Highland 2007 was a year-long celebration of

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

culture which took place from January until December 2007. It involved local communities throughout the Scottish Highlands and Islands as well as people across

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, the UK and beyond.

Background

The concept of 2007 as 'Scotland's Year of Highland Culture' was suggested by then

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of '' ...

of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister ...

. During the Convention of the Highlands and Islands in 2003, he declared that he was so impressed by the momentum built up by the failed

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

/Highlands bid to be European Capital of Culture 2008, that he would back a celebration of Highland culture in 2007. Its proponents had claimed that Highland 2007 would bring significant economic and social benefits which would endure well beyond the celebrations themselves. However, an evaluation report stated that there were "Criticisms from some promoters about aspects of the funding process and from within the Gaelic community about its failure to capitalise more on the opportunities on offer." The

Inverness Museum and Art Gallery Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

was re-designed in time for Highland 2007, opening after six months of closure to allow a £1.3m makeover.

Events

The programme of events developed for Highland 2007 encompassed the Arts, the Environment, Heritage, Language, Science and Sport. Street Parties, a rededication of

Culloden Battlefield The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...

, a homecoming for expatriate

Orcadians Orcadians, also known as Orkneymen, are an ethnic group native to the Orkney Islands, who speak an Orcadian dialect of the Scots language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history, culture and ancestry. Speaking Norn, a native Nort ...

, a marathon in Inverness and a showcase of Gaelic Song with Anne Lorne Gilles were planned.

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Runrig Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The line-up during most of the 1980s and 1990s (the band's most succe ...

played at

Drumnadrochit Drumnadrochit (; gd, Druim na Drochaid) is a village in the Highland local government council area of Scotland, lying near the west shore of Loch Ness at the foot of Glen Urquhart. The village is close to several neighbouring settlements: the vi ...

. The programme also included The Vital Spark Interpretation Conference - an event which saw heritage interpreters from across the world meeting for three days in Aviemore. Events began on 12 January 2007 with a street party held in Inverness. Bad weather was to curtail the street party. A reenactment of the historic

shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...

match between

Strathglass Shinty Club Strathglass Shinty Club or "Comunn Camanachd Straghlais" in Scottish Gaelic is a shinty club from Cannich, Inverness-shire. The Club was founded in 1879, is considered to be the oldest constituted club in shinty and played a major role in the de ...

and

Glenurquhart Shinty Club Glenurquhart Shinty Club is a shinty team which plays in Drumnadrochit on the banks of Loch Ness, Scotland. It draws its players from the part of the Great Glen which encompasses Drumnadrochit, Lewiston and Glenurquhart. The club has been exi ...

was planned to take place at the Bught Park earlier that day, but a waterlogged pitch cause the shinty match to be put off until 2008, when it was then cancelled again.

References

External links

archive
of the Highland 2007 website {{Authority control Scottish culture 2007 in Scotland