Research conducted by Planet Cruise travel experts last year found that Glasgow took the top spot globally for the best city to visit for live music, beating out Lyon and Zurich to take the crown. Scottish crowds are also celebrated across the world as being superior when it comes to live music events with artists including Ed Sheeran, Tom Odell and even Noel Gallagher declaring that there is nothing quite like a Scottish crowd.

To maintain this stellar reputation, Scotland must continue to showcase musical talent at festivals and live music events, from concerts at the iconic Edinburgh Castle to the packed line-up at Regular Music's Summer Nights on the Southside festival and everything in between.

As festival operators will know, there is an incredible amount of work that goes into making an event a success. Once the lineup is secured, the planning process begins, and the first step is usually an application for a Temporary Public Entertainment Licence (TPEL) to ensure the entertainment is authorised. If alcohol is going to be offered, an Occasional Licence will also be necessary. Securing these permissions is imperative as a failure to do so can incur a penalty of up to £20,000 and a lot of very disappointed music fans.

Public Entertainment Licences (PELs) are required by virtue of Section 40 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. For an event, the licence can be sought for a temporary period of up to 6 weeks. A PEL is only required for entertainment listed within the "resolution" of a particular Local Authority area and the type of entertainment captured can vary dramatically across the country. As each Local Authority has the discretion to determine which entertainment requires permission and set their own exemptions accordingly, checking their resolution should be the first port of call for any event organiser. 

The legislation also provides a number of occasions where a PEL isn't necessary, regardless of where in Scotland the event is being held. A PEL would not be required in the following circumstances:

  • Where the place of public entertainment is an athletic or sports ground, while being used as such;
  • An educational establishment while being used as such;
  • Premises belonging to or occupied by any religious body while being used wholly or mainly for purposes connected with that body;
  • Premises which hold a Cinema Licence;
  • Premises that hold a Premises Licence issued under the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. Importantly the fact that a premises/venue/festival site has an occasional licence granted for the sale of alcohol does not exclude them from the requirement to have a PEL;
  • Premises that hold an Indoor Sports Entertainment Licence. 

In addition to variations in the types of entertainment covered, each Local Authority has their own timescales which operators must be mindful of. There have been some recent changes to the timescales in both Glasgow and Edinburgh which are important to note.

In Glasgow, the notice period for lodging TPELs has increased from 12 weeks to 13 weeks. If you are lodging a TPEL for 5000 people or more, then a 6 month notice period is required. You will also have to engage in a pre-consultation process referred to as a multiagency approach, which pulls together representatives from Police Scotland, Building Standards, the NHS, Environmental Health and others to comment on the application and work with the applicants.

Further details can be found here: Public Entertainment Licence - Glasgow City Council

As of Spring 2025, TPELs in Edinburgh will require to be applied for a minimum 60 days before the requested start date of the application.It should also be noted that as of the 1st of April 2025, TPEL applications will attract late application fees, and subject to an additional charge if received within 42 days prior to the event.

Further details can be found here: Public entertainment licence - Licence and permit applications – The City of Edinburgh Council

It is important that operators do not get caught out by these new timescales as late applications would only be accepted in exceptional circumstances.

If you require assistance in applying for a large public event, our dedicated licensing specialists are here to help. We understand that every business faces unique challenges, and we are committed to understanding yours. Contact our specialists today at {{LICENSING_NUMBER}} or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..