ENTENTE CORDIALE - THE CENTENARY
Welcome to Scotland's online celebration of this year's Entente Cordiale centenary. As part of the wider festivities being organised by the French and UK governments, to commemorate the signing of the Entente Cordiale on April 8, 1904 , Scotland is conducting its biggest programme of overseas promotion and exchange since devolution. With a history of political, economic and cultural affinities dating back over 700 years, to the Auld Alliance of 1295, Scotland and France continue to enjoy a warm relationship today, be it through the £230 million-worth of whisky annually shipped across the Channel, or the numerous twinning schemes in place between Scottish and French communities.
The Entente Cordiale Scotland programme aims both to cement and to build on these links, across the fields of trade and investment, science, the arts, education, sport and local communities. Major cultural highlights include an exhibition of the Scottish Colourists in Paris, and another on Charles Rennie Mackintosh in Port Vendres, the south-western town where he spent the last years of his life. Exciting new drama projects are under way between Edinburgh 's Traverse Theatre and Lyon 's Les Subsistences venue, while Gaelic musicians will appear at festivals in Paris and Toulouse . Back in Scotland , several leading festivals will include a focus on French culture, including the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh International Film Festival. With these and many other events complemented by an extensive programme of business activities, aimed at boosting trade and tourism between the two countries, it is hoped that 2004 will help to forge a new alliance for the 21st century.
Full details of all Entente Cordiale Scotland events are available on this site, together with in-depth previews, news, interviews and background features, plus links to related sites and partners. There will also be reports and commentary from individuals taking part in the programme, as well as feedback from audiences and visitors - so you, too, can have your say.
We hope you enjoy this year's celebrations. Vive L'Entente Cordiale!
