This year marks the 25th anniversary of Perth’s twinning with the Polish city of Bydgoszcz.
Perth and Kinross councillors this week agreed to begin plans for a celebratory weekend of events from June 8 to 12.
The plans were given the go-ahead at a meeting of the provost’s sub-committee on Monday, January 23.
Perthshire has one of the largest Polish communities in Scotland.
Many Polish people stayed on after World War Two, while a number of Polish migrants have settled in the area more recently.
In a report put before councillors officers acknowledged the “significant support” the Polish community has given to Ukraine refugees, both in Perth and Kinross and in Poland itself.
President of Bydgoszcz, Rafal Bruski, will be invited along to attend the festivities in June. Provost Xander McDade is expected to receive a reciprocal invitation to attend celebrations in Bydgoszcz at some point around September along with PKC’s chief executive Thomas Glen and Labour’s Bailie Alasdair Bailey.
It has been agreed that the Perth programme will include the PKC Mela event on June 10, and for plans to be developed in partnership with the Friends of Bydgoszcz group and the local Polish community.
Acting PKC Democratic Services manager Scott Hendry told councillors officers would explore a “number of options” for external funding and potential sponsorship and would report back to the sub-committee on details “as soon as possible”.
Moving the report for approval, Provost McDade said: “It would be a good opportunity for our links to be celebrated not just in Perth but across Perth and Kinross because we obviously have a sizeable Polish community across Perth and Kinross.”
Cllr Bailey seconded and added: “It’s great because it’s enabling links that already exist within the community.
“Short of being able to establish a twinning relationship with a Ukrainian city at this time I think this is one of the strong ways in which we can show solidarity with the people of Poland in the assistance and help they are giving to the displaced people from Ukraine.”
The proposal was unanimously agreed by the provost, depute provost and the council’s five bailies, all of whom who sit on the provost Sub-committee.
