Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker and event organisers Unique Events have announced a partnership for the brand-new Burns & Beyond Festival.
This will present a packed programme of free and ticketed events throughout Edinburgh city centre, running from 22 to 27 January.
Burns & Beyond with Johnnie Walker will welcome the very best in live music, poetry and performance from across Scotland and beyond, celebrating the life and works of Robert Burns through contemporary and traditional arts and culture.
Designed to offer something for everyone, the festival will host a vibrant programme of events across Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns, with dancing, music, theatre and comedy. There will also be a special Rabbie Ramble along Rose Street as well as a traditional Burns supper, where guests can toast Scotland’s national poet with a dram of Johnnie Walker.
Following successful partnerships with Edinburgh’s Christmas and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay in 2018, Johnnie Walker continues to celebrate Scotland’s winter festivals, culminating in this year’s Burns’ celebrations. Both Robert Burns and Johnnie Walker are from Ayrshire and are celebrated and loved around the world.
This reinstates the brand’s investment and commitment in Scotland following the announcement of a new Johnnie Walker immersive visitor experience in Edinburgh due to open next year, bolstering the city’s world-renowned tourism offering and adding to the city and Scotland’s top cultural attractions.
Alan Thomson, director at Unique Events, said: ‘We’re thrilled to be working with Johnnie Walker to deliver the inaugural Burns & Beyond festival for the city, placing Scotland’s national drink at the heart of the celebrations. With a programme packed full of the very best of Scottish arts and culture, it is only fitting that we are working in partnership with a world-famous Scottish brand such as Johnnie Walker.’
David Cutter, president of global supply and procurement at Diageo, said: ‘Burns Night is synonymous with whisky, with people all over the world raising a glass to the great Bard – and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate two Ayrshire greats, toasting to the life and legacy of Robert Burns with a dram of Johnnie Walker.
‘While enjoyed across the globe, there’s truly no place like home and Johnnie Walker has a proud heritage rooted in Scotland. It is fantastic to be working alongside Unique Events to deliver a festival which celebrates one of the country’s most iconic figures.’
Audiences will be able to raise a glass courtesy of Johnnie Walker at venues and events throughout the Old and New Town including the Burns Supper at Freemason’s Hall on Friday 26 January and a special Whisky Tasting with Johnnie Walker event, part of the Culture Trail on Saturday 26 January, will provide participants with a free dram and crash-course in Scotland’s national drink, whilst discovering a cultural feast of live music, poetry, comedy and performance in eight hidden venues, all on one night.
With support from City of Edinburgh Council, Essential Edinburgh, Scotland’s Winter Festivals and Marketing Edinburgh, Burns & Beyond with Johnnie Walker runs from Tuesday 22 January through to Sunday 27 January.
Tickets for the Museum of the Moon @ St Giles, the Burns Supper, Burns & Beyond Culture Trail and all Burns & Beyond with Johnnie Walker events can be found at www.burnsandbeyond.com.
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