Spectator sports
Watch Scotland play the best teams in the
world at Murrayfield Stadium. It’s the spiritual home of
Scottish rugby,
although the world’s first ever international match was played at
Raeburn Place in Edinburgh.
In 1975 a crowd of 104,000 watched Scotland
play Wales, until recently the largest crowd ever to watch a rugby
match. The Edinburgh Gunners also play their Celtic League
and Heineken Cup games at Murrayfield.
The stadia of Premier League Football Club
teams Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) FC and
Hibernian (HIBS) FC are close to the city
centre. The derby games between the two sides represent one of the
oldest sporting rivalries in world football. Hearts take
their name from a novel by Sir Walter Scott which is apt in a city
region where both sport and culture thrive. Hibernian was
founded by Irish born football enthusiasts in 1875, and given the
name "Hibernian", the Roman name for Ireland. Livingston Football
Club, Scotland’s newest club, is based in West Lothian, to the west
of Edinburgh.
Watch top horse racing at Musselburgh
Racecourse, which recently underwent a major
re-development. Along the coast, Muirfield Golf
Course is a regular venue for the British Open and attracts
crowds of over 100,000.
