Generous islanders have come to the aid of stranded festival goers as Tiree Music Festival was cancelled at the last minute.
Ahead of the first night of music, organisers decided to make the difficult decision to cancel the event with gusts of up to 45mph forecast batter the island.
TMF was ready to start when winds forced staff to help people quickly dismantle tents.
A spokeswoman for TMF said: “Due to the extreme weather conditions we have taken the incredibly difficult but necessary decision to cancel Tiree Music Festival 2023 and vacate all campers, glampers, visitors and vendors to safety.
Organisers said 500 -600 people were displaced.
Islanders come to rescue at Tiree Music Festival
People on the island for the festival were asked to attend An Talla, the island’s community centre.
It was at that point that islanders began to open their homes to the revellers.
One woman said: “I can accommodate a family, maybe four total give us a shout.”
Others then said they could provide a safe space for people.
Mairi MacKay wrote: “Gutted for you all but having survived Hurricane Tiree, you are all in great hands.
“The people of Tiree could not have been more accommodating and kind, wonderful people. Come back next year. Happy to help in any way we can.”
Oban Ferry Terminal will remained open overnight to accommodate those without accommodation once the vessel arrived back on the mainland.
On TMF’s social media, Heather McInnes wrote: “Disappointed for everyone, especially the organisers and those taking part.
“This must have been a very, very tough decision to make but safely comes first. Stay safe everyone. Typical Scottish weather.”
Islander Morag Barrie wrote: “So sad for everyone. We walked by today and everyone was working so hard to set everything up & the buzz on the ferry this morning was phenomenal.
“Very happy to help in any way we can.”
Richard Dale wrote: “Tough call for the events team, I know how hard they all work to make this happen, it’s not easy and the island logistics make it even harder than a standard festival. Stay safe all. Scottish weather can be harsh sometimes.”
Marianne O’Neill said she was gutted for everyone. She said: “What a hard choice, I’m gutted for everyone, but sometimes there are rainbows in storms.”
A spokeswoman for Tiree Music Festival, said: “Thank you to everyone for your support and understanding so far as we work to safely vacate the site and implement our cancellation plan due to the extreme weather on Tiree.
“As part of a pre-planned evacuation process, as agreed with the relevant authorities, we are currently securing all campers with accommodation for the night and have begun bussing people to safety at homes and halls across the island.”
She added: “For your onward journey home, the ferry to Oban departs Tiree at 10.35am tomorrow (Friday) and all foot passenger tickets for sailings across the weekend will be valid on this sailing.”
