Decision due on whether Royal National Mòd will come to Highland capital this year as Covid-19 coronavirus restrictions remain in place
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One of the biggest cultural events of the 2020 Highland calendar is hanging in the balance.
Cancellation of the Royal National Mòd – due to be held in Inverness between October 9 and 17 – is being discussed by organisers An Comunn Gàidhealach.
It is the biggest festival of Gaelic in the world and would be expected to bring thousands of competitors and upwards of £4 million to the city’s economy.
The event is also of major interest across Ross-shire with participants across many categories and a large appreciative audience.
A number of events to raise money for the Mòd have already been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Organisers have held discussions with key parties including Highland Council, which makes an annual grant on the premise the Mòd will be staged in the region relatively often.
They have been considering hosting two Royal National Mòds in 2021, including Inverness, and allowing for planned events in Perth next year and Paisley in 2022 to go ahead.
An Comunn Gàidhealach chief executive James Graham said the board would be meeting this week.
“We should have a clear picture of where things stand then,” he said.
“These are all scenarios that will be discussed at the meeting of the board.
“Ultimately, decisions on the way forward will be made at this meeting so until we know the outcome of that I wouldn’t want to speculate further.”
Councillor Raymond Bremner, who been involved in hosting a previous Mòd, said: “If the event is cancelled in 2020, I will be asking the chief executive to make sure the Inverness event is held in 2021.
“Other international festivals, such as the Eisteddfod in Wales, have already agreed to put back its programme for one year to allow host venues to get the benefit of the event. Inverness should be allowed to do the same.”
The last Royal National Mòd, held in the city in October 2014, attracted more than 5000 people to the area, and was said to have made more than £3.5 million for the local economy.
A council spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that discussions are taking place but until a decision is made by the Mòd organisers and further discussions are held, we are not in a position to speculate further.”
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