Ö÷²¥´óÐã

The Worlds, the highlight of the piping calendar take place in Glasgow today, so Pipeline producer Iain MacInnes has written a few words about the event for us:

Glasgow has been alive to the sound of pipes and drums for the past week as the Piping Live! festival has drawn huge crowds and presented a wonderful variety of music. With the weather set fair for Saturday, the action moves down to Glasgow Green for the World Pipe Band Championships. The competition is keen across the grades, with a record entry of 239 in total, and a strong North American presence, especially in the top two grades.

It's been a while now since the World Championship trophy has been brought back to Scotland. Simon Fraser University from British Columbia are the reigning Champions, and they'll undoubtedly be a band to look out for on the day. The Field Marshal Montgomery pipe band from Belfast and St Laurence O'Toole from Dublin have also been in lively form: it'll be a hard one to call for the judges, as they listen to the bands perform, firstly, a March, Strathspey and Reel, and then a medley selection. There will be interest, too, in the domestic favourites, not least Boghall and Bathgate from West Lothian, and the House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead pipe band, whose pipe major Robert Matheson steps down after this event, leaving a legacy of innovation and excellence in pipe band music which will be hard to equal.

We'll be down at Glasgow Green from the start of the Grade 1 Qualifier at 9am, streaming the performances on The Worlds 2010 website, and Gary West will be on air, as usual, just after 9pm on Saturday evening, with a round-up of results and some of the prize-winning performances in the medley event. Stuart Cassells will be along, too, with some expert commentary. We hope you can join us!

Listen to Pipeline Saturday 2105-2200, repeated on Sunday 1906-2000 and available to listen again on iPlayer.