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Fury at ‘little’ Nicola Sturgeon after she demands ‘Britain’ and ‘UK’ be removed from the £ 120 million national festival mark
- The national festival is being planned in 2022 to celebrate ‘our precious union’
- The Scottish government has called for ‘UK’ and ‘Great Britain’ to be removed from the brand
- The £ 120 million festival was announced by then-PM Theresa May in 2018
Nationalist politicians have urged Boris Johnson to remove the words “UK” and “Great Britain” from the mark for a nationwide festival.
The Scottish government has opposed the working title of ‘Festival of the United Kingdom 2022’ for the event, which aims to celebrate the best of Britain.
Initially announced by former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018, planning is well underway for the £ 120 million celebration.
At the time, Ms. May said she would help strengthen “our precious Union” with events taking place in all four nations.
But yesterday it emerged that the plans were stalled after the SNP government failed to approve the use of “UK” and “Great Britain” in branding promotional materials.
The Scottish government of Nicola Sturgeon (pictured at Holyrood last week) has opposed the working title of ‘UK Festival 2022’ for the event, which aims to celebrate the best of Britain.
Whitehall experts say the cultural festival, which will celebrate achievements in fields such as science, technology and engineering, will bring £ 12 million to Scotland, with creative contracts worth an additional £ 3 million.
However, the contracts have been delayed due to disagreement and sources say they cannot be tendered until an agreement is reached.
A UK government source said: “The Scottish government is causing unnecessary delays because they want to remove all references to Britain or the UK when we launch the next phase.
“It is incredibly petty and tremendously frustrating. The creative sector is asking for support right now. ‘
Event planning is handled by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, but it is understood that ministers are taking a four-nation approach with “collaboration with decentralized nations.”
Ten events are being planned, and at least one will be held in Scotland.
The Scottish government said it had been “participating positively from very early in the process on this issue” and “any suggestion to the contrary is unfounded”.
Nationalist politicians have urged Boris Johnson (on a school visit last week) to remove the words “UK” and “Great Britain” from the mark for a national festival.
