DUNFERMLINE is set to get its own Highland Games with some of the world’s leading athletes ready to throw their weight around next month.

The 40th World Highland Games Heavy Events Championship will take place in Pittencrieff Park on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th August, featuring traditional events such as caber tossing, hammer throw and stone putt.

The globe’s top heavy competitors, including Commonwealth Games gold medallist Burger Lambrechts and Team England competitor Scott Rider, have been invited to challenge for the title.

And the European Ladies Highlander Championships and Highland Dancing competitions will also take place.

Organised by Glasgow-based firm Highland Games Consultancy, in partnership with Fife Council and the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, it’s being brought here as part of the council’s £1million fund to bring major entertainment and improvements to the city.

That’s already included last month’s cycle race in the heart of Dunfermline and a pipe band championship in the Glen that was held in May.

Council chiefs hope that the Highland Games, which will be free to the public, will draw thousands of spectators and increase footfall in the city centre.

Joe McGuinness, services manager with Fife Council, said, “This is the first venture of this kind we have got involved in but the pipe band championships, Inverkeithing and Burntisland Highland Games draw massive crowds so we would hope for a 5000 crowd.

“We are conscious that events like this can bring people out of the High Street but the agreement during the pipe band championships was that when performers were not competing, then they would visit various sites in the town centre.

“It helped to generate a good feeling and I believe that the Kingsgate Centre had an increase of around 2000 people visiting on the day.

“If that’s true, it shows that events like this are helping to increase footfall and is a reason why we’ve organised this calendar of events.

“This is unchartered water for us but we are confident it will be a success.” Doug Edmunds, of organisers Highland Games Consultancy, added, “The athletes we have are top class and include Scott Rider, who is competing at the Commonwealth Games for England in the shot putt, and Burger Lambrechts who won gold for South Africa in Kuala Lumpur. We are hoping to see some world records and I’m sure once word gets out we will have a large crowd.” A children’s Highland Games will also take place during the weekend, while separate audience participation events will also be held as part of its supporting programme.