Scotland’s largest music festival, T in the Park, will relocate from its longtime home of Balado to Strathallan Castle in 2015, DF Concerts & Events has announced.
“We already loved Strathallan Castle and had been hoping to host an event there for many years,” said Geoff Ellis, CEO of DF Concerts, in a statement. “Like Balado, it’s right in the heart of Scotland and is easy to locate. The landscape is stunning and it has a fantastic natural amphitheatre which will lend itself beautifully for the main stage.”
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Though reasons for the relocation were not explicitly stated in T in the Park’s press release, the BBC points out that “substantial” concerns were raised by health and safety inspectors about Balado’s safety due to an oil pipeline running underneath the park. According to the article, the Health and Safety Executive said an accident at the pipeline, which carries oil from the North Sea, could expose festivalgoers to hazardous amounts of thermal radiation.
In response to these concerns, Ellis said, “When we moved the festival to Kinross 18 years ago, our plans were approved by all of the relevant organisations. Throughout the years, T in the Park has gone through a meticulous system of planning and safety checks, which we have always passed. Nothing has changed in the last few years except protocol — the pipeline remains in the same position as always, which means that it also continues to run underneath schools and Aberdeen airport’s runway.”
“However, the restrictions placed upon us by health and safety protocol meant that we had no real option but to leave to safeguard the future of the event,” he added. “We tried very hard to find a solution but the site orientation available to us was completely unworkable plus we would have had to use additional fields which were unsuitable. Rather than seriously damaging the quality of the event we decided to move on — and we’re delighted to have found the perfect new home at Strathallan Castle.”
Added George Kyle, head of sponsorship at Tennent’s Lager, “Balado has been a fantastic home for T in the Park. All here at Tennent’s are sad to say goodbye but know the T in the Park audience, which is the best in the world, will make sure that this last year at Balado will be the party to end all parties, a fitting send off to a great home!”
The final T in the Park at Balado, which takes place from July 11-13, features Biffy Clyro, Calvin Harris, and Arctic Monkeys.