe Band Championships are the pinnacle of pipe band competition and we are expecting another competition of the highest quality”. The band first took a world title in 1948; from 1957, it won for four years in a row.

Around 8000 pipers and drummers will compete across eight different grades.

“We were so exhausted after the event finished on Saturday that we didn’t stay out that late but we knew we would continue the celebrations on the Sunday”.

Thousands of pipers and drummers from around the globe have travelled to Scotland to compete for the title of world champions this weekend.

The competition attracted about 8,000 musicians in 230 bands, from 16 nations including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Oman and, for the first time, Malaysia and Austria, watched by 40,000 spectators. It was an improvement over last year’s seventh-place finish.

Jenni, from Aberdeen, said: “I’m stunned but proud that we won and that all the hard work has paid off”.

“We have never reached the finals of the worlds before”.

The oldest member of the group – Jim Kilpatrick, 59, of Lanarkshire – has been the band’s leading drummer since 1973.

Identical twins Blair and Glenn Brown, 32, were inspired to join the band after their mother played as a piper for them in 1973.

The victor was Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia, which is based in Scotland.

‘Absolutely unbelievable. Those of you listening have just heard one of the best medleys ever heard at the Worlds – technically, tonally, musically.