Big in Falkirk was a festival of the arts held in

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, from 2000 to 2009. Since its inception in 2000, the award-winning (Scottish Thistle Award Events & Festivals 2005) free weekend event was one of the largest cultural events in Scotland, attracting over 100,000 people. Located in Falkirk’s historical Callendar Park with

Callendar House Callendar House is a mansion set within the grounds of Callendar Park in Falkirk, central Scotland. During the 19th century, it was redesigned and extended in the style of a French Renaissance château fused with elements of Scottish baronial a ...

as the focal point, the entertainment included a wide variety of outdoor theatre, pyrotechnic displays, art, comedy and big name music acts alongside activities for all ages. Big in Falkirk showcased original outdoor contemporary theatre, while also working closely with artists to nurture creativity. Festivals have included world premieres such as

Walk the Plank Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

’s ''Swan Song'' which closed Saturday’s proceedings in 2006. UK premieres have included Groupe F (the company responsible for illuminating the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower from 1887 to 1889. Locally nicknamed "''La dame de fe ...

during the millennium celebrations), Compagnie Jo Bithume, Plasticiens Volants and Teatre Osmego D’nia. Alongside this, Big in Falkirk presented some of the most popular names in music having welcomed

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland, consisting of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, keyboards, backi ...

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1974. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the ...

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow in 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime, drummer Dougie Vipond, guitarist Gregor Philp and bassist Le ...

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part ...

and

Midge Ure James "Midge" Ure (; born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s in bands including Slik, Thin Lizzy, ...

. The festival also managed to secure acts just before they hit the big time, with

McFly McFly are a British pop rock band formed in London in 2003. The band took their name from the ''Back to the Future (franchise), Back to the Future'' character Marty McFly. The band consists of Tom Fletcher (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Da ...

, Orson and

Sandi Thom Alexandria Thom () (born 11 August 1981) is a Scottish singer-songwriter who became widely known in 2006 for her debut single, " I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)". The single finished the year as the best selling single in ...

celebrating number one singles during or immediately after playing at Big in Falkirk. Big in Falkirk 2007 was on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May and headlined by

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic music, electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their t ...

and

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of founding Human League members Martyn Ware (keyboards, drum machine, vocals) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) with voc ...

. Big in Falkirk 2008 took place on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 May and featured

Levellers The Levellers were a political movement active during the English Civil War who were committed to popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law and religious tolerance. The hallmark of Leveller thought was its populism, as sh ...

10cc 10cc are an English rock music, rock band formed in Stockport, southeast of Manchester, in 1972. The group initially consisted of four musicians, Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, who had written and recorded togethe ...

, The Complete Stone Roses (a

Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian ...

tribute band), Hungry Ghosts, Peatbog Faeries, Day of Days, Nutkhut's Bollywood Steps and the world premiere of The World Famous' Full Circle, which closed the Festival. Big in Falkirk 2009, the 10th edition, on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 May and featured

Stereo MCs Stereo MC's are an English hip hop and electronic dance group that formed in Clapham, London, in 1985. They had an international top 20 hit with their single " Connected" and a UK top 20 hit with " Step It Up". After releasing eight albums for I ...

and

Capercaillie ''Tetrao'' is a genus of birds in the grouse subfamily known as capercaillies. They are some of the largest living grouse. Feathers from the bird were used to create the characteristic hat of the bersaglieri, an Italian ace infantry formation. ...

. Day of Days returned to become the first band to play in consecutive Big in Falkirk festivals. New and upcoming bands such as The Ray Summers, The Skinflints, Young Fathers as well as The Sears and Braebach showcased their music during the weekend. The Sunday night ended with a spectacular pyrotechnic show to celebrate 2009 as the Homecoming Year and to also dedicate the famous Scottish poet Robert Burns' 250th birthday with a special commendation to Tam O' Shanter – one of Burns' best-known poems – and a piper brigade circling the courtyard of Callendar House. The Festival closed with a picture lit by fire to reveal a love heart around the portrait of Burns as fireworks painted the

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a Heraldry, heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French , Medieval Latin ("stirrup"). From its use as field sign, the saltire cam ...

in the sky. Big in Falkirk was canceled in 2010. Big in Falkirk also worked with festivals such as Glasgow's

Merchant City Festival {{No footnotes, date=September 2011 The Merchant City Festival is a major cultural festival taking place in Glasgow's Merchant City area. Attracting more than 55,000 people, the four-day Festival presents the cream of Scotland's theatre, music, ...

and Spain's

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big In Falkirk Music festivals in Scotland Theatre festivals in Scotland Festivals established in 2000 Recurring events disestablished in 2009 2000 establishments in Scotland Culture in Falkirk (council area) Falkirk 2009 disestablishments in Scotland