Celtic Connections and is an integral and vibrant part of cultural life in Glasgow, with the economic impact on the city reaching £5.8 million in 2007. The festival actively promotes artistic links and cultural exchange across countries, reinforced by Showcase Scotland which brought 200 music industry delegates from 35 different countries to Scotland looking to book Scottish bands for festivals abroad in 2008. The 2008 festival opened with the Common Ground concert where many of the artists taking part in the event performed together. Donald Shaw, artistic director of the festival, spoke about the future of Celtic Connections as well as the
City Stages held on June 13–15, 2009 on Father's Day Weekend. Tickets sales were hampered by inclement weather, the struggling economy, and a poor lineup. After the event, organizers announced that the total debt had surpassed $1 million, and that no further City Stages would be produced. City Stages City Stages was a three-day arts and music festival in downtown Birmingham, Alabama that took place in and around Linn Park from 1989 to 2009. After losses in 2009 amounted to nearly half a million dollars, the organization running City Stages announced on June 25, 2009 that the event would not return the