Poor Communication Plagued Gathering

[cessna152towser]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12566839

A probe into Edinburgh troubled clan gathering has blamed poor communication for the problems which hit the event.

Scottish ministers had to help rescue the 2009 event with a £180,000 interest-free loan, which was not disclosed at the time.

The Scottish Parliament's audit committee, which looked into the issues, said lessons must be learned.

The Gathering was said to have generated £10.4m for the Scottish economy.

But the company running the event lost £516,000 and went into liquidation, with £382,000 owed to six bodies and £344,000 owed to 103 private organisations.

[English Bloke]

You're kiddin' !! NOT well managed then. That's a lot of money.

[auld argonian]

This is not unlike a lot of thing that happen here in Chicago on a regular basis. Interestingly, now they want a private company to take over the management of the various "fests" and take it away from the City's government.

The main object should be stimulating the local economy...10.4 Million? Sounds like about a 10 to 1 return for the money they "lost" (I put it in quotes because somebody ended up with it...suppliers, laborers, etc. I'm sure they didn't burn the banknotes for heat.) It's easy to toss around figures to spin one's point of view and people seldom look beyond their initial reaction when they hear something like, "Those spendthrifts squandered £200,000 of taxpayers' money on this!"...looking into the broader economic impact that the £200,000 will have. At the risk of stepping in political doo-doo, that's how a certain political movement in the USA got started recently. I'm certainly not into tolerating waste and graft but you have to look at the bigger picture and long term consequences of these things.

The Gathering is new...it will become a World Event eventually and the money "wasted" establishing it will look like the best investment since Seward bought Alaska from the Russians.

Best

AA

[English Bloke]

I agree the Gathering has the potential to become a world event but I imagine part of the problem may be service providers adding noughts because it's what it is. It will only be allowed to continue if it is stringently managed and tax payers see they are getting value for their money.

Some of us haven't forgotten the Millenium Dome fiasco! That incurred losses of £130 million, on top of the £800 million build and running costs. And to add insult to the injury, the people at the top of the project were paid bonuses totalling £450,000. When all said and done, it was still only a tent.

That said, I hope the Gathering does prove successful in future years. It's a great opportunity for people to connect with Scotland but as the article states. There are a number of lessons to learn.

[Jock Scot]

I am afraid to say that the committee have only said what some of us knew at the time! It was so obvious, even an idiot could have seen it.

In fairness, many were committed and could not escape----------unlike some.

[seanachie]

Some of us haven't forgotten the Millenium Dome fiasco! That incurred losses of £130 million, on top of the £800 million build and running costs. And to add insult to the injury, the people at the top of the project were paid bonuses totalling £450,000. When all said and done, it was still only a tent.

JOHN: and you still have the Olympics ahead, a seemingly money pit event.

But back to the clan gathering, bad enough the government took a hit but are joiners, electricians etc the small business types being stiffed? That would be a horrible shame, as I have seen these types of things lead to mass redundancies or collapse of firms. A real loss for large business but debilatating for the "little guy".

[auld argonian]

Oh, I'm certainly not advocating that kind of waste. We have Millennium Park here and that one went $350 Million over budget...I haven't heard anything about an investigation on that one. Again, it's very nice and helps the tourist trade immensely but you'd think that between the government and the contractors, they'd be good enough at this by now to be able to avoid this kind of debacle.

I guess that what I'm saying is not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Interesting when I think about it: the City ran Celtic Fest and it was always a black hole that they threw money into while the Illinois Saint Andrew's Society runs their Highland Games, which are every bit as good or better than the Celtic Fest, and I can guarantee that they don't spend anywhere NEAR as much money and probably make a profit on the deal. (Trust the Scots to make money on something....they're not mean, just smart!)

In point of fact, since Chicago's Celtic Fest has been radically cut back due to budget constraints, we should talk up the ISAS Highland Games as an alternative for those who'll miss the full blown Fest that used to be.

Anyway, having heard about the last Gathering, I'd love to have the opportunity to attend the next one...so see to it that they don't call it off!

Best

AA

[cessna152towser]

But back to the clan gathering, bad enough the government took a hit but are joiners, electricians etc the small business types being stiffed? That would be a horrible shame, as I have seen these types of things lead to mass redundancies or collapse of firms. A real loss for large business but debilatating for the "little guy".

Yes that's why there is so much bad feeling towards Jamie Sempill here in Scotland. It seems he took all the glory for organising it yet he was able to keep his personal wealth back in America and liquidated his Edinburgh Gathering company leaving local tradesmen and performers who made the event actually happen unpaid for their work. Our local Scout Fellowship pipe band were promised £500 towards their expenses and parents took their children to Edinburgh and paid for three nights accommodation because they needed to be there for the rehearsals as well as for the actual event. The Pipe Major reckons they might be lucky if they ever receive a small percentage of the promised money if there is ever a dividend to creditors.
I'd agree the Gathering was a boost to the Scottish econony and something like this should happen again but it needs to be organised by somebody competent to ensure that payment promises are honoured and that the native Scots have the opportunity to host the clan tents. We felt that the Edinburgh Gathering was rather pointless as a Homecoming year event when there were few resident Scots permitted to be involved as hosts to welcome our Homecomers which is why we held our own Muster of the Clans in Selkirk for the lowland families two months later. However although that also brought in a lot of money to the local economy it cost a lot of money to stage and I would be very surprised if the Duke of Buccleuch would be willing to underwrite the cost of such an event ever again.

[MacBean]

I avoided the Gathering thinking that finding a place to stay would be too stressful, and went instead to a quieter and most hospitable celebration in Inverness. Still, it really saddened me that those who helped finance the Gathering were not reimbursed, and that the event resulted in as many tensions as it did friendships.

As for the trick of creating corporations and then dissolving them before paying debts, that angers me. Builders in the United States use that ploy to avoid having to fix problems they create. It really shouldn't be legal or possible.

[English Bloke]

JOHN: and you still have the Olympics ahead, a seemingly money pit event.

Ooooh don't get me started on the Olympics...

For the Gathering you are quite right. With efficient management the little guys shouldn't be getting stiffed! Alex's Scout Fellowship pipe band scenario is a good case in point and an example of where it all went badly wrong.

Where did all the money go if no-one got paid? And why is Lord Semphill still in business with his new venture Panalba which trades off the back of the 2009 Gathering when there are still people waiting to be paid...

I'm not an event organiser so I wouldn't have a clue where to start but creating a loss making company, then folding it up at the expense of honest traders and the taxpayer smacks of "cowboy builders" and it damages the confidence we should all have for such a grand affair. Shame really.

Edit: It would seem we think alike MacBean. Sorry, I was composing while you were posting. you beat me to it