Duthie Park was the place to be on Saturday as the European Pipe Band Championships made a triumphant return to Aberdeen.
The sounds of bagpipes took over the park as more than 100 pipe bands and 25 drum majors came together for the competition, which was last held in the Granite City in 1981.
With four bands often playing at once, and others warming up for their big performance at the same time, the sound of the “great Highland bagpipe” was a constant throughout the day.
There was a strong sense of camaraderie as each group left the arena to reunite with their friends and family and share heartfelt congratulations with their fellow performers.
All of the bands, including some with pipers as young as 10, had been working hard all year building up to this moment.
Competing in home city
Pipe Major Neil Mitchell, of Bucksburn and District Novice, said he was “delighted” his band could experience the European championships in its home city.
“It has been a great day,” he said. “My focus is on the kids, they’re a great bunch of musicians, and this is a great opportunity for them to come out and express their music.
“It’s a great stage for them to be on and things went well, so we’re happy.
“You get one shot – the whole year of practising and then four minutes to compete with what you’ve learnt over the year.
“You get judged on that so it’s a lot of pressure, especially for the young kids, but they did a great job.
“It’s wonderful to be here in our home city after so long and hopefully it’ll come back.”
Endless entertainment
Thousands of people turned out to bask in the glorious sunshine, with temperatures reaching 24C in the afternoon, and enjoy all the event had to offer.
Musical entertainment was non-stop and the variety of retail, charity and food and drink stalls provided everything visitors needed for the day.
Organisers made sure there was something for the whole family to enjoy – including the popular Dino World in the Winter Gardens.
The atmosphere was jovial as spectators set up deck chairs and picnic blankets around the main competition areas to watch the pipe bands and Highland dancers – with loud applause heard after every performance.
Different music, skills and age groups were scheduled throughout the day with an estimated 3,000 pipers taking part from around the world.
The judges certainly had a tough job picking out the best from the best in Europe to receive the top prizes.
Inspiring the next generation
The event was brought back to the north-east by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association in conjunction with Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeen Inspired and main sponsors, Balmoral.
Pipe Major Hannah Mutch, from Granite City Pipes & Drums, hopes the day will inspire more youngsters to get involved.
She said: “Today has been amazing, there’s been such a good atmosphere and it’s really nice to have it here in Aberdeen, somewhere local to us.
“This is the biggest event we’ve done in our home city and it went well on the stage, it’s been a good team effort. It’s always good to be out there together.
“Hopefully it’ll inspire some more people to get involved, especially young people, because there was a bit of a dip after Covid.
“We need more people to keep all the pipe bands going, and this day could help.”
Bands travel from afar
Pipe bands came from all over Scotland, the UK and even as far as Australia to compete at Duthie Park.
Pupils from Knox Grammar School, including teenagers Lachlan, Alex, Zoltan and Lucas, travelled hundreds of miles from New South Wales to Aberdeen as part of their own European tour.
“It’s been amazing,” Lachlan said. “There is such a great piping community in Scotland.
“We think today was the best we have played, and it was just great to get to perform on the big stage.”
Zoltan said: “We think we’re the only band here from the Southern Hemisphere.
“The size of the community here is definitely the biggest difference for us, we’ve never seen this many pipe bands in one place before.”
The results
Here is a list of the bands and drum majors who finished in first place in each category at the 2023 European Pipe Band Championships:
- Novice Juvenile A – George Watson’s College
- Novice Juvenile B – Erskine Stewarts Melville Schools
- Juvenile – Dollar Academy
- Grade 1 – Inveraray and District
- Grade 2 – Portlethen and District
- Grade 3A – Coalburn I.O.R.
- Grade 3B – Ross and Cromarty Pipes and Drums
- Grade 4A – Burntisland and District
- Grade 4B – Venlo Caledonian (Netherlands)
- Junior Drum Major – Catherine Spears from Burntisland and District
- Juvenile Drum Major – Louise Smiton from Closkelt
- Adult Drum Major – Emma Barr from Field Marshal Montgomery
Gallery: European Pipe Band Championships make glorious return to Aberdeen
