On a hot, humid day in central Paris, the sound of Alasdair Henderson's pipes cut through the air with purpose and clarity.
On a hot, humid day in central Paris, the sound of Alasdair Henderson's pipes cut through the air with purpose and clarity.
The 19-year-old student at Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama heralded a similarly clear and purposeful bid by the city to become Britain's first official City of Music.
A large delegation of Scots were in the French capital yesterday to officially lodge the bid at Unesco, the cultural wing of the United Nations, which has its base in the city.
Henderson, from Dunoon, was one of five students and teachers of the RSAMD who provided a suitably lyrical musical introduction to the city's bid.
If Glasgow is successful, Scotland will be the only country in the world with two cities given special cultural categorisation by Unesco. Edinburgh is a world City of Literature.
A source close to the application, for which The Herald is media partner, last night said that Unesco has read the bid with enthusiasm. It was handed over last night at Unesco's HQ near the Eiffel Tower, and has received a "gold star" response, sources say.
Bob Winter, Lord Provost of Glasgow, officially gave the bid document to Unesco, after the application was introduced by Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale.
The provost said music, such as that played by the RSAMD students, "embues every sinew of Glasgow", and pointed out the city's rich musical history, not only nationally but internationally - Mendelsohn visited and was inspired by Scotland's landscapes, and Chopin took his first train ride in the city.
Four years ago, Edinburgh won its title a few hours after it handed over its bid dossier at the Unesco headquarters, but the decision on Glasgow's application is expected to take months.
The bid has been endorsed by the UK's Unesco commission. Joanne Orr, chair of its Scotland committee, said she had signed the endorsement recently.
Next, the bid is scrutinised by musical experts appointed by Unesco, and then it is accepted or rejected by the director-general of Unesco, Koichiro Matsuura. The process could take as much as six months.
However Georges Poussin, chief of creative industries development for Unesco, and said: "In my view Glasgow is famous for its music, but I am not a judge. I think this is a strong bid."
He said that when Edinburgh was granted its title, the Creative Cities system was still in its experimental phase but now strict procedure had to be followed.
The City of Music title would be permanent, and put the city under the umbrella of Unesco's Creative Cities network.
This would open up fruitful cultural and economic relationships with other cities in the club, such as Kolcata, Bologna, Seville, and Santa Fe in Mexico. The Italian and Indian ambassadors to Unesco were in attendance last night.
Linda Fabiani, the culture minister of Scotland, who was with the delegation, said: "Glasgow is always good at capitalising on chances that make things better for the city: look at the way it built on the City of Culture in 1990, the Garden Festival.
"I think it has a great case."
Ms Fabiani addressed the Unesco gathering in English and fluent French.
The bid had funding of £60,000 but costs are estimated at only about £40,000. Funds came from all Glasgow universities, Glasgow City Council, BBC Scotland, and from Glasgow Edinburgh Collaboration - a part of Scottish Enterprise.
The body behind the bid, which has had backing from the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and the First Minister, Alex Salmond, intends to set up a charitable trust to put its plans in action if the application is successful.
