A Fife town is to enjoy a summer soundtrack, after being named as the venue for a new, major music competition.
The population and coffers of Burntisland will swell after a deal was concluded to host the Pipe Band Championships in the town for the next three years.
As many as 13,500 people are expected to descend on the Fife coast for the event, with more than £340,000 estimated to be generated for the local economy.
It is a huge boost for the seaside resort, which is no stranger to the sound of the pipes.
Councillor Neil Crooks, chairman of the Kirkcaldy area committee, said: “I am delighted to welcome this new, strategic event for Burntisland, particularly as this announcement comes in the same year as Burntisland Pipe Band are reigning world champions in their class.
“We have a firm commitment to regenerating our local communities and this event will see that commitment in action.”
A date of Saturday July 18 has been set for the event, a time when the area is already bustling with holidaymakers and day trippers.
The championships will take place before another of Burntisland’s showpiece occasions, with its annual Highland Games the second-oldest event of its kind in the world taking place just two days later.
Linda Temple, Fife Council’s cultural partnerships and events strategy manager, said the event will enhance the reputation of a town that is already hugely popular in the summer months.
“The march of the massed pipes and drums along the High Street will be a truly spectacular sight,” she said.
“In addition to the annual fairground, beautiful Links area and one of only three Blue Flag-awarded beaches in Scotland, Burntisland has a huge amount to offer and we are delighted the town will now also host this new and very exciting event.”
She added: “I am absolutely delighted the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association has agreed to organise, promote and deliver this event and I have every confidence it will keep Burntisland on the map as a major day-out destination and generate significant economic impacts for the town.”
Burntisland Pipe Band spokesman Denis Johnstone said: “This is a fantastic event to come to the town. It has been our goal to have a contest in Burntisland for a number of years and it is great to finally achieve this.”