A Moray town’s run of hosting the European Pipe Band Championships is to come to an end after the announcement that next year’s event will be the last in the town.
The event has been held in Forres since 2013, with the show awarded to a host for three years at a time.
In 2015 the event was secured in the town for a further three years, until 2018 – but now organisers have decided that next year’s championship will be the last.
Alan James, the chairman of Forres Events Limited, which runs Piping at Forres said that giving up the championship would allow other events to take centre stage.
He said: “Our volunteers, sponsors and local businesses provide dedicated and magnificent support for the event but we think that after June 2018 the time will be right for a change.
“Forres can and does put on excellent events and this gives us a opportunity to think about supporting the community in new and different ways.”
The festival was credited with bringing up to 20,000 visitors to the town each time it was run.
Despite the potential loss of those visitors, local figures are confident that the town can continue to thrive.
Moray council leader George Alexander, who volunteered at the piping event, said: “The loss will have an impact, but before 2013 we didn’t have the pipe band championships.
“I’m sure the town will still survive – there is always the hope that some other event will come along.
“Forres is a great place to visit without the pipe band championship, there’s still loads of things to do.
“I’m confident that the number of visitors to the town will stay high.”
The town was boosted last year with the Colours of Cluny event which proved popular with locals and visitors.
And the town was recently visited by judges from Britain in Bloom, which could lead to extra recognition to attract visitors.
The organizer of Colours of Cluny, Graham Murdoch said that the loss of the piping championship would leave a gap, but that Forres would remain a good place to visit.
He said: “Maybe it needs another event to replace the piping – but it comes down to how far you can stretch the goodwill of the volunteers.
“Forres is a very attractive town to visit and Cluny Hill is just a fantastic asset for the town.”