A “special” Highland Games event will be held at Braemar in August with 850 tickets to be made available to the public.
The one-off event will be held at the Princes Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park on Saturday, August 14 between 11am and 3pm.
The Grampian Games Association alongside the Highland Games Association hope the event will offer “a glimmer of hope” that all games will be able to return over the coming years.
The cancellation of dozens of Highland Games over the past two years has had an impact on communities, the tourism sector and the the competitors.
Highland Games across Scotland attract more than 300,000 spectators annually while some 500 participants compete in up to 1,000 competitions.
In April, it was announced that the famous Braemar Gathering had been cancelled again due to Covid and that its next event will not go ahead until September 2022.
Currently the only other Highland Games planned for this year is the Argyllshire Gathering Oban Games on Thursday, August 26.
‘Our beloved games is very much alive’
Organisers are hoping to keep the tradition of the games alive and retain the interest of competitors from across the world with the one-off motivational event.
Jim Brown, chairman of the Grampian Games Association, said: “With the easing of the Covid restrictions, we are delighted to be able to stage the Grampian Highland Games Gathering.
“After two years of total cancellations we are keen to encourage our loyal athletes, dancers and pipers, and show them, and the public, that the spirit of our beloved games is very much alive.
“We have observed all the regulations and hope to welcome a crowd of around 1,000 to this purely one-off motivational event at Braemar.”
Competitors in heavies, Highland dancing, tug o’ war, light athletics, solo piping and hill racing will all take part on the day.
The park, which is home to the Braemar Gathering, has been chosen as the perfect location as its seating capacity allows social distancing measures for competitors and the public to be observed.
The event will also be filmed following the success of last year’s virtual event which will allow audiences from all over the world to enjoy the its traditions.
Spectator numbers are limited but 850 tickets will be available to the public. They will be sold online from 9am on Tuesday, Jul 27 and cost £15 each.