Academics from around the globe began arriving today ahead of the world's biggest conference on the life and works of Robert Burns.
'Robert Burns 1759-2009' opens at Glasgow University tomorrow with three days of lectures and public performances.
Comedian Karen Dunbar will recite Tam O'Shanter at an alternative Burns' Supper at the event's finale on Saturday night.
Another highlight is the premiere of a commissioned piece by composer James Macmillan, which is based on the Burns poem Lament of Mary Queen of Scots and will be performed in the University's Bute Hall on Friday evening.
Organised by the Centre for Robert Burns Studies, the conference is the largest of its kind and is the first major event of the Year of Homecoming.
It is the first of four European conferences being held this year to mark the 250th anniversary of the poet's birth.
Glasgow University's Gerry Carruthers said there will be no bigger Burns event this year.
"The Burns event is a world first in terms of size and significance.
"Our Burns conference fulfils one of the aspirations of Homecoming 2009.
"It will bring together academics and interested parties from a number of countries including the US, Canada, Spain, Germany and Ireland."
More than 60 academics from around the world are expected to at the conference, which will discuss the latest academic developments regarding the work of Burns.
A previously unseen sketch believed to be of Burns, drawn by his contemporary John Kay, will be unveiled at the event.
Held by the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, specialists are convinced it depicts Burns.
A rare copy of the Kilmarnock Edition, the first collection of Burns' work to be published, will also be on display. Dating to 1786, it is thought there are only a few left in existence.
Fiona Hyslop, education secretary, said: "Robert Burns is truly an international icon, as reflected by the high interest in this conference from scholars and enthusiasts from around the world."
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