Comedian Billy Connolly backs Aberdeen City of Culture bid

Billy Connolly is the latest big name to pledge his support for Aberdeen's bid to become City of Culture 2017. The Glasgow-born comedian spoke of his love for Scotland's third city which, along with Dundee, is one of a total of eleven towns and cities around the UK bidding for City of Culture status.

Billy Connolly said: 'Aberdeen becoming UK City of Culture would be a great thing. In addition to its many other cultural attributes, the heritage of traditional music and ballads in Aberdeen and the north east is outstanding and deserves wider recognition. I hope this can be achieved.'

Author Stuart McBride, who writes thrillers set in Aberdeen, also voiced his support: 'Many people seem to think culture in Scotland only happens in Edinburgh and Glasgow - that everywhere else is just mountains, tartan, whisky, and shortbread. 'But this is an opportunity to show there's a lot more going on.

'The north east has a great tradition of literature, art, and music that many people simply don't know about, and making Aberdeen the UK City of Culture would be a terrific way of sharing that artistic wealth with the rest of Britain.

'It's time Scotland's third largest city got the chance to shine.'

The City of Culture bids will be examined by a panel headed by Phil Redmond, creator of TV series including Grange Hill and Brookside and a shortlist will be announced in June 2013.

We featured the city of Aberdeen in the February issue of Scottish Memories, with a travel special on the best places to visit. Get your copy here.

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