The Gathering 2009

The Gathering 2009 was a two-day weekend event, celebrating Scottish culture, held between 25–26 July 2009, as part of Homecoming 2009. The event was held at Holyrood Park, Scotland, and attracted around 47,000 people from all over the world. Over 125 Scottish clans were represented in what was described as the largest Highland Games in Scotland's history. A clan convention also took place, also the largest recorded meeting of chiefs.

However, despite being initially hailed as a success, subsequent revelations that the organisers had overseen a £600,000 loss lead to the event's finances being described as a fiasco in the Scottish Press.

The Duke of Rothesay

The Gathering took place at Holyrood Park between 25–26 July. On the evening of 25 July, about 20,000 people lined the Royal Mile and watched the parade of about 8,000 clan members and pipe bands march from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to Edinburgh Castle Esplanade. The Duke of Rothesay officially opened the weekend event, which attracted over 47,000 people from at least 40 different countries. 125 Scottish clans were represented and 85 clan chiefs were also present. Visitors enjoyed traditional Highland Games, piping, dancing, live music performances, and sampled Scottish food, drink, as well as crafts and textiles. The majority of the weekend visitors attended the festivities on the 25th, with about 30,000 enjoying the sunshine, while rain the next day dampened the mood of some attendees.

The event was reported to have been the world's largest Highland Games and clan meeting. It was not, however, a sell out. The day before the festivities, 7,400 out of 8,100 tickets that guaranteed access to the parade and esplanade had been sold. The cost of such tickets was £95 a piece. Also, only 12,000 tickets out of 30,000 had been sold for the event held in Holyrood Park.

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