GO Edinburgh – Royal Salute – Edinburgh International Magic Festival – Big Fun Run – Community Cafés need you
Only three days left to pledge your support in Edinburgh’s bid to build the new National Performance for Sport at Heriot-Watt campus at Riccarton. There were other cities vying for the opportunity and Edinburgh has launched a high profile campaign to bring the centre to the capital, enlisting the help of sports stars like Sir Chris Hoy and Gavin Hastings.
The facility will contain a multi-sport performance centre and house the National Football Academy. The Scottish Government has committed £25 million of funding and in December 2012 organisations were invited to bid to host and operate the NPCS. Dundee City, Stirling University and Council and Heriot-Watt University and City of Edinburgh Council were shortlisted following successful completion of stage one. Stage two bids have to be submitted by 5 July 2013.
The capital is now left on the Stage 2 shortlist alongside Stirling and Dundee for the £25m centre, with a decision expected in late summer. The facility is intended to provide Scotland’s top sports men and women with the facilities, programmes and services that will enable them to excel on the international stage.
The council says that Heriot-Watt University’s bid provides an easily accessible site situated in the capital city of Scotland with good transport links to the rest of the country and the UK. The University already has a strong sports science programme and close links to community clubs, as well as a number of national organisations including Scottish Squash and Racketball.
The cost to the council is estimated at £5m. The Go Edinburgh website is here.
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Her Majesty the Queen arrives in Edinburgh today to take up residence at Holyrood Palace and so at 2.35pm there will be a Royal Salute from the Mills Mount Battery at Edinburgh Castle.
The 105th Regiment Royal Artillery will do the honours. More details on the Historic Scotland website.
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Edinburgh really is the city of festivals. The Film Festival just finished last night, the Mela programme will be launched later and the The Edinburgh International Magic Festival runs until 5 July. Although some of their events and shows need to be booked there is a free show at the Sky Bar this Thursday evening, and there will be magicians on the Royal Mile all week.
There may even be some tickets left for some of today’s events. Check the programme here.
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Needing some reason to get out running and get fit? Then enter for the 5k Big Fun Run being organised by Edinburgh Leisure. It takes place on 28 July in Holyrood Park starting around 10.30.
More details here.
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Community cafés provide a great service in many areas around the city, providing home cooked food to locals at a very reasonable cost. Now they need some help. Could you spare a few hours for them? They run a drop in recruitment session every month on the first Monday, except not this month, so the next drop in session will be in August. Nothing to stop you going to the Cafe on the Corner and handing your CV in though! Also more information on all of Edinburgh’s community cafés can be found here on their website where you will find some specific volunteering opportunities around the city.
And today’s photo shows how the work is progressing at Haymarket where the shelters are being put up at the tram stop.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
