The Hebridean Celtic Festival has announced a record-breaking opening week of ticket sales for this year's event.

Interest from across the world has developed into huge demand, and bookings via telephone and the internet have smashed all previous records for opening week sales. On the opening day alone, the equivalent of one week's ticket-selling from last year's event was transacted.
 
Caroline MacLennan, Festival Director, says: "Tickets are being snapped up from Inverness to Idaho and we are extremely pleased to have had such a rush of interest for the festival again. If this rate of sale were to continue we would sell out within ten days.

"Our programme, which is headlined by the Saw Doctors, Capercaillie and Kila, is attracting great numbers.  We hope that people will continue to book tickets and accommodation early as both could be heading towards sell-outs. At last year's event we had to turn people away who left ticket-buying till the actual week of the festival, simply because we were sold out."

Fifty one per cent of sales so far have come from outside the Western Isles, 17 per cent coming from the USA, Europe and the UK other than Scotland.
 
Last year approximately 10,000 people attended the four day festival, and over 5,000 of those were visitors to Stornoway. This year is expected to generate the same figures or greater and extra camping facilities are to be provided as demand for accommodation reaches record levels.

For information about the festival log on to  www.hebceltfest.co.uk