BUTE will play host to a delegation of Danes who will be scoping the potential for the island to deliver an international democracy meeting next year.
The group will be on Bute during August as part of the preparatory work being undertaken to secure the island as the destination for the programme.
The venture is being supported by Argyll and Bute Council, but there is a rival bid from Perth and Kinross Council to host next year’s planned gathering.
It is an established public event in countries across Europe, evolving from an initial gathering in Sweden to become an annual Danish-led Folkemødet, or People’s Meeting, held on the island of Bornholm.
The Danish event is of great interest to the local Bornholm economy, and is now attracting tens of thousands of high-spending visitors.
The direct impact on the local economy has been compared to hosting golf’s Open Championship. Studies have shown the Folkemødet has brought a considerable return for the hosts, with a key increase in local taxes and revenues.
The Folkemødet is held in and around the village of Allinge, home to 1,500 people, in the north-west of an island that has a population of 40,000 people. The streets are closed and the village is taken over by tents, pavilions and stalls.
Like Bute, Bornholm is an established and popular holiday destination. It has excellent tourist infrastructure and can be reached by ferry or by plane.
Being set in the periphery is deliberate, forcing a move of politics and discourse on democracy away from Copenhagen. The organisers see distance from the capital as essential and believe that is equally important for the proposed Scottish version.
Councillor Gordon Blair (SNP, Cowal) said of the prospect of it coming to Bute: “I am absolutely delighted and I think the area committee, once we get into the nitty gritty, will be fully supportive.
“We have so many things happening on Bute and this could be the icing on the cake for Bute and Cowal.”
Argyll and Bute Council chief executive Pippa Milne said: “If successful, it would be proposed to be an annual event and see it grow, which is what has happened in Denmark. It started relatively small and grew fairly quickly.”
Rothesay Pavilion is expected to play a key role in hosting the gathering as part of its launch programme next year.
