Concession Contract for Ross Bandstand and West Princes Street Gardens

Description

The purpose of this notice is to inform the market of the intention of the City of Edinburgh Council (the “Council”) to tender a Concession Contract for events held at the Ross Bandstand and West Princes Street Gardens. The Council’s aim is to appoint an events management Contractor(s) to provide a range of leisure events that have a focus on culture, food, drink, and live performing arts. The Contractor(s) shall pay a fixed fee rental to the Council and each Lot shall be subject to a reinstatement bond. It is expected that the new Concession Contract shall operate from May 2026 for a period of two years with the option (at the Council’s discretion and subject to site development) to extend for a further two 12-month periods. Regular usage of the red blaes area adjacent to the Ross Fountain and a number of civic and ceremonial events taking place in the wider Gardens are required to be accommodated as well as two established larger events, specifically with Lot 2 given the duration on-site. Please see detail below for further information. For each Lot, bids from operator partnership arrangements, charitable organisations and social enterprise operators will be welcomed and considered. Lot 1: May Event A ticketed 2-day Community and Family orientated event utilising both the Ross Bandstand and West Princes Street Gardens. Maximum 12 days including ingress and egress on site. Public access to the Gardens must be retained as widely as possible and full-closure only considered on event days/rehearsal times.. This tender will focus only on large or major events (an event involving large tents or infrastructure which is estimated to attract 1000 or more people would be considered as a ‘Large Event’). Any music event must be time limited for up to 5 hours in duration on each event day and adhere to the agreed performance curfew put in place. Lot 2: Summer Festival A low impact animation programme of up to seven weeks in total utilising the Ross Bandstand only and accommodating both the established Edinburgh Festival Carnival and Edinburgh International Festival ‘large events’ as part of the schedule. Events based on a potential 48 days hire rate. Lot 2 events and activities are restricted solely to using the Ross Bandstand and its footprint with no large infrastructure permitted in the wider Gardens. Applicants are invited to develop and manage a diverse cultural program that must also accommodate and promote continued community usage of the bandstand by local schools and groups.. This tender will focus only on large or major events (an event involving large tents or infrastructure which is estimated to attract 1000 or more people would be considered as a ‘Large Event’). Any music element of this programme must be time limited for up to 5 hours in duration on each event day and adhere to the agreed performance curfew put in place. Lot 3: September Event A ticketed 2-day Youth orientated event utilising both the Ross Bandstand and West Princes Street Gardens. Maximum 12 days including ingress and egress on site. Public access to the Gardens must be retained as widely as possible and full-closure only considered on event days / rehearsal times.. This tender will focus only on large or major events (an event involving large tents or infrastructure which is estimated to attract 1000 or more people would be considered as a ‘Large Event’). Any music event must be time-limited for up to five hours in duration on each event day and adhere to the agreed performance curfew put in place.