On Foursquare, the popular social location network, the most popular tip left on Murrayfield Stadium is one by BBC America. It points out that:
This stadium, in Scotland’s capital, holds the recorded for the largest attendance to a rugby match – 104,000 watched Scotland play Wales in 1975.
If you’re surprised by the 1975 date then you may be shocked to discover that the stadium actually opened in 1925. However, after a £50 million pound renovation in 1995 the stadium was renewed and refreshed.
Rugby has always been a part of Edinburgh. The club scene is strong and the city has clubs like Watsonians RFC which date back to 1875 or the Edinburgh Academical (the Edinburgh Accies) that date back to 1857.
The sport has enjoyed strong support from local, helpful businesses as well. The school uniform and sports retailer Aitken and Niven sponsor the Watsonians and, of course, the Royal Bank sponsors the Six Nations.
Sunday the 26th of February, 2012, is the next big date – let’s call it Royale de Rugby – for the sport as Murrayfield hosts the sell-out Scotland versus France Six Nations match. The city will be busy but the French supporters will be busy spending their much needed Euros and boosting the local economy.
Likely hot spots include usual suspects such as Edinburgh Airport, fed by happy Air France and perhaps the occasional easyJet flight as well as Princess Street. However, The Shore down in Leith may well attract a good selection of visitors and Edinburgh Zoo’s pandas may well be popular although VIPs (very important Pandas) Yuan Zi and Huan Huan moved into Paris at the start of the year.
Disclosure: Sponsored by RBS