Pipe band championships: Call to being event back to Bangor as controversy mounts over biggest UK event's switch to Scotland and clash with the Twelfth

For the first time in their history, the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association (RSPBA) UK Championships will be held outside of Northern Ireland – and it’ll be on the same date as the biggest cultural event of the year for most Ulster bands.

The 2025 championships will be held on July 12 in an events centre next to Edinburgh Airport.

Now one politician has called for the event to be brought back to Northern Ireland, and fixed in place with one specific area as their home.

Last year’s championships took place in a picturesque park in the centre of Bangor in May, and proved to be a hit.

Reports prepared by the area’s council, Ards and North Down, indicate local officials were expecting them to come back.

A draft events schedule for 2025 prepared by those officials lists pipe band contests for July 19, and predicts that around 10,000 people would go.

One member of that council, UUP alderman Mark Brooks, had hoped to cement Ards and North Down as the permanent home of the championships, only to be blindsided by the shock move to Scotland.

He was going to bring a debate on the issue to a council committee next week, hoping the event would move between seaside city Bangor and the four largest towns in Ards and North Down on different years.

Now, says Mr Brooks, he’s on a quest to get the championships back to Northern Ireland for good.

“I was proud to see the UK Pipe Band Championships held in my borough,” he said. “I wanted to see the annual pageant shared around four towns and Bangor, enhancing it and widening opportunities for businesses and local communities.

"I was shocked and side-whacked to read that it’s instead moving to the Royal Highland Centre.

"My immediate thought was we are losing the championships, followed quickly by the date – July 12.

"Local bands will be placed in an impossible position, to attend in Edinburgh or stay at home on the biggest marching day of the year.”

Although the location and date for 2025’s event appear to be set in stone, Mr Brooks hopes to convince Ards and North Down Council officials to negotiate with the RSPBA and get the championships back to Northern Ireland next year.

The decision to reschedule the UK-wide contest gobsmacked the band community, with many feeling July 12 is the worst possible date to pick due to the deep ties between Northern Irish pipers and the Orange Order.

It’s predicted to cause division, as high-level musicians will be split over whether to stay for their traditional celebration or leave for the most important competition of the calendar.

Pipe band insiders have stated that Northern Irish branch directors objected to the move, but were overruled by a majority vote at the RSPBA’s Scottish headquarters.

It’s understood that new promoters and sponsors are involved in this year’s championships, and July 12 was the only suitable date available at the Edinburgh venue.

The decision to relocate and reschedule the event was announced shortly before Christmas.