The Royal National Mòd 2023 Mòd Phàislig
Renfrewshire Council · 30 November 2022
Back to Leadership Board — 30 November 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
___________________________________________________________________ To: Leadership Board On: November 30, 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Executive ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: The Royal National Mòd 2023: Mòd Phàislig ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 This report provides members with an update on arrangements underway to prepare for Paisley to host The Royal National Mòd in October 2023. The official handover of the event from the 2022 host city Perth, took place at the culmination of the Perth Mòd on Saturday 22nd October, and was attended by Renfrewshire’s Provost. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendation 2.1 Members are asked to note the report. ___________________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The Royal National Mòd is run by An Comunn Gàidhealach (ACG), whose remit is to support the teaching, learning and use of the Gaelic language, and to develop all aspects of the Gaelic language, culture, history and heritage at local, national and international levels. 3.2 At its meeting on 17th December 2015, Renfrewshire Council agreed a motion to support a bid to bring the Royal National Mòd back to Paisley as part of the town’s UK City of Culture bid. This was followed by agreement at Leadership Board on 30th November 2016, of a Mòd event budget with £185,000 investment ringfenced and protected for ACG. The Board also agreed an additional budget to develop a Gaelic cultural events programme in Renfrewshire in the period up until the event.
Page 2
3.3 Following the conclusion of the UK City of Culture process, ACG awarded the Royal National Mòd to Paisley for 2022, subsequently delayed to 2023 due to the Covid19 pandemic. The Paisley Mòd - Mòd Phàislig - will now take place from 13th to 21st October 2023. The official handover took place on 22nd October in Perth and signalled the official start of preparations in Paisley to host the event which provides opportunities for people of all ages to perform and compete across a range of disciplines including Gaelic music and song, Highland dance, instrumental, drama, sport and literature. 3.4 This will be the second time Paisley has hosted the Mòd, building on the success of the 2013 festival, which at the time was one of the best attended in the event's history, attracting over 8000 visitors over the nine days. An independent evaluation found that 38% of visitors travelled from other areas and spent an average of £239.00 per head. Overall visitor spending was more than £700,000, generating an economic impact of £2.5 million. The evaluation also found that 33 full time equivalent jobs were created in Renfrewshire because of the event and the economic activity it generated. 4. Preparations 4.1 This year the Mòd was hosted in Perth which saw around 2100 participants from across the world take part in a total of 200 competitions. This included 34 choirs and 900 soloists, with 200 trophies awarded over the course of the event. In total, around 7500 people are estimated to have visited Perth for the festival. Paisley Is exhibited throughout the Perth Mòd, to promote the town to Mòd participants and officers attended Perth’s Civic Reception and Opening Concert on the 14th of October. This was followed by the handing over of the Mòd flag to Provost Cameron at the Closing Ceremony. 4.2 Preparations to host the Mòd in Paisley are already underway, and the Local Organising Group is well established, having previously formed during the bidding process. The Local Organising Group will operate as a branch of ACG and will be chaired by Angus Ferguson who brings considerable Mòd experience. The group, which includes individuals across academia, politics, media, commerce, and the arts and who share a commitment to Gaelic language and culture, will be formally activated at the end of November. The Group will be attended by the council’s Director of Finance and Resources, Head of Marketing and Communications and Major Events Manager, Paisley First Bid Manager and by ACG Chief Executive. 4.3 The revised role of the Group will be to programme and arrange the Mòd Fringe - Iomall a’ Mhòid - and provide volunteers, stewards and runners to help manage the event in 2023,
Page 3
with the previous burden of fundraising removed from the Group’s remit. Future Paisley has committed £30,000 to support Fringe programming, town dressing and branding. 4.4 The council will establish an internal Mòd Delivery Group, chaired by the Director of Finance and Resources, Alastair McArthur to ensure the infrastructure and cross-service support required to help deliver the event is in place, bringing together relevant senior officers from across the Council and OneRen. 4.5 In addition, the council and OneRen will support An Comunn Gàidhealach with the following: • Provision of venues including Paisley Town Hall, local schools, The Lagoon arena and outdoor locations including football and shinty facilities. • A dedicated Mòd support officer, appointed by the council, for a period of 9 months to support the Local Group and provide the day-to-day link with the council. • Provision of marketing expertise to the local organising group as required, and support with PR, press and media liaison, including the provision of dedicated press facilities throughout the Mòd week. • Creation of the Mòd Phàislig logo, website and social media. • Event programming support for the Mòd Fringe. • Town dressing, signage and arrival branding to promote the event. • A shuttle bus service between venues and hotels for competitors and visitors. 4.6 Commitment to Gaelic language and culture will continue to be promoted throughout 2022 and 2023; through ongoing cultural programming and events such as STRAMASH (Family Ceilidh & Gaelic Fun Day) which took place as part of Wee Spree, promoting implementation of Renfrewshire’s Gaelic Language Plan, promoting the council’s new Gaelic school at West Primary, and showcasing the activity of Renfrewshire’s annual Gaelic festival in Paisley - Fèis Phàislig - which is one of Renfrewshire's strongest vehicles promoting Gaelic Culture with young people. 4.7 The event is currently promoted through the council website, What’s On network and at Royal National Mòd - Paisley.is, providing visitor information on hotels and accommodation, things to do and how to get here, with plans to launch the official Mòd Phàislig website at the end of 2022. Implications of the Report 1. Financial – Renfrewshire Council previously agreed the budget to support the hosting of the national event. Additional funding from the Future Paisley programme has been agreed by the Future Paisley Partnership Board to support the Local Organising Group. 2. HR & Organisational Development – none
Page 4
3. Community/Council Planning – Council Plan, PLACE (Demonstrating that Renfrewshire is a great place to live, work and visit) - Positioning Renfrewshire as a destination of choice, through visitor and investor marketing and major events, building on our cultural infrastructure investment and the opportunities this will bring to Renfrewshire. 4. Legal – none 5. Property/Assets – none 6. Information Technology – none 7. Equality & Human Rights - The Recommendations contained within this report have been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights. No negative impacts on equality groups or potential for infringement of individuals’ human rights have been identified arising from the recommendations contained in the report. 8. Health & Safety – none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. Cosla Policy Position –not applicable Author: Louisa Mahon, Head of Marketing and Communications, T: 0141 618 7546 E: louisa.mahon@renfrewshire.gov.uk