CELTIC Connections’ BBC Scotland coverage has been limited to a single Saturday night 45-minute slot at 11pm.
The festival, which attracted 130,000 attendees in 2020, is in full swing and will welcome more than 2100 musicians from around the world to Glasgow over its 18-day duration.
While BBC Alba’s coverage of the event is due to start on Friday and carry on through the weekend, its presence on BBC Scotland has been conspicuously light. This is particularly apparent when compared to its daily coverage of TRNSMT festival, which was also hosted in Glasgow.
READ MORE: Top acts lined up as Celtic Connection heads into final week
Last year’s Celtic Connections was forced to be an entirely livestreamed event due to Covid-19 restrictions but still managed to reach an audience of more than 100,000 people across 65 countries.
As restrictions have begun to ease, there is now an opportunity for musicians to get back playing in front of crowds after an extremely difficult time for the industry.
Welsh musician Robin Jones of The Trials of Cato gave his perspective on the opportunity offered by the festival for musicians coming out of lockdown.
He said: “The pandemic was a terrible event for everyone, we had a lot of gigs cancelled.
“[Celtic Connections] is very supportive as an event, it’s not like an ordinary festival … They look after you really well.”
He also touched upon the value of having the spotlight shone upon traditional music: “It’s important, not just for the musicians but for the traditions that are being represented. This year the focus of the festival is on Wales and it’s a great opportunity to put the spotlight on contemporary Welsh folk music. It’s not often we get the spotlight … an event like this is of real benefit to us.”
READ MORE: Strong support for the arts is the mark of a confident nation. How does Scotland do?
A BBC spokesperson said: “We have a long-standing commitment to bring our audiences the best of Celtic Connections from across a broad range of BBC platforms including the BBC Scotland channel, BBC Alba, BBC Radio Scotland, and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. Each year we provide unrivalled coverage of this prestigious festival and for the 2022 event we are again showcasing a great range of content.
"On the BBC Scotland channel, in addition to BBC Introducing at Celtic Connections which was designed to give new musicians a platform, there’ll also be a live music programme of The Quay Sessions at Celtic Connections which will be broadcast this Saturday.
"This Sunday’s final of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year is one example of working together as the show will be broadcast live on television on BBC Alba as well as on radio.
"Audiences who miss the content first time round will also be able to enjoy them on iPlayer and BBC Sounds following the festival."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel