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Crieff Highland Gathering Announces Cancellation of 2021 Games

It is with a heavy heart and huge sense of disappointment that the Board of Directors of Crieff Highland Gathering have taken the decision for a second year not to hold this year’s Music Fest or Highland Games due to take place on the 21st and 22nd of August. 

Following the recently published guidance from the Scottish Government, it has become clear that planning an event on the scale of the Crieff Games is impossible and we can’t with any confidence continue with planning for August 2021. 

We have held off our decision for as long as possible as we have watched many other Highland Games cancel in the hope that the success of the UK and Scotland’s vaccination programme and falling infection rates would allow us to hold some type of event that would provide a welcome boost to the local Crieff economy.  However, we have no clear date as to when the restrictions will be lifted, there is also very little guidance on what restrictions will be in place in August therefore we thought it was better to make the decision to cancel.  We did consider other potential options but they would incur significant costs that we felt would be better invested in coming back in 2022 even stronger.

Anna McLean, Chair of CHG, said, ‘We thought last year was the hardest decision we have ever had to make as a Board, we could never envisage cancelling the Games once yet alone a second time but given what other Games have done across Scotland, the cancellation of the World Pipe Band Championships and the restriction on overseas visitors mean that cancelling is the right thing to do. ‘

‘Words cannot express our disappointment and we also know those feelings will be shared by the town, our athletes, judges, pipe bands, Patrons, sponsors, trade stand holders along with our visitors, some of whom travel from all around the world to be with us.  We have delayed this final decision for as long as possible but even if we are in Level 0 it is unlikely we would be able to proceed with any certainty.’

‘We do feel for anyone who has been or has loved ones affected by this virus and we hope to honour them when we are reunited in 2022.’