A 10-day festival featuring a torchlit procession and a “world lunch” has begun to mark the 50th anniversary of one of Scotland’s best-known bridges.
The Forth road bridge celebrations will culminate next Saturday with 2,014 torch-bearers creating a 1km “river of fire” over the span of the suspended structure.
The bridge, linking North and South Queensferry, was inspired by San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge, and was opened by the Queen on September 4, 1964. About 100,000 people are expected to attend the festivities.
Highlights of the festival include the ‘Scotland welcomes the world to lunch’ event tomorrow, where more than 500 people will sample a menu of Scottish fare created by Nick Nairn, the celebrity chef. A flotilla of fishing boats, Navy vessels and private yachts will sail up the Forth on Sunday.
On 12 September a new sculpture, the ‘Guardian of the Bridges’, will be unveiled after being created by Debbie Ryan, the artist, from designs by local school children.
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The torchlight procession will be followed by a firework display and an outdoor ceilidh in South Queensferry with live music provided by Scottish bands Big Country and Bwani Junction.
Tony Martin, vice-convener of the Forth Estuary Transport Authority, said: “Since 1964, the bridge has made a real difference to the lives of Scottish people. It’s fantastic to take the opportunity to celebrate this golden milestone with a real party atmosphere that everyone can take part in.”
The Forth road bridge took six years to build and transformed connections along the entire east coast of the UK. It carries 25 million vehicles a year, but has suffered corrosion to the steel wires that hold it in place and it will be replaced by the Queensferry crossing in 2016. The 50-year-old bridge will be converted to carry buses, taxis, cyclists and pedestrians, significantly reducing the load on the ageing structure.