National Museums Scotland: What’s on this summer

JUNE LISTINGS

Exhibitions & displays

National Museum of Scotland
Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
Open 10:00–17:00 daily

Game On
29 Jun – 3 Nov 2024
Special Exhibition Gallery, Level 3
Tickets on sale spring 2024

Get set for Game On – the largest interactive exhibition of the history and the culture of video games. Game On, an exhibition conceived and curated by Barbican Immersive, examines the creative and technological advances that have established a new medium and artform. From Sonic the Hedgehog to Mario, explore gaming’s rich history through over 100 playable games from the last five decades.

Find our more nms.ac.uk/game-on

Cold War Scotland
13 Jul 2024 – 26 Jan 2025
10:00 – 17:00
Special Exhibition Gallery 2, Level 3
Free

Scotland’s unique geography and topography provided a useful base for Allied military preparations and research during the Cold War, a 40-year nuclear stand-off between the USA and the Soviet Union following the end of the Second World War.

Cold War Scotland is an output of Materialising the Cold War, a collaborative research project between National Museums Scotland and the University of Stirling. The project explores how the Cold War heritage is represented and how museums can adapt to tell this story in future. The exhibition will explore both the visible and invisible legacies of the war in Scotland.

Find out more nms.ac.uk/ColdWarScotland

Theravada Buddhism
Until 12 Jan 2025
Gallery 3, Level 1
Free

A thought-provoking display charts the history and influence of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition across the world, including its role in Scotland today. The display includes a Buddha on loan from The Dhammapadipa Temple in Edinburgh. The Buddha was designed and made in Thailand in 2013, then later gifted to Temple where it is now used in their garden meditation room.

Find out more nms.ac.uk/theravadabuddhism

Events

National Museum of Scotland
Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
Open 10:00–17:00 daily

Insect Week: Marvelous Moths
29 Jun 2024
10:30-15:00
Grand Gallery
Free, drop in

Celebrate Insect Week 2024 with family friendly activities at the National Museum of Scotland. Put your entomology skills to the test and discover more about the moth specimens in our collections. Learn about these fascinating insects through art activities and track down moths on display using a bug safari kit.

Find out more nms.ac.uk/MarvelousMoths

Insect Week: Women in Entomology
29 Jun 2024
14:00-15:30
Auditorium
Ticketed

In celebration of Insect Week 2024, join us for a panel discussion highlighting some of the inspirational women in entomology. Join us for a panel discussion about some of the important women involved in the history and science of entomology. Curator Ashleigh Whiffin will be in discussion with Don Opitz, Associate Professor at DePaul University, moth recorder Katty Baird and budding entomologist Holly Doherty.

Book now nms.ac.uk/WomeninEntomology

Summer Family Fun
1 Jul – 12 Aug
Mondays & Fridays
10:30 – 15:30
Grand Gallery and spaces across the museum
Free, drop in

Join us every Monday and Friday during the holidays for a range of fun drop-in activities for all the family. Our friendly Enabler team will be bringing our favourite themes to life from dinosaurs to outer space and from ancient Egypt to Vikings. Plus we’ll be powering up with brand new activities inspired by our summer exhibition Game On.

Find out more nms.ac.uk/SummerFamilyFun

National Museum of Flight
East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian, EH39 5LF
Open daily 10:00 – 16:00

Conservation Hangar Talks
Daily
14:00-15:00
Free with museum admission
Booking required

See behind the scenes of the work carried out in the museum’s Conservation hangar with these free talks. Find out about objects from the collection that aren’t normally on display and have the chance to see conservators at work.

Book now nms.ac.uk/ConservationHangarTalks

Insect Week: Moth Hunters
30 Jun – 1 Jul
09:00-12:00
Education space
Free with museum admission

Celebrate Insect Week 2024 with family friendly activities at the National Museum of Flight.
Inspired by the work of Scottish entomologist and a moth collector Alice Blanche Balfour, we’re celebrating the moths and women of entomology (the study of insects). Join entomologist Katty Baird for an early morning walk around East Fortune Airfield to discover what we’ve caught in our overnight moth traps.

Book now nms.ac.uk/MothHunters

Second World War Satchels
2 Jul – 29 Aug
10:00 – 17:00
Concorde Hangar
Free with museum admission

Bring the history of the Second World War to life with our summer activity satchels for adults and families. Pick up one of our summer activity satchels and delve deeper into the history of the Second World War. Separate satchels are available for adult and family visitors. The satchels are free to borrow and can be collected from The Concorde Hangar.

Find out more nms.ac.uk/SecondWorldWarSatchels

Air Raid Tours
24 Jul – 29 Aug
Wed – Fri, 11:00 –11:20 & 13:00 – 13:20
Meet at the shop
Free with museum admission

Explore our newly refurbished air raid and blast shelters with our costumed guide.

Before it was home to the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield was one of the UK’s key military bases during the First and Second World Wars. New for 2024, you can now explore our recently restored Second World War air raid shelter and one of our blast shelters.

Book now nms.ac.uk/AirRaidTours

Second World War Puzzle Room
24 Jul – 29 Aug
Wed – Fri, 14:00 – 16:00
Building 26
Free with museum admission

Problem solving skills and the ability to work out codes were essential skills for people working in the RAF during the Second World War. Work together as a family in our puzzle room and see if you can come up with the answers. Only by solving four different challenges will you know if you’ve got what it takes.

Book now nms.ac.uk/PuzzleRoom

360 Fest
31 Aug
10:00-17:00

Go full circle at our brand new big event at the National Museum of Flight. Be wowed with 360 stunts from cycle team, The Clan, plus circus displays and lots of have-a-go activities. Join a hoolahoop workshop, try some plate spinning and learn about the science of spheres with STEM science activities. Ticket price includes entry to the whole museum.

Book now nms.ac.uk/360Fest

National Museum of Rural Life
Philipshill Road, East Kilbride, G76 9HR
Open 10:00–17:00 daily 

Tractor Tots 
Until Jul 2024
10:15 & 13:30
Various dates
Ticketed

Running in blocks of three Friday morning sessions, Tractor Tots offers a fun, focused experience for our younger visitors, introducing them to the museum and farm, and bringing it to life through interactive creative play. Each session will take place in a different location at the museum and working farm, and will feature handling objects from our learning boxes, singing, storytelling, rhymes, actions and sensory play to learn all about life in the countryside. 

Book now nms.ac.uk/tractor-tots

MooFest
14 & 15 Sep
11:00 – 16:00
Free with museum admission and Annual Pass

Celebrate all things cattle at the National Museum of Rural Life. We’re putting our bovine friends in the spotlight at this weekend of hands-on activities, talks and family fun. Find out all about cows, bulls, milk and meat with our experts, take part in family craft sessions and meet some of the cattle on our working farm.

Book now nms.ac.uk/MooFest

Follow us on Twitter…twitter.com/NtlMuseumsScot   

Follow us on Facebook…facebook.com/NationalMuseumsScotland   

Follow us on Instagram…instagram.com/nationalmuseumsscotland/   

For booking, opening times and location details, contact National Museums Scotland on 0300 123 6789

Happy Birthday, PCHP!

SCOTLAND’S OLDEST COMMUNITY HEALTH PROJECT CELEBRATES 40th ANNIVERSARY

PILTON Community Health Project marked an amazing milestone on Thursday as they celebrated their fortieth birthday.

The ground-breaking local health project, which was launched at a doctor’s surgery on Crewe Road North back in 1984, was the first of it’s kind in Scotland.

Pilton Health Project later moved to bigger premises on West Pilton Park, where the Health Hut housed the innovative Barri Grubb food initiative and was home to the celebrated Western General Action Group campaign, before moving on to their present home on the corner of Pilton Drive North / Boswall Parkway.

My own involvement with the Health Project began in 1990 when the Western General Action Group fought a long campaign to retain Accident and Emergency and maternity/paediatric services at our local hospital.

Sadly Lothian Health Board decided otherwise, but through our persistence we did achieve the establishment of a Minor Injuries Unit at the Western – the first of it’s kind in Scotland.

Despite repeated funding challenges over the years Pilton Community Health Project has continued to provide a wide range of support services to some of Edinburgh’s most vulnerable people, and Thursday was an opportunity to celebrate a remarkable story.

The project welcomed a visit by health minister Neil Gray and local politicians in the morning and in the afternoon a hardy group of us ‘golden oldie’ original supporters and PHCP staff took part in a wee walk from PCHP HQ to the project’s birthplace (and back again!) – an opportunity to meet up with friends old and new.

Back at the project guests enjoyed refreshments and shared stories and magic memories of some of the amazing characters who have played a part in PCHP’s rich history.

It really was a pleasure to be there – and I’m looking forward to the 50th anniversary party already!

Every little helps Kirkliston community project thanks to Tesco food scheme

A community project which supports local residents in Kirkliston has teamed up with Tesco and food charity FareShare, to receive surplus food and additional items from the supermarket to provide the community with food products for their community fridge.

Established back in 2022, the Waste Not, Want Not in Kirkliston group is an encouraging and positive community project which helps to divert food from being wasted and creating an environmentally friendly way to offer key support for residents across the town.

The group, which is run by volunteers, offers a multitude of services that help deliver educational and sustainable ways for the local community to access food, whether it’s the community gardens where people can grow food or the community fridge which provides breads, baked goods, meat and dairy products supplied very the Tesco Community Food Connection.

Waste Not, Want Not in Kirkliston receives food every week as part of the Community Food Connection surplus food scheme, which involves Tesco stores and food redistribution charity FareShare.

Elizabeth Pemma Ellis-Huddleston, organiser at Waste Not Want Not in Kirkliston, said: “Thanks to the Community Food Connection scheme, we’ve been able to further supply a variety of food items for residents in the local community to enjoy and prepare enjoyable meals with.

“Our community fridge project has been very positively welcomed by our local residents, who are welcome to access all of our services at Waste Not, Want Not, as we are just here to help any and all people who need it.

“We hope that by offering to help anyone and everyone we can, we can also break down the self consciousness about using our community fridge service as well.”

“We’d like to thank Tesco and FareShare for helping us with this project and I wish to extend our thanks to all of our volunteers, some of which actually joined our team after visiting our group themselves. It’s that sense of community spirit that we find incredibly humbling and affirming.”

The Community Food Connection scheme ensures that surplus food from Tesco doesn’t go to waste and is instead provided to charities and community groups, whose volunteer members then distribute it to the public.

Tony McElroy, Corporate Communications and Sustainability Leader at Tesco, said: “Working with community groups and schools, such as Waste Not Want Not in Kirkliston, to help them get the food they need is such an important service for us to offer.

“The dedication they have to their local community is amazing, and we are pleased to do what we can to support.

“We firmly believe no good food should go to waste, which is why we began our Community Food Connection scheme. It enables us to ensure our surplus food is put to good use in communities.”

FareShare is the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste. Two-thirds of the organisations it provides food to, support children and families.

Katie Sadler, Head of FareShare Go, said: “The food that Tesco redistributes through FareShare makes a huge difference to people facing food insecurity across the UK.

“We work with thousands of charities and community groups providing essential support to their communities, and receiving a steady stream of food helps them to feed the people who need it most.”

By providing the surplus food to help communities, it is also aiding the environment by ensuring that the food does not end up as landfill.

Charities and community groups that could benefit from the support of the Community Food Connection scheme can find further information at:

 https://fareshare.org.uk/getting-food/.  

Local Care Home hosts Open Day

Staff, residents, relatives and the local community came together at Queens Manor on Queensferry Road to enjoy an Open Day held at the home on Friday 21st June 2024.

Queens Manor hosted a variety of activities throughout the day, including a tasty BBQ prepared by their hospitality team, musical entertainment, pet therapy and even a surprise visit from a local ice cream van, which were enjoyed by everyone who came to the event.

Staff at Queens Manor made everyone feel welcome and were delighted to see different generations having fun together. Visitors enjoyed plenty of refreshments and fun, such as burgers, hot beverages and tasty trifle prepared by the catering team, who were hard at work making sure that a great time was had by all, as well as furry visits from Doc, Frank & Elvis and musical entertainment from Margo the Butterfly singer – it really was a team effort from all!

Resident, Jean Gillies, said, “I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was surrounded by lots of great people, and the refreshments & fun kept flowing into the afternoon. The weather held out until we finished.

“Staff did a great job, not just on the day, but organising the event and getting everyone together. The entertainment was amazing – from the dogs and guineapigs, to the singer and a special shout out to the ice cream man! the van took me back to times I spent with my family at the beach all enjoying 99’s!”

Shannon Cullen, Senior Head of Lifestyle & Enrichment at the home, said: “Staff at Queens Manor are dedicated to making sure that the home is a hub of the local community and residents, and this event, along with all their hard work, has definitely paid off.

“It was a resounding success, with everyone having a great time!”

Queens Manor care home is run by Barchester Healthcare, one of the UK’s largest care providers, which is committed to delivering personalised care across its care homes and hospitals. 

Queens Manor Care Home provides residential care and dementia care for 60 residents from respite care to long term stays.

Virgin Hotels Edinburgh names new Artist in Residence

Virgin Hotels Edinburgh has named local creative, Wendy Helliwell, as its new Artist in Residence, taking up the position from August until October.

The Artist in Residence programme is dedicated to supporting the city’s creative community, offering artists a three-month residency with access to a purpose built art studio, nestled within the old India Buildings’ turret of Virgin Hotels Edinburgh – The Unicorn Room.

The hotel issued an open call for artists earlier this year to apply for the rare opportunity to have a free workspace and showcasing opportunities within the iconic Old Town property. After a rigorous selection process, Wendy Helliwell was awarded the latest Artist in Residence position, with applications now open for creatives to apply for the final vacancy this year.

As a visual artist, Wendy takes inspiration from fashion and pop culture in her work. Primarily self-taught, Wendy incorporates multiple materials, such as fashion magazines and clothing, in a sustainable and innovative way, to create unique, three dimensional art forms. Wendy’s passion for creativity and pushing the boundaries is synonymous with the iconic interior design elements of the hotel.

The position will commence in August, during The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where Wendy will be giving discarded Festival materials, such as promotional flyers, a new lease of life to create never before seen art pieces.

These creations will eventually be on sale and displayed on the staircase leading up to the hotel’s stunning Oculus Lounge. This forms part of the valuable offering of Virgin Hotels Edinburgh’s Artist in Residence initiative – providing artists with a free gallery space within the hotel and the chance to sell their artwork, with all proceeds going directly to the artist.

While Wendy is working on her latest creations in The Unicorn Room, the hotel will be showcasing her work inspired by the music industry, tying in effortlessly to the heritage of the wider Virgin brand. Work on display will include Wendy’s punk-themed “No Lip” piece which has been created using an upcycled 80’s punk leather jacket and Sex Pistols vinyl.

Wendy was first introduced to Virgin Hotels Edinburgh upon the hotel’s opening, when she was selected by bespoke art consultancy, Visto Artwork, to create artwork for the hotel. Pieces previously commissioned include the iconic “Virgin Lips” which was constructed from one pair of jeans and magazine cuttings, located beside the hotel’s concierge.

Mafalda Albuquerque, General Manager at Virgin Hotels Edinburgh, said: “This is a really exciting time for Virgin Hotels Edinburgh as we announce Wendy as our new Artist in Residence. Wendy is unbelievably talented, and we’ve already had the privilege of hosting some of her artwork in the hotel.

“Commencing in August, just in time for Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe, this residency will provide Wendy with a special opportunity to capture Edinburgh at its very best. Guests and visitors can book in to meet Wendy and go on an exclusive tour of her studio, to see where the magic unfolds.

“The Artist in Residence programme marks our commitment to supporting the vibrant creative community in Edinburgh. Applications are open for creatives to apply to be our final Artist in Residence of the year and we’re looking forward to seeing the submissions. There has been some incredible talent so far”.

Wendy Helliwell, said: “I couldn’t contain my excitement when I spotted the open-call for Virgin Hotels Edinburgh’s Artist in Residence. It has come at such an opportune time and I feel so inspired to create some exciting, new pieces.

“I don’t come from a traditional art background and so to have this opportunity to share my art with the world is truly amazing. I’m looking forward to meeting guests and visitors and taking them on a tour of my new studio space. I can’t wait to get started”.

Applications are now open for aspiring artists who would like to be considered for the next Virgin Hotels Edinburgh’s Artist in Residence spot. For more information please email: artist.inresidence@virginhotels.com.

Guests booked in for Virgin Hotels Edinburgh’s Afternoon Tea experience in The Oculus Lounge will have the opportunity to not only view Wendy’s masterpieces but also go on a private tour of her studio space.

For reservations for Virgin Hotels Edinburgh’s exquisite Afternoon Tea in the stunning Oculus lounge, please email: afternoontea@virginhotels.com

Follow along with Virgin Hotels Edinburgh on social media here: 

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

Scottish artist Bruce McLean gets a crowning display for his 80th birthday at Modern One in Edinburgh

A celebratory display to mark Bruce McLean’s 80th birthday opens tomorrow (Saturday 29 June) at Modern One in Edinburgh. 

Taking over room 20, Bruce McLean: I Want My Crown traces the Glasgow-born artist’s humorous, provocative and engaging six-decade long inquiry into sculpture. Through works made across a range of media including photography, performance, painting, printmaking, film, and ceramics, the one room display invites you to challenge your thinking about sculpture and expand your ideas of what art can be. 

Sparked by childhood curiosity and challenging what he had been taught about sculpture as a student at St Martin’s School of Art in the 1960s, McLean’s artistic career has been characterised by his desire to break the rules. Encompassing both wry satire and an earnest inquiry into the nature of art, his work is known for its intelligence, as much as its humorous and rebellious spirit. 

The works in the display question many of our traditional assumptions about what sculpture should be, who it is for, how it is made, and how it is shown. In so doing, McLean is also asking broader questions about the role of art in our everyday lives, and in particular the role of the artist.    

An early target of his was the leading British sculptor Henry Moore, who gained international celebrity status in the post-war period of British sculpture.

McLean’s photographic work Fallen Warrior (1969/2011) is an image of the artist ‘falling’ onto a ‘pedestal’, an idea he picks up again in Pose Work for Plinths (1971) in which McLean, as a living sculpture, tries out a number of poses across three plinths, the traditional means of showing sculptural works.

The piece references Moore’s own sculpture Falling Warrior (1956–7), in which a male figure clutching a shield is shown falling, heroically, on the battlefield. 

Challenges to hierarchy and status are constant themes of his work. When, aged 27, he was offered a solo exhibition at Tate Gallery, London, he seized on it as an opportunity to make a radically subversive statement about art world systems, conventions, and power structures.

Wryly titling the exhibition King for a Day, it comprised a list of ideas for 1000 prospective artworks, which McLean presented as a one-day ‘retrospective’ in the form of a catalogue.

Multiple copies of this catalogue will be displayed, allowing visitors to pore over McLean’s ‘homages’, ‘studies’, and ‘serial’ works – his parodic take on the contemporary art world’s continual need to define and categorise artworks. 

Decades after King for a Day, McLean revisited the theme with I Want My Crown (2013). This video installation, projected large-scale in the gallery, brings the artist into the space and shows him dancing to a 1973 song of the same title by British musician Kevin Coyne as he gestures to a crown sculpture on a shelf above his head. 

Another recurrent theme in McLean’s art is that behaviour – both private and public – is a function of the environment around us.

This notion takes centre stage in the architectural projects he has worked on over the years. In 1994, initiated by Glasgow City Council, a brief was set for a redevelopment of Glasgow’s Argyle Street.

McLean’s hyper-real proposal to turn the street into a bustling interactive ‘theatre’ won the competition in 1996, though the project was never realised. Visitors to I Want My Crown can enjoy the paper collages that lay out McLean’s playful vision.

The proposal included an Irn Bru bar, a Tunnocks Tower offering periscope views of the city, and a helium-filled fabric cloud sculpture to shelter those below from the Scottish rain. 

Also featured is Constructed Painting (2024), comprised of six paintings made between 1990 and 2014, each stacked and propped against the gallery wall like the components of a large-scale collage.

The paintings reference sculptures by well-known artists of the past and present. Enlarging photocopied images of their sculptures, McLean made cardboard cutouts, their huge scale signalling their overbearing influence on his early work and art school training.

Staging different groupings in his studio, McLean photographed the cutouts, then made paintings after the photographs. The result is a hybrid between sculpture, performance, photography and painting. Testament to McLean’s dynamic creative energy, the configuration of these paintings will change multiple times during the display’s run. 

Ever the innovator, McLean continues at 80 to question and expand the meaning and resonance of sculpture, allowing it to remain as vital and relevant for another generation. 

Bruce McLean said: “I’d like to thank Leila Riszko, Simon Groom, and all the staff at the National Galleries of Scotland for putting together this show with great care, sensitivity and patience. Good work!

“My next project will be Passing a Law Sculpture. The law will be that every 17 year old person in Britain goes to art school for a one year foundation course focusing on drawing in all its many aspects. Everything in the world is drawn before it is created.” 

Leila Riszko, Assistant Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “We’re really excited about this fantastic opportunity to bring the creative energy of Bruce’s work to the attention and admiration of a new generation.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to collaborate with him on such a dynamic presentation of his work – as befits a celebratory exhibition in honour of the artist’s 80th birthday!” 

Bruce McLean: I Want My Crown is yours to discover at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One from Saturday 29 June 2024. Find out more online Bruce McLean | I Want My Crown | National Galleries of Scotland 

Euro 2024: Scotland fans backing Germany and ENGLAND to win following Hungary exit

Scotland’s European Championships are officially over following a heart-breaking 100th minute defeat at the hands of Hungary.

But while 200,000 Scottish fans will be feeling the hangover of an underwhelming tournament, Euro 2024 continues in Germany and the question is, who are they supporting as their second team for the remainder of the competition?

Betway conducted data through social media tool Brandwatch to determine which teams remaining have received the most positive comments online since Euro 2024 started.

The positive sentimental data can reveal the following for fans in Scotland:

  • Hosts Germany have 4,792 positive comments, putting them in first place.
  • Arch-rivals England are in second place with 4,354.
  • France, Ukraine and Spain complete the top five while Hungary, who knocked Scotland out, are in sixth spot.

The top 10 most popular teams for Euro 2024 in Scotland are as follows:

RankTeamPositive Sentimental Data
1Germany4,792
2England4,354
3France1,509
4Ukraine1,345
5Spain765
6Hungary762
7Portugal740
8Switzerland720
9Italy619
10Denmark419

ENGLAND? Shurely shome mistake! It’s Austria for me! – Ed.

Council initiates emergency facility for lost and delayed postal votes

The City of Edinburgh Council is taking urgent steps to ensure all residents can cast their vote in next Thursday’s UK Parliament General Election.

From today, (28 June), and over the weekend, voters who have yet to receive their postal votes, and will not be at home next week, can go to the City Chambers and have their voting pack re-issued. A polling booth will be set up for those wishing to cast their vote there and then in privacy.

The facility will be open until 5pm today and then from 9am to 5pm tomorrow and Sunday. Voters should come to the City Chambers on the High Street, with photo ID, and a replacement pack can be issued. 

The distribution of postal votes nationally has been hit by delays, but the Royal Mail has confirmed that all packs should be delivered today or tomorrow.

We’re prioritising those who will not be at home next week. If you will be at home next week, please be wait for delivery and only contact us early next week if you are still without your pack.

Please contact elections@edinburgh.gov.uk in the first instance or call the helpline on 0131 200 2315. As above we will be open for re-issues Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm and into next week if necessary. 

We’ll be putting extra resources into our Customer Team over the weekend to deal with these enquiries.

We’re encouraging everyone else to make their way on foot or by public transport, but Blue Badge holders will be able to park in the City Chambers quadrangle this weekend.

Returning Officer for Edinburgh, Paul Lawrence said: “I appreciate the concerns of voters on this issue and my absolute priority is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to exercise their democratic right to vote in this General Election.

“That’s why we’ve taken the decision to put in extra resources and open the City Chambers this weekend. Please only attend if you haven’t received your postal vote and you’re going on holiday or won’t be at home next week.

“I’d encourage anyone who has already received their postal vote to return it as soon as possible, through Royal Mail.

“The timing of this election has been challenging as have other circumstances beyond our control, but our teams are working hard to ensure it passes off as smoothly and successfully as possible.”

TV personality Rylan Clark to headline Ladies Day at Musselburgh

Presenter set to DJ Scotland’s most fashionable raceday

TV AND RADIO personality Rylan Clark has been announced as the star entertainment for the crowds at one of Scotland’s most glamourous summer events on Friday 9 August.

The Radio 2 DJ and Eurovision commentator will entertain crowds with a memorable DJ set at Musselburgh Racecourse’s Ladies Day.

Rylan said: “I’m so excited to perform for the Ladies Day crowds at Musselburgh Racecourse.

“It’s going to be a glamorous day to celebrate in style with your mates and hopefully I can help to bring the perfect party atmosphere for everyone.”

Video of Rylan chatting about his excitement for the day can be found here: 

https://we.tl/t-BmfHPERLfX

Aisling Johnston, Head of Marketing at Musselburgh Racecourse, said: “Rylan is a real star household name and a lovely person too.

“He’s the perfect mix of glamour, showbiz and humour for Ladies Day and I know that the crowds will go wild for his DJ set. We can’t wait to welcome him to Musselburgh.”

General admission tickets are selling fast, with over half already gone. Adult tickets are currently £55, but act quickly – purchase before July 17th to save £5. After this date, prices will rise to £60.

For the best seats in the house, the VIP Marquee offers racegoers the chance to enjoy the day with a touch of luxury.

Set inside a hand-crafted sailcloth marquee, racegoers can enjoy a unique dining experience, with a private Champagne reception, high-end grazing buffet and an exclusive VIP afterparty for £350 per person.

Following the success of last year’s Style Awards sponsored by Tigerlily Boutique, this year’s “best dressed” top prize includes an invitation to visit Champagne Pommery in France.

Provided by Pommery, the winner will enjoy two nights at four-star hotel accommodation in Reims, £1,500 spending money.

The racecourse is located only six miles from Edinburgh city centre, and less than two miles from the A720 Edinburgh City Bypass. There are direct transport links and a courtesy bus from Wallyford (connecting to Edinburgh) and Newcraighall (connecting to Galashiels) train stations. For those travelling by car, there is free parking available at the venue.

Hannah Smith from Dalkeith wins the Style award. Ladies Day at Musselburgh Racecourse on Friday 11th August 2023 Picture: Alan Rennie

Gates open at 11:30, with the first race starting at 2:20pm, the last race at 4:50pm, the after-racing party (open to all Ladies Day racegoers) starts at approximately 5.00pm. All race times are provisional and may be subject to change.

Guests can purchase adult tickets now for general admission at £55 per person. Purchase your ticket before 17th July and save £5.00 The next ticket price is £60.00.

Musselburgh is one of Scotland’s most admirable horse racing venues with a history of delivering exceptional race day experiences with stunning surroundings. 

For further information on Musselburgh Ladies Day or to purchase tickets, visit: 

https://www.musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk/view-fixture/ladies-day-2024