Tickets go on sale today for this year’s World Pipe Band Championships – which take place in Glasgow on 18 and 19 August – the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association and Glasgow Life have announced.

Always a much-anticipated highlight of Scotland’s summer events programme, the ‘Worlds’ attract thousands of pipers and drummers from all over the world to compete for the ultimate prize in pipe band competitions.

This will be the 75^th anniversary of Glasgow hosting the renowned event for the first time in 1948, and the city has staged the Worlds ever since 1986.

Last year’s Championships saw 40,000 spectators descend on Glasgow Green to watch and hear 146 bands from Scotland and as far afield as the USA, Canada, Austria and Australia battling to be crowned the winners. The title of 2022 world champions went to Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, with Inveraray and District Pipe Band finishing runners-up.

The World Pipe Band Championships are organised on behalf of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association by Glasgow Life, the charity which delivers culture and sport in Glasgow. Supported by funding from EventScotland, the Worlds take place alongside Piping Live! – Glasgow International Piping Festival – which celebrates its 20^th edition from 12 to 20 August 2023.

Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Chief Executive, Colin Mulhearn, said:

The huge attendance last year’s spectacular event attracted, and numbers of the bands competing, is testimony to how much these iconic Championships mean to the international piping community and to fans of traditional Scottish music.

I’ve no doubt that this year’s special 75th anniversary of the Worlds coming to Glasgow will be an unforgettable event. We’re expecting a tremendous turn-out, so I would urge everyone planning to attend not to delay in booking so they ensure they secure their tickets in advance.

Bailie Annette Christie, Chair of Glasgow Life and Glasgow City Council Convenor for Culture, Sport and International Relations, said:

Glasgow, as a UNESCO City of Music, has a great international reputation as a superb destination for lovers of all types of music and there’s really nowhere better to experience world-class piping. With both ‘the Worlds’ – the pinnacle of the global piping competition calendar – and Piping Live! being hosted here in August, Glasgow will resound with the very best in pipes and drums talent.

These firmly established and much-loved highlights of the city’s summer events programme not only provide a wonderful celebration of Scottish culture, they are extremely important to Glasgow. Attracting thousands of pipers, supporters and spectators from around the world, they showcase the city on a global stage, further enhancing its international profile and boosting its visitor economy. We are therefore proud to continue our support of these fantastic piping extravaganzas, and look forward to welcoming audiences from near and far for a truly outstanding experience.

Tickets for The World Pipe Band Championships 2023 on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 August go on sale at 10am today, Tuesday 27 June, and are available from: https://www.theworlds.co.uk.

Demand for tickets for the Grade 1 Seating Arena at the two-day event on Glasgow Green is expected to exceed capacity. Spectators wishing seats in this grandstand facility (which for the first time is covered, offering shade from the sun and shelter in the event of poor weather, as well as excellent vantage points to view the competition) are therefore encouraged to book as early as possible.

Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at VisitScotland, said:

The World Pipe Band Championships are always a spectacular highlight that EventScotland is delighted to support as part of our International Programme. The Championships are part of Scotland’s diverse portfolio of wonderful cultural and sporting events that take place right across the country, reaffirming Scotland’s position as the perfect stage for events.