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Visit Scotland | Alba

Celebrate the best of Scotland and its people

Themed Years take place regularly, with a programme of events and activity throughout each celebratory year. There are lots of opportunities to get involved, whether you are a visitor, a business, or an organisation.

Starting with Homecoming Scotland 2009, this unique concept was one of Scotland's largest collaborative tourism and events initiatives at the time. It brought in a lot of extra money and positive media attention for Scotland, along with other benefits.

The most important aspect was how it brought together different organisations from Scotland and abroad. Promoting Scotland in the same way, these organisations all used the same brand and messaging. This made their efforts more effective.

To date, there have been 12 Themed Years.

Headline results of Year of Stories 2022

Promotion

2,760 pieces of coverage reaching people an estimated 5.6 billion times in print and online.

Celebration

354 funded and partner events across all 32 local authorities.

Participation

1.4 million attendances at 201 Year of Stories funded events.

Collaboration

Hundreds of communities and organisations shared their diverse stories.

1. How your business can benefit from Themed Years

You can engage with a Themed Year either via the Events programme or via other forms of industry engagement.

Industry engagement

Themed Years are a great way to promote your business, product, and experiences. You can join the conversation and reach new audiences on social media using the Themed Year campaign hashtags. Or you can create new content or campaigns to share your unique story with visitors.

Being part of a national campaign like Themed Years offers a great way to engage with visitors and benefit from increased exposure. Every Themed Year must relate to all parts of Scotland so everyone can see themselves in the theme and promote their own unique offerings.

For each Themed Year, a marketing toolkit is created. This includes a range of resources such as logos, top tips, and free-to-use images. These help businesses and organisations take part in the Themed Year and get creative with their marketing efforts.

Events programme

The creation of an exciting and engaging events programme is central to the Themed Year approach. Events animate and showcase what the country has to offer, and encourage participation and celebration. They raise awareness of the theme and provide important media moments through the year.

Each Themed Year offers at least one events funding programme and a partner events programme that's free to access. Signing up to the partner events programme offers a range of promotional benefits.

Themed Years take place on a regular basis but not every year. Scoping for options and approaches for a possible 2025 Themed Year is currently underway.

Enquire about future Themed Years opportunities and funding

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