Royal Highland Show’s 200 year celebrations begin

The Royal Highland Show has begun marking its 200th anniversary with a series of immersive storytelling installations across Scotland.

Taking place over four weeks in March, The Royal Highland Show Illuminated, produced in association with Turcan Connell, will project expressive imagery, woven together with never-before-seen treasures and untold stories from the Show archives, onto historic buildings and other venues across Scotland.

Royal Highland Show organisers, the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), hope the sensory events will raise awareness of the Show and highlight its positive impact on Scotland throughout the years.

The installations, which are free to attend, feature a five minute long visual history of the show, told through animations, images, films and archive footage. They are taking place in eight locations around Scotland, from Dumfries and Galloway to Inverness, referencing how the Show would tour each of the RHASS regions annually before it settled permanently at Ingliston in 1960.

The Royal Highland Show is a key moment in both Scotland’s events and agricultural calendar – these installations will showcase its wide-ranging impact and influence over the last two centuries while looking to the future of both the Show and the Society.

RHASS chairman Bill Gray said: ‘To celebrate the bicentenary of the Show, we wanted to do something special. The Royal Highland Show Illuminated is the perfect way to give back to regional communities and the RHASS membership across Scotland and herald the return of the Show.

‘After two long years without a full Show, we are going all out to make the 200th anniversary Royal Highland Show the best one yet. The events will see a powerful and poignant portrayal of the Show’s value and importance to Scotland’s communities.’

The project has been produced in association with Turcan Connell.

Alexander Garden, chairman of Turcan Connell said: ‘Turcan Connell are proud to be involved in this creative project celebrating the bicentenary of the Royal Highland Show. We have been supporters of the Show for many years, and as 2022 also sees a big anniversary for our firm, being our 25th year, the opportunity to become involved in Illuminated as part of the Show’s 200th anniversary seemed rather appropriate.

‘We are very much looking forward to being part of this specially curated project and seeing the animations on historic buildings throughout Scotland.’

More information on the Royal Highland Show Illuminated’s locations around Scotland can be found HERE.

Supported by the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Royal Highland Show will take place at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh, from June 23–26.

The first show was held in 1822 on a site that is now home to the Scottish Parliament. Today, it is Scotland’s biggest outdoor event attracting around 190,000 people and regarded as one of Europe’s best agribusiness shows.

Author

TAGS

FOLLOW US