i Editor's Letter: We're coming to Edinburgh

One week before the Scottish referendum, we will be hosting a live iDebate

Oliver Duff
Wednesday 27 August 2014 16:25 BST
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High and mighty: Edinburgh Castle and city skyline
High and mighty: Edinburgh Castle and city skyline (Getty)

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In two weeks, the i paper is coming to Edinburgh to stage our first ever reader event in Scotland. Three hundred readers will join us for a live iDebate, Scotland Decides, on Wednesday 10 September. The timing could not be better: just one week before the Scottish public votes on whether or not Scotland should leave the United Kingdom and become an independent nation.

Entry is free and the debate will be followed by a reader drinks reception, where you can meet the i editorial team to talk to them about the referendum, your paper, current affairs or anything else on your mind.

Our panel of four top speakers – two from each side of the debate – includes the Scottish Government minister Humza Yousaf, who will make the case for independence, and, on the No Thanks side, Blair McDougall, campaign director of Better Together. I'm tasked with chairing the sparring.

You can apply for complimentary tickets in about 30 seconds at ind.pn/iscotlanddebate, where you can also submit a question in advance for our guest panellists.

We've been thrilled by the response from readers to our first two iDebates – in Cardiff in January, and in Manchester in March, when 430 people packed the splendidly neo-gothic Manchester Town Hall.

We have been determined ever since to organise a debate for the Scottish independence referendum.

The venue is the Queen Mother Conference Centre on Queen Street, a five-minute walk from the main railway station, Edinburgh Waverley. The doors will open at half-six, the battle of minds begins at 7pm on the dot.

Tickets are first-come, first-served. We look forward to raising a glass with some of you on the night!

Twitter: @olyduff

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