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Happy St Andrew’s Day, Europe! With love from Scotland

Happy St Andrew’s Day, Europe! With love from Scotland

Scotland’s got a thing about Andrews.  Saint Andrew is, after all, the patron saint and Andy Murray, well, he’s world number one now.

Taking inspiration from 1st century Andrew, renowned for being caring, generous and connected to others, and a very modern Andy Murray, known for sheer guts, determination and resilience, VisitScotland are sharing these very Scottish characteristics with European friends in 2016.


So, in celebration of St Andrew’s Day (30 November), and all things Andrew, VisitScotland took to the streets of London, Paris, Berlin and Dublin to find Andrews, both male and female, from Andrea to Andre, and welcomed them to St Andrews to experience the true spirit of Scotland.

VisitScotland took Scotland to Europe with a kilted VisitScotland crew, so as to be easily spotted, who scoured the streets in search of Andrews.  In London, the group were found asking for Andrews on The Millennium Bridge and in front of Westminster, eventually surprising one Andrew at his home and one at Blackfriars tube station.

What happened next…

In total, the crew invited twenty-one Andrews, and their loved ones, to come to St Andrews and join the St Andrew’s Day festivities on 25 – 27 November.  As special guests of the nation, the Andrews had the opportunity to take part in their very own Highland Games on West Sands, the beach famous for featuring in Chariots of Fire.  As befits the Home of Golf, the Andrews got the chance to test their swing on the golf course, feast on cracking food and drink and try their hand at land yachting.

Getting into the party spirit, our European pals took part in the world’s largest St Andrew’s Day Ceilidh, seeing old traditions alive and kicking on a jumping Market Street, dancing and laughing with the St Andrews locals.  Welcomed to such an extent by the community of St Andrews, the Andrews were even invited to turn on the St Andrews Christmas lights; a true celebrity welcome!

Andrew Stuck, from London, said:

“It’s been amazing, really great fun.  People in Scotland are so welcoming.  My mother’s family was from Glasgow and she named me Andrew to keep the Scottish connection.  I feel like I’ve only really scratched the surface of Scotland so I’ll have to come again.”

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