The Greatest Games On The Planet!

THE Braemar Gathering is an annual celebration of skill, strength and ceremony enjoyed by crowds from across the world on the first Saturday in September.

- Nick Drainey

The Heavy events run alongside foot races, dancing and pipe competitions – usually watched by the Queen – to attract worldwide attention. We go behind the scenes at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park in Braemar village to find out how it all comes together.

LOGISTICS

GATHERING Secretary JimWood is up at 5.30am on theday of the event – but the planning begins 12 months earlier.

Among the hundreds of items on his year-round to-do list are ordering marquees, bins and toilets, organising beer and food tents, selling tickets, editing the programme and having it printed. In addition there is advertising to arrange, permission for road closures to acquire, honoured guests to invite and around 250 stewards to organise, made up of members of the Braemar Royal Highland Society.

To be nominated as an ordinary member of the revered organisation, you must be born in Braemar or have lived there for two years, and their work on the day is vital to ensure a smooth running of all the events.

Perhaps the biggest attraction away from the games is the presence of the Royal Family with the Queen, as Patron of the Society, being an annual visitor. Despite the presence of Royal protection officers Mr Wood says it is treated as a “family engagement” rather than an official Royal visit. However, security and regular liaison with the emergency services are still essential.

“We will go over our plans and anything that can potentially go wrong and how we will respond to it.”