Comment: Could the long wait finally be over for Edinburgh music fans?

The Hydro has been fantastic for Glasgow - and for Scotland.

Richard Lewis, right, and Norman Springford launch the international design competition to create a replacement Ross Bandstand. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Adele, the Churches, Still Game, Justin Beiber, the list of big name acts that it has drawn to Glasgow is endless. Of course the plans for the Ross Bandstand are on a different scale to the 13,000-capacity Hydro. The stars the £25 million new bandstand would attract will be ones playing to smaller audiences than that. But there is still plenty of reason for music fans in Edinburgh to get excited - finally.

The city’s efforts to attract big gigs has been pretty stop-start in recent years, with the Castle Esplanade, Meadowbank, Easter Road, Princes Street Gardens and the Royal Highland Showground all staging mid-size shows. There’s nothing wrong with a choice of venues, but the problem is every time a band considers coming, the promoters has the extra expense and hassle of converting a non-music venue. That problem would go at a stroke.

And this wouldn’t be any old venue. It might be relatively small, but it will have serious pulling power. Who wouldn’t want to perform against one of the greatest backdrops in the world?

This fantastic project has the potential to kick start the transformation of the city’s west end.