The Opening Ceremony

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On Saturday 9 October, tens of thousands of people from across Scotland and the world came to Edinburgh for the official opening of the new Scottish Parliament building in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen.

The day began with street entertainment along the Royal Mile, while crowds awaited the 'Riding', a procession first held in 1520 and carried out for nearly 200 years to mark the opening of each session of the old Scots Parliament.

The first formal part of the ceremony took place in Parliament Hall, the home of the old Scottish Parliament, with speeches from the Presiding Officer, the Lord President of the Court of Session and party leaders in the presence of The Queen. The guests included MSPs, Consul Generals, Lord Provosts, Provosts and leaders of all Scotland's councils, representatives of the armed services, legal profession and NGOs, religious leaders from across Scotland and the general public via a ballot from every region of Scotland.

These guests then joined over 1,000 people from every constituency and region in Scotland for the historic Riding down the Royal Mile to Holyrood, interspersed with 16 colourful banners from Scotland's eight regions, made by different community groups. Guests included 'local heroes' nominated by MSPs for their work in helping other Scots either locally or nationally. The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by the Presiding Officer, First Minister and the Rt. Hon Lord Provost of Edinburgh, observed the Riding from a dais in front of the City Chambers building.

When the Riding arrived at Holyrood, all the guests entered the new building to watch the official ceremony either in the Chamber itself or live on plasma screens.

On arrival at Holyrood, The Queen, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, was escorted around the building by the Presiding Officers before entering the Chamber to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra playing Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man. The Chamber event featured performances from the BBC Young Musician of the Year 2004, violinist Nicola Benedetti; singer-songwriter Eddi Reader; Liz Lochhead, reading a poem penned by Scotland's poet laureate Edwin Morgan especially for the occasion; and speeches from the Presiding Officer, The Queen and the First Minister.

The climax was a rendition of Robert Burns’ Auld Lang Syne led by Eddi Reader with MSPs and guests joining in and reaching across aisles to join hands.

Following the ceremony, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh met guests and staff, and The Queen unveiled the 'Honours of Scotland' sculpture crafted by Graham Stewart and gifted by the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh.

Parliament at Work