Loopallu organiser reflects on end of popular festival; say increasing popularity of village as a tourism destination had made it more difficult for festival-goers to book accommodation
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE organiser of a festival staged for the last time in Ullapool is convinced he made the right decision in "letting go" of an event that put the Wester Ross village on the radar of gig-goers across the world.
Robert Hicks made his remarks as the dust settled on the final Loopallu, the popular music festival becoming a victim of the growing success of the village as a tourist destination.
Mr Hicks said he had to draw a line under the event when he realised that festival-goers were having to compete with, and were in many cases were losing out to, visitors looking for accommodation.
Ironically the impetus for the festival was in part to help extend the visitor season and provide a local boost to business at a quieter time of the year.
The pressure for accommodation had a spin-off impact on ticket sales for a festival which had to sell out to be viable.
Loopallu had already bowed out once but returned by popular demand.
Mr Hicks said: “I don’t think I was ready, a couple of years ago, to let it go yet, to call it a day. I look at it a different way now and I think it is better that we went out on an absolute high, this year was really great.
“But I saw last year that the writing was really on the wall when I saw regular mixed crowds of people in the village. Last year I never saw so many people who were not going to the festival and didn’t know about it.
“Up until that point, when we were hearing people come back to us and say that they would immediately try and rebook their room for the following year, now they can’t do that because other visitors are also making reservations.
“The floating visitor who was just visiting Ullapool now stays to around October so the season is much longer, and that is great for the village but it means the festival no longer works as a good business model.”
Such was the power of Loopallu that even local MSP and Children’s Minister Maree Todd will mourn its passing.
“The Todd family have loved coming home for the annual festival – it is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends as well as to see amazing talent in the heart of the Highlands. And my dad was always on hand as a babysitter.
“I’m sorry it is coming to an end, it’s been a great asset to the village but I have no doubt that Robert and his team will continue to use their talents and enterprise to benefit the village in other ways.
“I have such fond memories of the festival, from when our children were really wee, right up to its first year on the pier which was a resounding success.
“I loved the festival being in the very heart of the village. From the opening each year by the Ullapool pipe band, to seeing Paulo Nutini, Mumford and Sons and Franz Ferdinand, and blethering with rock stars at the fringe events, it was a very special festival in a very special place.
“As Robert himself said: ‘From a very small event in a very small place, we have a big reputation and a big heart, and that’s what I’m most proud of.’ I couldn’t agree more.”
The first Loopallu was held in 2005 when "rockgrass" band Hayseed Dixie headlined.
It was championed from its early days by BBC DJ Janice Long and punched above its weight by attracting headline acts ranging from Mumford & Sons, Franz Ferdinand and Paolo Nutini to Echo & the Bunnymen and the Levellers.
What's your best Loopallu memory? Drop us a line to newsdesk@spp-group.com
