Oban hosts The 21st Highlands and Islands Music and Dance Festival from Thursday 29 April to Sunday 2 May 2004, with a record 1,100 dancers and musicians participating in four days of world-class competitons and special events.  Many of the major events - regarded as competitions of national and international standing - are already sold out.   

The Scottish Area Finals (Friday 30 April, Corran Halls, 6.15pm)  - the only highland dancing team competition in the world  - features 16 teams from throughout Scotland competing for top honours.    The Scottish Choreography Challenge - a spectacular competition involving stunning routines set to contemporary folk music with dazzling special effects, lighting and costumes  - features 350 highland dancers in 100 teams from throughout the UK.   

As well as featuring around 450 dancers, the festival includes many kinds of music, and competitions take place on Friday 30 April and Saturday 1 May for fiddle, accordion, piping, highland dancing, Scottish country dancing, choreography, clarsach, recorder, piano, woodwind, brass and singing (choral, solo and folk).   

The Highlands & Islands Accordion & Fiddle Masters take place on Friday 30 April at 7pm in the Oban Distillery Visitor Centre.    Now in its 8th year, this event is a show-case competition featuring twelve of Scotland's top award-winning musicians from the competition circuit and is regarded as one of the premier competitions of its kind. 

The Festival Parade takes place through the town on Saturday 1 May, featuring Strathclyde Police Pipe Band, Oban Pipe Band and 100 of Scotland's top highland dancers, culminating in dance performances and piping recitals in the town's Station Square.  

The Invitational Piobaireachd also offers the opportunity to hear the Highland bagpipe at its very best in the lovely surroundings of Lochnell Castle, Ledaig on Friday 30 April at 7.00pm.

The Concert of Champions showcases competition prizewinners on Saturday 1 May in the Corran Halls at 7.00pm, and is followed by the Festival Dance at 10.30pm.

Programmes and festival tickets are available from the Corran Halls on 01631 567333 or from individual venues.   For further information, log on to www.obanfestival.org