In the spotlight

Oban has always been a popular west coast destination, but it was also often seen as a gateway to the Inner and Outer Hebrides. Local hospitality wanted to ensure the town was viewed as much as a destination in its own right, as well as a gateway to the islands. One aspect of this was the ability to berth close to the town which was very limited due the function of the port as a busy ferry terminal.  There were also changing holiday trends to take account of: a rise in cruise ship numbers (particularly smaller luxury vessels sailing the west coast) and a growth in adventure and eco-tourism.

Argyll and Bute Council sought to address the challenge through the building of North Pier pontoons as part of its wider regeneration programme for the town, including significant public realm investment into creating more places for people to dwell in a congested town centre. The pontoons were designed to facilitate short term stays by private yachts, tour boats, and mini cruise ships. It also facilitated visits from larger cruise ships that are unable to enter the harbour but used their own pilot boats to access the town. The capacity of the pontoons can take up to 100 vessels at its peak with modern toilet and shower block facilities for exclusive use by customers. 

The pontoons have delivered substantial income for the Argyll and Bute Council as Harbour Authority for the Bay, but more importantly they have opened significant economic opportunity for the town of Oban. Visitor spend is high and it has become a key photo opportunity for Oban’s many visitors, helping to raise the profile of this small west coast town. 

Another stellar outcome of the North Pier pontoons is its new-found ability to host marine events; some traditional, and some new. 

The event with the highest profile to date has been the Clipper Race that returned for its second visit on the 10^th of July 2026.  Clipper is a “Round the World” race predominately crewed by amateur sailors with an adventurous spirit.  For the first time in its quarter of a century history the race landed in Scotland making it a very special event for the Clipper organisation – and the nation. 

The race brings with it a crew of nearly 250 participants and an additional 2,500 visitors to Oban over a 10-day period.  It’s not just a race event however, as it forms part of a wider Festival of the Sea that involves community and business orientated events that showcase Scottish culture and economic opportunity linked to our marine environment.  The 2026 event attracted £160k of public and private sector sponsorship with the addition of a Brand Scotland/Oban branded boat visiting each of the nine host port destinations including the likes of Cape Town and Washington DC. 

A key aspect of welcoming the Clipper Race was also to leave a legacy for the town.  In 2024 there were investments in the town centre at Gibraltar Street and at the community owned Rockfield centre that became a food and drink festival site.  This year a Changing Places toilet will be installed at the community run Leisure Centre and we are looking to declare a commitment to Ocean Health from a business perspective.

In addition to Clipper, the pontoons have also facilitated wild swimming championships and a mass gathering of RIBs bringing much needed economic activity to the town during the quieter months. Several other events are also in the planning given the profile of the town has been significantly raised national and internationally. 

Clipper was delighted with the event in 2024 and it’s a much bigger event in 2026 with expanded community and business events. Collaboration across the sectors has been key to this success including of course Bid4Oban as a host partner and a host of community groups.  The success of Clipper has also meant that the council are looking to invest further in the North Pier facilities and build stronger links with adjacent marinas and marine leisure providers across Argyll and Bute

Find out more about the Clipper event in Oban and how you can bring large scale events to your place with the Major Events Toolkit and Case Study.

Aberdeen Inspired is constantly seeking new ways to attract people into the heart of the Granite City, have them spend more time there and encourage them to support our bricks and mortar traders and businesses.

Key to creating a vibrant city centre is making it more attractive and welcoming – somewhere people want to be. This is where Nuart Aberdeen – staged by Aberdeen Inspired and Aberdeen City Council – comes into play.

One of the top six street art festivals in the world, it draws thousands in over the festival weekend to see the new murals – large and small – that have been created. Those artworks remain as a major draw all year round, with tours to take in the stunning works.

This isn’t just art for arts sake, though. Aberdeen Inspired works flat out to help local businesses make the most out of the opportunities brought by this influx of art lovers and cultural tourists – as well as the people of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.

Nuart Aberdeen undoubtedly boosts footfall and spend in the city centre year-round.

For 2026, Aberdeen Inspired added another layer, leaning heavily into and education strand to engage local school children in the street art festival.

The aim was not only to expose kids to the transformational power of art, but also to encourage them to see the city centre as “belonging to them”. They are, after all, our future diners, revellers and shoppers, the people who will breathe life and vibrancy into Aberdeen.

Using this year’s festival theme of Poetry Is In The Streets as a starting point, Aberdeen Inspired worked with Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council to create a comprehensive educational pack of activities and information, inviting every classroom in every school to be part of Nuart Aberdeen.

Hundreds of school children submitted their own artworks, in languages including English, Scots, Doric, Gaelic or their mother tongue. The resulting works were displayed prominently in the city centre, as much a part of Nuart Aberdeen 2026 as major works by globally-renowned street artists.

They were also encouraged to turn their school playgrounds into massive works of colourful art with Chalk Don’t Chalk pavement pictures and drawings. In the mix, schools also ‘poetry jams’ and poetry workshops.

Aberdeen Inspired offered complimentary school tours of the many murals and installation from this and previous years throughout the festival in April and will continue to do so all year round.

So far, hundreds of children have toured the streets, discovered the artwork and, more importantly, discovered just how much the city centre has to offer them and their families.

In this way, Nuart Aberdeen has engaged a future generation, instilling in them a lifelong habit of coming into the heart of the Granite City as natural and right thing to do.

And that boost to the regeneration of Aberdeen’s city centre – now and in the future – is the real art of Nuart Aberdeen.