A sellout rave that was to take place this weekend has been cancelled, to allow a vaccination centre at the same venue to carry on its work.
Nicola Sturgeon said it was “no longer appropriate” for the event at the Royal Highland Centre outside Edinburgh, with DJ Patrick Topping, to take place.
The First Minister said she had spoken to Health Secretary Humza Yousaf about the event, which some 3,500 people had been due to attend this weekend, first thing on Tuesday morning.
Ms Sturgeon told MSPs at Holyrood: “Action is under way to cancel the rave, to make sure there is full compensation for that and make sure that the vaccination centre in its current location continues.
“The Health Secretary has been working on this all morning.”
The event, which had been scheduled for Saturday December 18, had been “something that was planned pre-Omicron”.
Ms Sturgeon updated the Scottish parliament today
But Ms Sturgeon added that with the new faster-spreading variant of the virus now in Scotland, it was “no longer appropriate because we want to increase the facilities for vaccination, not see them go in the opposite direction”.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton raised the issue with the First Minister, saying without action, work to dismantle vaccination facilities at the Royal Highland Centre would have had to get under way on Tuesday evening.
Mr Cole-Hamilton said that while the venue had wanted to “do the right thing”, he added that cancelling the event would cost it £60,000.
With Ms Sturgeon now saying “full compensation” would be put in place, he stated: “I am glad that the Health Secretary heard my case and that the First Minister has now confirmed that the vaccine hub is secured.”
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