Issue - meetings

(a)      Notes that a designed evaluation document will be circulated in the new year with full budgets included in the year end budget pack;

(b)      Instructs the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to engage with cultural and heritage partners to develop Festival of the Sea 2026, in order to build upon the legacy of Tall Ships and by allocating monies from the Coastal Communities Fund and seeking further grants and private sponsorship to support; and

(c)      Instructs the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to work with regional youth sail training partners to ensure opportunities for young people from Aberdeen to take part in the Tall Ships Races 2026 on a fully-funded basis; and to seek grants and sponsorship to widen this programme as far as possible. AND

(1)      Instructs the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration, in consultation with Port of Aberdeen and Sail Training International, to take the necessary steps to bid to host the Tall Ships Races in Aberdeen as early as 2030; and

(2)      Instructs the Chief Officer – Finance to include an additional  £30,000 in the General Fund Revenue budget from 2026/27 onwards to continue to build upon the legacy and story established by The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025, to provisionally cover costs of 10 Sail Trainees participating in the Tall Ships Races each year moving forward.

With reference to article 11 of the minute of the Finance and Resources Committee of 7 August 2024, the Committee had before it a report by the Executive Director for City Regeneration and Environment, which provided an update with an interim evaluation of the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025 including contracted and additional elements of the event, and an interim budget.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note that a designed evaluation document will be circulated in the new year with full budgets included in the year end budget pack;

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to engage with cultural and heritage partners to develop Festival of the Sea 2026, in order to build upon the legacy of Tall Ships and by allocating monies from the Coastal Communities Fund and seeking further grants and private sponsorship to support; and

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration to work with regional youth sail training partners to ensure opportunities for young people from Aberdeen to take part in the Tall Ships Races 2026 on a fully-funded basis; and to seek grants and sponsorship to widen this programme as far as possible.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendations contained within the report;

(ii)      instruct the Chief Officer – City Development and Regeneration, in consultation with Port of Aberdeen and Sail Training International, to take the necessary steps to bid to host the Tall Ships Races in Aberdeen as early as 2030; and

(iii)      instruct the Chief Officer – Finance to include an additional  £30,000 in the General Fund Revenue budget from 2026/27 onwards to continue to build upon the legacy and story established by The Tall Ships Races Aberdeen 2025, to provisionally cover costs of 10 Sail Trainees participating in the Tall Ships Races each year moving forward.