MORE than 200 bands descended on Glasgow to compete in the World Pipe Band Championships yesterday.
The competition, being held on Glasgow Green, involves about 8,000 musicians from 17 countries, as well as dancers and Highland games competitors.
Competitors were battling to snatch the title from Northern Irish group The Field Marshal Montgome
ry Pipe Band, which has won the event for the past two years. Bands from as far afield as Spain, the US, Canada, France, Australia and Pakistan are taking part.
Among the competitors are 30-year-old Ryan Canning and his bride-to-be Megan Harrington, 24, who are both members of the reigning champion band. The Ulster couple, who met through their love of piping, have planned their wedding date around this year's championships and will tie the knot on Tuesday in Glasgow University Chapel.
This year's championship is predicted to bring more than £10m in revenue to the city.
Robert Mathieson, pipe major with the Edgar, Shotts and Dykehead band from Lanarkshire, hoped the overall title would be travelling eastwards across the Irish Sea.
The 49-year-old championship veteran said: "Glasgow is a fantastic host. The city has turned the event into a week-long festival of piping. I just hope we can bring the championship back to Scotland."
Ian Embleton, chief executive of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association which has run the event since 1947, said: "The competition has grown phenomenally, particularly over the last decade, as it has become a permanent fixture on Glasgow Green."
The full article contains 261 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
