The Highlands has won the bid to host the 2015 World Orienteering Championships. The contest will be based in Inverness with competition sites on the Moray Firth coast and in the Cairngorms.
The Highlands beat competition from Sweden in the bid which was supported by the Highland Council which has said that the Championships could generate £2million for the local economy. The Scottish Six Days orienteering event will run at the same time as the World Championships using some of the same courses.
Sports Minister Shona Robinson said the contests would build on the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014. She told the BBC: “It is a wonderful legacy from 2014 that we will continue to have world class sporting events in Scotland beyond this milestone year.
“It further demonstrates our capability at staging such major events and further enhances our active messaging across the country.”