The Braemar gathering

Parade of the Braemar gathering

The Braemar Gathering is a yearly cultural and sporting event which takes place in Scotland, on the first Saturday of September. This event is one of the hundreds of highland games that exist, which is the reason why in this topic we are going to talk about highland games but also how the Braemar gathering started, where it takes place exactly, who goes there and what happens.

The gathering takes place in Scotland, more precisely in the village of Braemar, which is located near the river Dee.

Braemar, Scotland

It is held in The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park, where a new Highland game centre was set up in the games park to display various trophies, artefacts and archives of the Highland Games heritage.

The Braemar gathering is a nine-hundred-year-old tradition, and there are different theories about how it all started. The first one says that King Malcolm III wanted to find himself a royal messenger. To do so, he organized a foot-race around Braemar to find the fastest runner in the land and make him his royal messenger. 

King Malcolm Canmore III
from 1058-1093

The second legend says that in the eleventh century, around 1059, King Malcolm III visited Braemar with his first wife and organized the first “great gathering”, which was more focused on hunting, strengh and courage tests than today. In both cases, the same king is implied, who was nicknamed "Canmore", whic is from gaelic and means "great chief".

Braemar has always been a strategical place over the centuries, in the days of clan warfare or later as one of the most popular hunt forests favoured by Scottish Kings, that’s why its Highland Games are one of the most known in Scotland, in Britain but also in the whole world.

The braemar gathering is one of the hundreds highland games that exist. Highland games are events that celebrate scottish and Celtic culture with traditional musics, dances and sporting events.

Every year in Scotland, there are about a hundred highland games. The braemar gathering is one of the most important of them. 

Traditional dancers

The program in Braemar is the same as in most highland games, which means you can see a caber toss championship (people throwing tree trunks) and the well known Tug of War (two team tugging at a single rope). But you will also find competitions of traditional dances and people playing the bagpipe. The day starts in the morning at 9.30 with an orchestra, a parade, and a lot of musicians and people who are dressed in local traditional clothes. 

Caber tossing

The day finishes around 5 p.m. It is a very popular event, which means you will of course find some touristic stands where you can buy all kinds of things:  a Scottish patterned scarf, souvenirs, etc. In 2019 , the gathering will occur on 7th September and you can buy tickets online.

The event is usually attended by the reigning monarch and the members of the Royal family, but is also open to the public as any other entertainment. Anyone is allowed to come and enjoy the moment.

The games are organized by the Braemar Royal Highland Society currently under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 

Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne
attending the Braemar gathering in 2018

The Society has many roles, as providing recreational facilities and make sure that they improve the well-being of the public and the people for whom they’re intended, promoting community development for the Parish and its surroundings, teaching the people about the sports, the history, the language, the heritage, the traditions and the culture of Scotland and making the public participate more and more by organizing not only professional events but also non-professional ones, open to everybody. The Braemar gathering attracts spectators and competitors from all around the world.

Braemar Royal Highland Society crest

To conclude, the Braemar Gathering is one of the most popular events in Scotland. It gathers people from all over the world, as well as the royalty and it always takes place at the same place in Braemar. It is a very ancient event, as the reference to King Malcolm III made clear, and one during which you can admire Scottish sports, music and dances.

Céline Callaert, Clémence Griffé, and Trần Kim Sa