Thursday March 12th 2026
Musselburgh residents were affected by flags which appeared in town during parade
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Funding for one of Scotland’s oldest town’s annual festival will be guaranteed from local funds after councillors approve a budget of up to £25,000 a year.
The Musselburgh Festival is steeped in tradition dating back nearly 100 years and celebrates its heritage and culture.
A meeting of East Lothian Council’s Common Good Fund Committee members heard the festival applies for funds from the town’s fund towards the end of every financial year often leaving its trustees ‘scrambling around’ to find the money.
Councillor officers asked the committee members to set aside £25,000 in the town’s common good budget each year for the festival which it was claimed brings in three or four times that amount to the town’s economy.
They were also told: “This would allow us to work more closely with the festival in future years and look at how we can take it on It is a very important festival for Musselburgh.”
Musselburgh is often celebrated as Scotland’s oldest continuously inhabited town and a report to members said it has”a rich civic heritage shaped by centuries of community pride, royal association, and deeply rooted local traditions”.
It has hosted a Riding of the Marches dating back centuries and in the 1920s a local group established the festival to complement the event.
Local ward councillor Shona McIntosh welcomed the request to set aside the money each year but asked for guarantees it would not be used to provide alcohol at the festival.
She said: “It is agreed in our council budget that we don’t pay money towards alcohol at events, and I think that is correct anyway but particularly when budgets are so constrained and we have had to put council tax up, I don’t think we should be providing alcohol.
She was assured by the council’s legal adviser that guidance would be contained in the funding to ensure alcohol was not used for funding.
Councillor McIntosh also raised concerns about the amount of funding being set aside each year for the festival saying she believed replacing the town’s Brunton Theatre, which is facing demolition was an ‘absolute priority’ for the common good fund but was told the amount for the festival would be reviewed annually.
Councillor Cher Cassini, committee member, said that while £25,000 seems a lot of money the festival “brings three or four times that amount into Musselburgh”.
She said: “Given the amount it brings in to the town there are opportunities to work with businesses in the town to get involved.”
Councillor Ruaridh Bennett said: “As we all know the Musselburgh Festival is a very much loved tradition and is of cultural and historic significance.
“I think having this in the common good budget going forward offers security to organisers to continue celebrating the traditions and heritage of the town.”
“It is a win win for both residents and the local community.”
The committee unanimously agreed to add the funding into the Musselburgh Common Good Fund’s annual budget.
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