Connect Music Festival set to be relaunched after 14-year hiatus

The Connect Music Festival will be held at the Royal Highland Centre, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, promoters have announced.

The Connect Music Festival will be held at the Royal Highland Centre (PA Archive)

T in the Park and TRNSMT organisers have announced their newest festival will be held in Edinburgh.

The Connect Music Festival will be held at the Royal Highland Centre, on the outskirts of the capital, with organisers DF Concerts and Events promising a range of bands, DJs, performers and more.

The weekend-long event is set to be held from August 26 to 28, and promoters have said the line-up will be announced later this week.

Katt Lingard, festival manager, said the company was “really excited about bringing Connect to life”.

Franz Ferdinand previously performed at Connect (PA Archive)

“It’s a very unique site and it gives us a fantastic opportunity to create a truly sustainable approach to the festival experience,” she said.

There have been two Connect festivals before, in 2007 and 2008 at Inveraray Castle in Argyll, but organisers blamed high running costs and fans struggling during tough economic times for its cancellation in 2009.

Announcing the festival’s revival, Geoff Ellis, chief executive of DF Concerts and Events, said that “during initial planning discussions around the relaunch of Connect, we realised that we had to make some changes and to remaster the original festival proposition for today’s audiences”.

“One of the biggest considerations we had was around public transport and ensuring the event was accessible to festivalgoers from across the country,” he said.

“The Royal Highland Centre provides a purpose-built event site that is readily accessible by public transport for each of the three days.

“This not only makes it easy for festivalgoers to attend but hugely supports our ambition to deliver a more sustainable festival now and into the future.”

Previous acts to have performed at the bash include Franz Ferdinand, LCD Soundsystem, and Primal Scream.

The relaunch will not be a “traditional camping event”, but DF Concerts and Events said there would be some glamping sites and that there was a number of onsite hotels within walking distance.