ScottishPower has a long tradition of supporting the arts, contributing to the cultural well-being of our local communities.

In 2007 we continued our tradition of supporting the arts by launching a new, three-year sponsorship of Scotland’s international traditional music festival, Celtic Connections.

The 19-day music celebration across Glasgow has grown from humble beginnings 15 years ago into one of the world’s most celebrated festivals, attracting renowned artists from all parts of the world.

Following an opening ceremony, involving a torchlit procession of 100 torch bearers, accompanied by the ScottishPower and Strathclyde Fire & Rescue pipe bands, more than 1,000 artists performed at over 300 events, including concerts, ceilidhs and workshops, at around a dozen venues throughout the city.

Ticket sales rose by 30% for Celtic Connections 2007 and many performances were sold out.

The Celtic Connections Education Programme was also a huge success, with 15,000 school children – many experiencing live music for the first time – benefiting from a series of 10 school concerts at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Celtic Connections attracts visitors from all over the world to Glasgow, enhancing the international profile of the city as a tourist destination.

For more information, please visit Celtic Connections website.

Our award winning pipe band continues to be among the top 10 in the world. Over the years the band has won European and British titles, and twice achieved second place in the World Championship. The band have won the Scottish Championships twice and are two-time winners of the prestigious Cowal Championships. In September 2007, Drum Sergeant, Barry Wilson won the title as the World’s No 1 Solo Drummer.

The band have appeared on TV networks throughout the world promoting their sponsorship with the company whilst dressed in the ScottishPower tartan which was commissioned specially for them. 

Over the years, they have performed at numerous prestigious events, including the Football World Cup in Milan, Genoa and Mexico, before Queen Elizabeth II at Braemar, at the opening of the Scottish Parliament and at a Royal Command Performance at the Lyceum Theatre, London.

Members of the band performed at a Burns Supper in New York with Kofi Annan and the band have performed for the Pope at the Vatican. 

During 2007 the ScottishPower Pipe Band performed at Celtic Connections, the Glasgow River Festival, the Arts & Business Awards and the Scottish Fashion Awards at Stirling Castle. They also supported our charitable sponsorships including the Macmillan Cancer Support Carol Concert in London and the Childline Scotland Hollywood Legends Ball.

Members of the band traveled to Spain during 2007 where they played for IBERDROLA staff, took part in a TV commercial and played at a music festival in Ortigueira.

For more information, please visit the ScottishPower Pipe Band website.

For the first time we sponsored a venue – The ScottishPower Studio Theatre – at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The event, held over 17 days at Charlotte Square Gardens during August, brings together 800 authors, philosophers, poets and entertainers from 40 countries in an extravaganza of books, lectures, workshops, children’s events and live music. The 2007 Book Festival attracted more than 200,000 visitors.

As part of our contribution, we sponsored a unique project that combined literature and music. The Ballads of the Book event involved Scottish writers penning lyrics for leading musicians and staging performances. Aimed at young people, the Ballad of the Books event attracted audiences of nearly 22,000 people.

We also sponsored a ScottishPower Family Day, when employees, their families and other guests enjoyed a day out at the Book Festival, complete with tickets for eight events.

For more information, please visit the Edinburgh International Book Festival website.

Making the arts more accessible to everyone, and to young people in particular, is an important part of our sponsorship strategy and in December, we supported performances of Peter Pan at the Citizens’ Theatre.

In total, 24,500 people attended performances of the classic story, based on the play by J.M. Barrie.

An educational support programme run by the Citizens’ TAG Theatre Company gave 1,200 nursery and primary school children a free workshop and tickets to see the production for only £1. Many local school groups attended the pantomime and a number of ScottishPower employees’ children took part in the theatre workshops.

For more information, please visit the Citizen’s Theatre website.

ScottishPower has sponsored an innovative programme developed by the newly created National Theatre. Transform allows schools and creative communities to transform their approaches to learning. By bringing together cutting edge theatre professionals, communities and groups of local primary schools, the partnerships produce a high impact theatre event that uses the local environment as a backdrop to tell compelling stories. Schools in Ayrshire, Fife and East Lothian have benefited to date.

For more information, please visit the National Theatre of Scotland website.