South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has expressed his disappointment that the Doomhame Festival organisers have been forced to pull the plug on the event this year citing rising costs and personal commitments.

The festival had previously taken place over two days in the grounds of the Crichton estate.

The local MSP has recently raised concerns in a Scottish Parliament debate on culture over a lack of support from the Scottish Government for festivals in the region, highlighting the removal of funding from the Government for the Big Burns Supper which was cancelled this year and the lack of support from Government Agency EventsScotland for new events such as Music at the Multiverse at the Crawick Multiverse in Upper Nithsdale.

Colin Smyth said: “I am hugely disappointed to see that the organisers of the Doomhame Festival have been forced to pull the plug on this year’s event.

“A festival like this is a huge commitment for those in charge, and requires a lot of time and money to put on.

“The current financial climate is affecting everyone to some extent, but large scale events like this have been hit very hard.

“This news is especially hard to hear after we learned last year that the Big Burns Supper was also cancelled for 2024.

“In recent years we have lost festivals such as the Wickerman and Electricfields and sadly when we have new festivals such as Music at the Multiverse in Upper Nithsdale, I don’t think we see enough support from Scottish Government Agencies such as EventsScotland.  

“It takes several years for a festival to become viable in rural areas such as Dumfries and Galloway, and that does mean agencies need to put in place support for more than one year, which is simply not happening.

“I hope that the Doomhame Festival can make a return in future. But crucially, I hope we see better support from EventsScotland and others to help new festivals get established in our region, as they are vital to bringing people to the area.”