Scottish piping bosses have pledged to support an annual contest remaining in Moray “for the foreseeable future”.
Piping at Forres brings thousands to the region every year and regularly boosts the economy by about £1million.
The competition was first staged in the town in 2013, and the fifth instalment will take place this June.
But the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association’s (RSPBA) contract with Forres Events Ltd to run the bash at Grant Park is due to expire next summer.
RSPBA top brass have indicated, however, that they would be happy for the celebration of traditional music to remain in Moray for years to come.
Chief executive, Ian Embleton, recently ventured from Glasgow to Forres for the launch of this year’s competition.
He revealed that discussions to stage the The European Pipe Band Championships in the north town began as far back as 2003.
And Mr Embleton said he had no intentions on looking elsewhere when the current contract runs out.
He added: “It took eight years before everything was in place to get Piping at Forres started, it had been bubbling away for a while.
“Forres had always been on my list as a potential place to host an occasion like this, there’s a special atmosphere there.
“The event’s location is set out in three-year phases, and the first agreement was for 2013, 2014 and 2015.
“That was continued to cover 2016 up to 2018, but I’d love to see that go further.
“I will be happy for these championships to remain in Forres for as long as the community and organisers would like us to.”
Last year’s contest attracted 127 bands and more than 20,000 fans.
The attendance was the highest in its history.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead said: “This event goes from strength to strength and is a major boost for the local economy.”
Mr Embleton also paid tribute to Ian Widdowson and David Urquhart, two founding fathers of the event who died within months of each other in late 2015 and early 2016.
He added: “It isn’t just Forres that benefits, it’s the whole of the north of Scotland.”
