A HIGH-POWERED taskforce is to be set up in a bid to attract major events like the Brit Awards to the Capital.
The dedicated city council unit will lead a drive to sell Edinburgh around the world as a leading international location and provide a "one-stop-shop" for event organisers.
Several event ambassadors are to be appointed as part of the drive to hel
p promote the city - and venues including the Castle Esplanade, Princes Street Gardens and the Usher Hall - around the globe.
The Brit Awards, which attract stars such as Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue, are the type of event the city hopes to target.
The idea is to build on the success of previous events such as last year’s successful MTV Europe Music Awards.
Creating the events taskforce will put Edinburgh on an even footing with cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Chicago, San Diego and, closer to home, Glasgow.
It will work with the Scottish Executive, the tourist board and enterprise chiefs to bid for events.
Edinburgh’s festivals and events champion Steve Cardownie said: "We’ve been hugely successful in attracting major events here in the past, but we do need a dedicated team in place and working to a set strategy rather than having efforts divided up between different departments.
"We should be trawling around seeing what events are coming up, where they have been before and whether they could be prepared to come to Edinburgh.
"We shouldn’t just sit back and accept that MTV won’t come back to Edinburgh just because they’ve now been once. There’s no reason why they couldn’t come back."
Edinburgh is already drawing up plans for a bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014, although it is facing competition from Glasgow.
As well as the MTV Europe Music Awards, last year Edinburgh also played host to the World Rock Climbing Championships, the European Cross Country Championships, the International Festival of the Sea and two sell-out Robbie Williams concerts at Murrayfield.
The events taskforce will also work to develop existing events such as the Fringe and Hogmanay Street Party.
It will have responsibility for co-ordinating the council’s involvement in Royal visits and civic occasions linked to the Scottish Parliament.
The city’s festivals and events, including rugby internationals, the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Edinburgh Easter Festival and the Capital Christmas celebrations, are worth an estimated £200 million a year to the city economy.
A report produced by the council on its new unit highlights the economic benefits of last November’s MTV extravaganza, which brought £8.9 million into the local economy.
Norman Ireland, the city council’s special projects manager, said: "Events, whether large and internationally-focused or smaller and regionally-focused, are important for tourism and enhancing the city’s image.
"Over the last decade, Edinburgh has embraced the concept of using events as a means to increase economic activity.
"For Edinburgh to compete and operate successfully as a venue for major national and international events, there needs to be a long-term strategic plan."
