Inspired by the 250th anniversary of the birth of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns (also known as Robbie Burns or Rabbie Burns), the Homecoming Scotland 2009 event will encourage people of Scottish descent and those who simply love Scotland, to come home in 2009 and join in the fantastic celebrations.
Celebrations will include the world’s biggest golf giveaway, the Largest Scottish Clan Gathering, and the World’s Biggest Virtual Burns Supper are just some of the highlights that you can expect at Scotland‘s first ever Homecoming year.
250th Year Anniversary of Rabbie Burns: Celebrations in 2009 in Scotland
From Burns Night (Jan 25) to St Andrew’s Day (Nov 30) 2009, a country wide programme of Homecoming events and activities has been designed to celebrate some of Scotland’s great contributions to the world: Burns himself, whisky, golf, great Scottish minds and innovations and Scotland’s culture and heritage which lives on at home and through Scotland’s global family.
The Homecoming Scotland festivities begin on Burns Weekend in January with a series of Burns-inspired events kicked off with Celtic Connections, the world’s biggest Scottish music festival taking place in Glasgow, recently awarded UNESCO City of Music.
All About Whisky, the Water of Life in Scotland 
Another great success born from Scotland is Whisky, known in the Gaelic language as uisge beatha, the “Water of Life”, it is among the most beloved of distilled spirits in the world. With 95 working distilleries, each producing a uniquely different flavour, whisky is the substance of Scottish folklore and legend.
The month of May has therefore been designated Whisky Month with the Spirit of Speyside Festival and a new event, Taste the Dram(a), taking place at the spectacular Inveraray Castle. In September, the neighbouring island of Barra is hosting the first ever Whisky Galore Festival to commemorate the salvaging of cargo from the SS Politician which sank offshore in 1941. In early November, a series of lavish whisky gala dinners across Scotland will start with Whisky Live, a two-day tasting and sampling event in Glasgow.
Scotland is also the Home of the Great Game of Golf
Not without reason is Scotland known as the Home of Golf. Having pioneered the game from as early as the 15 century, and with more than 550 courses to choose from, enthusiasts are spoiled for choice. From the iconic Old Course at St Andrews and the coastal links of Aberdeenshire, Morayshire, Ayr, Argyll and East Lothian, to the inland challenges of Gleneagles and Loch Lomond, Scotland’s golf courses are genuinely exciting to play.
The very first Open Championship, the only major golfing championship held outside the USA, took place at Prestwick in 1860, when eight players challenged for the title over the 12-hole course and was won by Willie Park, a Scotsman. Since then, the tournament has returned regularly to Scotland, being played at Carnoustie, St Andrews, The Royal Troon Golf Club, Muirfield and Turnberry.
It is therefore all the more fitting that the 138th Open should return in 2009 to Turnberry in Burns’ homeland of Ayrshire, and the 1977 setting for the Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus classic Duel in the Sun. What’s more, 2009 sees the launch of Scotland’s biggest ever golf giveaway promotion ‘Drive it Home’, which offers a free four-ball at selected golf courses across Scotland for overseas golfers and their buddies.
History and Cutting Edge Arts & Innovation in Scotland
From ancestral events through to cutting edge Scotland, Great Minds & Innovation will be showcasing everything from kilts worn at Highland Games through to great innovators, entrepreneurs and philanthropists. After all, Scots are responsible for inventing the bicycle, steam engine, paraffin, chloroform, the telephone and for helping to develop television and radar. These discoveries, along with other great technological advances, are explored at the 21st Edinburgh International Science Festival in April.
Events such as the Crossing, a Celebration of the Caledonian Canal will mark Caledonian’s historic innovative engineering, its contribution to Scottish history and its place in the story of the Scottish Enlightenment through song, musical interludes, story telling and dance. This will be followed by the International Book Festival that will provide a unique opportunity to celebrate and debate Scotland’s rich literary heritage. Visitors in November can then witness the Illuminated Art Car Parade, where Scotland’s rich history of invention is commemorated in a spectacular cavalcade featuring a Robert Burns poetry van, a whisky truck and a golf car!
Scottish Clans & Families Gather for the Largest Highland Games
The worldwide migration of Scottish families and clans throughout the centuries has created a remarkable network of international friendship. Wherever they have found themselves, be it in the USA, Canada, Australasia, mainland Europe or Africa, they have left their mark. From such a small nation, the pioneering influence of its sons and daughters has been astonishing.
Today, there are more than 500 active Scottish Clan and Family Associations registered around the world and recognising this it was decided that Scoltand should host the world’s biggest clan gathering. The Gathering 2009, held at Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park in July, will feature Scotland’s largest ever Highland Games, the World Heavy Athletic Championships, a majestic Clan March up the Royal Mile, and a spectacular Clan Pageant enacted on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.
After a yearlong programme packed with events and festivals, St Andrew’s Day in November will see a sensational finale weekend marking the end of the year of the Homecoming Scotland 2009 celebrations. A spectacle of Scottish music and culture will take place across the whole of Scotland marking 2009 as a year to come to Scotland; the country of a hundred thousand welcomes “Ceud Mile Failte”.
Some of the many events are listed below. For further information on the whole programme, please visit www.homecomingscotland.com.