The Perth Highland Games are moving from the South Inch to the North Inch this year because of the summer deluge and organisers have hinted the games may stay there in the future.
The recent atrocious conditions have already led to the Scottish Game Fair and Perth Races being cancelled and organisers of the Perth Highland Games do not want to fall into the same category on Sunday August 12, especially after seeing them cancelled last year because of soggy conditions.
Andrew Rettie, secretary of Perth Highland Games, told The Courier the problem was ”ongoing annually” and hinted the event may well stay at its new venue in the long term.
”There have been big problems with the conditions of the South Inch after the Perth Show,” he said. ”We actually had talks with Perth and Kinross Council last year and these have been continuing. We couldn’t face another year where the show was cancelled.
”The council offered us the North Inch last year, but we turned it down due to restrictions on parking. However, we have already seen the Scottish Game Fair and Perth Races cancelled and this has a knock-on effect. Tourists want the guarantee the games will go on before they travel through.”
He continued: ”There was been a meeting with the council on Friday and we would like to announce the venue will be changed from the South Inch to the North Inch.
”Bearing in mind the problems with the weather, which more or less all of the games have been experiencing, rather than call the event off we decided to move.
”In future years, perhaps this will become the games’ natural home. We hope so, but we’ll see what transpires. The events will continue as planned on August 12.”
Perth Highland Games has been dogged by cancellations since 2004. The event was called off that year and then suffered the same fate in 2007. In 2008, it was moved to Perth Racecourse in an unprecedented move.
Last year, it was cancelled at the last moment following wet weather.
Former Perth and Kinross provost John Hulbert held discussions with the games’ organisers then in a bid to move it to the North Inch.
Dr Hulbert, who had been chieftain of the games, had said at the time: ”This is a very important event in Perth’s summer calendar, and brings many tourists and competitors to Perth from all over Scotland, the rest of the UK and overseas.
”It is a great boost to the local economy at a time when some businesses are struggling. To lose it would just be unthinkable.”
Dr Hulbert, who stood down at the last local council elections, had said an ”alternative venue” needed to be found.