Bold as brass bid to string buskers a mile along prom

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to create a "mile of buskers" along Portobello promenade.

Local residents say the prom is "strangely bereft" of buskers and other street performers and are appealing to musicians and performers to change that.

A group of local residents have banded together to arrange the Big Beach Busk which will take place on August 28.

Organisers say that if they get 80 buskers on the day and they are placed at 20-metre intervals, then visitors to the beach will be entertained from one end of the prom to the next.

Mime artists, jugglers, human statues and other street performers are also being encouraged to take part in the event.

A Facebook group set up to promote the Big Beach Busk has already attracted more than 280 members.

Portobello resident Paul Lambie, who came up with the idea for the special busking event, said: "I was sitting on the beach with some mates one sunny day and there was no entertainment and we were trying to figure out why there would be no buskers.

"There is one guy who busks there who is excellent but why is he the only busker down there?

"We were thinking that we know a lot of musicians so why not invite them down?

"So that's what we've done.

"If we get something like 80 buskers at 20-metre intervals, we could have an entire mile of busking.

"But to be honest, even if we only get 25 per cent of that, we'll still have 20 musicians hanging out on the beach for the day."

He has already had lots of pledges from people saying they will attend the event, but he will be targeting street performers during the Festival next month to see if they would be interested in taking part.

Mr Lambie, 33, said: "As soon as the Festival starts, I'm going to head into town and hand out flyers and speak to people.

"I'm thinking some people might want to escape from the Royal Mile for a day.

"That mile during the Festival can be a bit of a headache but the mile on the prom will be a welcome break for a lot of people."

The Big Beach Busk will start at 12pm on August 28 and is set to continue on into the night.

If the weather takes a turn for the worse, local pubs will be drafted in to help ensure the event can still go ahead.

Amanda Caygill, owner of The Espy bar in Bath Street, which hosts its own live music events, said: "I think it's a fantastic idea.

"Anything that can bring more people down to Portobello beach is a great thing.

"It's going to be quite a spectacle.

"I think it's going to be bigger than even any of us expect."