Visitors from seventy countries look set to travel from around the world to attend the Hebridean Celtic Festival.

They will even be joined by a Scottish couple who have chosen to schedule their marriage around the event with the first day of their honeymoon coinciding with the festival’s opening night.

The festival has pioneered the use of the internet in attracting a global audience and their independent website data shows people from all over Europe, the USA, Canada, Russia and Japan will be in Stornoway to celebrate this year’s event. They are attracted by four days of family friendly live Celtic music concerts, sessions, and fringe activities.

Caroline MacLennan, the Festival Director said: “The internet is a key driver in our plans to attract a worldwide audience. Our website data also shows we are generating interest in unusual locations such as China, Thailand, Vietnam, Israel and the Lebanon. It’s exciting to see our traditional music and culture appealing to such diverse audiences through modern day technology. It’s a great credit to the festival workforce and in particular, our website team at Reefnet based here in Lewis.

“Our 300 early bird tickets were all sold online. Now the rest of our tickets go on general sale today. May 1st. We know our website system is capable of handling the massive demand for our shows and we’re looking to increase our website functions for future years in order to extend the enjoyment of the Hebridean Celtic Festival.”

Anne MacAulay of Reefnet said: “The website attracts 5,500 visits a month and rising. There are over 1,000 page views every day and each person visiting the site reads an average of five pages. It’s a great amount of traffic and we’re pleased to have built a website system that can handle the various functions essential to the festival, such as
online ticket sales and news about the programme.”

Catriona MacKenzie, the bride to be at this year’s festival said: “My fiancé Clinton and I live in Dunfermline but I’m originally from Point on Lewis, as is my mother. We thought it would be a fantastic way to celebrate our wedding by timing it around this year’s festival. We’ve bought season tickets for our wedding party and at least ten of us will be there for the big blue marquee when the main gigs begin. It should be a wonderful start to married life together.”

Arriving from Hamilton, Ontario in Canada will be Brian Winer. Accompanied by three others including his wife Jan. He said: “None of us have any direct relationship to the Outer Hebrides but my wife and I have had a keen interest in all things Scottish for many years. We have attended innumerable Highland Games in Canada and the USA and generally share a common love of Celtic music in all its forms. We have been following the news of the Hebridean Celtic Festival for three or four years on the website and finally decided to plan another trip to Scotland with the Festival the focal point of the trip. It will mean a round trip of almost 10,000 miles and will cost thousands of dollars
but it will be worth it to get to this year’s Hebridean Celtic Festival.”

To get your tickets follow the link http://www.hebceltfest.com/booking/  or e-mail info@hebceltfest.com for further info.