A Plaque Too Far?

POSTED ON October 10, 2024 BY Terry Levinthal, Director

For the Cockburn, this proposal extends the discussion into the wider promotional and tourism marketing of the city. 

It is a simple fact of life in the Association’s offices that something pops up which is so off the wall that it sets us into some deep thinking about the issues that arise.

In this case, however, it is something so ‘on the wall’, that it had us head-scratching on how best to address it, and what the real issues are.

The huge global film conglomerate Netflix submitted an Advertisement Consent application to the City of Edinburgh Council to erect “Commemorative wall plaque” at 2 West Port, Old Town, Edinburgh EH1 2JA.  We vaguely recalled something very similar in the summer, but in that case, a plaque appeared without consent, caused a local stooshie, and was promptly removed.

The proposal isn’t to commemorate a historic person or event.  Edinburgh has many such plaques across the entire city to the extend that in 1990, the Association published a book “The Writing on the Walls” to catalogue and describe these.  They all tend to be place specific (e.g. in this house, Chopin lived” or “on this spot, the old hospital was located”.  Some can be themed such as notable homes of suffragettes or places where Robert Louis Stevenson has some connection.

By gnomonic – Adam Smith, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38451342

The difference here is that the proposed plaque, with a bright red background and white lettering, is to advertise Netflix’s “One Day”, a short British romantic drama limited series based on the 2009 novel by David Nicholls. It follows the 14-year relationship of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, who meet at a graduation ball after graduating from the University of Edinburgh.   In total, the vast majority of the series was set outside Edinburgh.  The Vennel by the Grassmarket was the setting for a very short segment in the first and last episodes.

So, to be blunt, it has nothing to do with Edinburgh.

How many other novels or films have used Edinburgh as a location or a backdrop?  The large arch under Waterloo Place has been seen in everything for historic costume dramas to Trainspotting.  It seems as if almost every café in the Old Town saw JK Rowling pen part of the famous Harry Potter series.  Ian Rankin’s Rebus character covers the entire city in all of its various TV adaptations, including the Vennel where the current series locates Rebus’ home.  Do all of these deserve a dedicated plaque?  Let’s be honest, I too have played the game of “spot the location” when it comes to productions filmed in the city.  I even had the chance of seeing where I live pop up in Netflix’s Eurovision film – how exciting was that?  Not very, actually but it was nice to see.

For the Cockburn, this proposal extends the discussion into the wider promotional and tourism marketing of the city.  Film tourism is a type of tourism where people visit locations that have been featured in movies or TV shows. It’s also known as screen tourism, set-jetting, or film-induced tourism.  Think of the impact of the BBC production Monarch of the Glen in the Highlands.

Similarly, literary tourism links places and events from literary texts as well as the lives of their authors. It can be a major driver of visitation in areas – think of Harry Potter and the West Highland Line.   The novel Kidnapped by RL Stevenson spawned The Stevenson Way – a 230-mile (370 km) wilderness walk in Scotland centred around real historical events, including the murder of The Red Fox in 1752. These all play an important role in the visitor product.

However, they do have impacts.  Going back to Glenfinnan, news reports in 2023 of the impacts of ‘Potterites’ visiting Glenfinnan.  In the Sunday Post (23 April 2023), NTS’s operations manager for Glenfinnan and Glencoe said, “In 2019 we had 500,000 people come through the doors of our visitor centre. That had probably risen from about 150,000 five years before,” she says. “That growth has come to a place that was chosen for the films originally for its natural beauty and spectacular scenery. We are simply not geared up for that number of people.”  Today, there are similar reports in the media.

Also, ‘Selfie-Tourism’ is a trend where travellers visit iconic landmarks not to immerse themselves in history or local culture, but to snap photos for social media. It’s less about personal experience and more about curating an image for Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. UNESCO called for an end to “selfie-tourism” which was impacting cultural and historical landmarks worldwide which could lead to severe consequences if not addressed (as reported in Travel and Tour World’s website, 30 August 2024, for example).  One example is Hallstatt, Austria—a town believed to have inspired Disney’s Frozen where over a million tourists descend each year to capture selfies against the picturesque mountain backdrop.  Pressure on local infrastructure has been immense.  Another was a small village in Japan, where devotees of selfies (‘Selfie-ites’?) cause such mayhem getting that perfect image of Mount Fuji that the locals erected a huge barrier to block of the view.

Commemorative plaques are very important.  They can be a simple and relatively unintrusive way of communicating important information about the heritage and cultural of a place.   The iconic Blue Plaque scheme started in 1866 and is now run by English Heritage.  There are firm guidelines as to what is appropriate.  However, there is nothing to prevent other plaques or signs to be erected by third parties or other interpretative panels created, such as those erected by Edinburgh World Heritage in some closes in the Old Town.

Netflix’s proposals for One Day is something else.  Its purpose is marketing, not information sharing. In itself, it is not a significant issue.  Guidance on advertising exists but tends to be focused on amenity, design and public safety issues.  It makes it clear that within certain parts of the World Heritage Site where the streets are of exceptional architectural and/or historic interest (e.g. The Royal Mile and George Street) or where advertising would adversely affect important views and vistas or the setting of designed landscapes or listed buildings, signs may not be acceptable.  However, there is no guidance on what might be suitable or not.

So, should Netflix’s be permitted to erect this plaque? The Cockburn’s considered view is not.  It has nothing to do with the place or the city; it commemorates no historic or special person or event; it could result in increased public safety issues (due to increased pressure from Film or Selfie Tourists); and finally, the precedent it would set for a wider proliferation of promotional material is considerable.  It is a case of unplanned consequences.

The City would do well to establish a special advisory committee to bring this all together and provide much useful guidance and assistance (and control).  We’d be delighted to assist.

However, let’s face it.  The purpose of this plaque is to generate publicity for Netflix.  The very fact of its proposal and the debate generated already has meant it has been a great success!

 

On 30 October, the Association is holding a half-day conference on Responsible Tourism.  Some of the issues touched in this blog will feature in this event.

 

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Featured Image “One Day” Plaque: Copyright Capital Architecture (from CEC Planning Portal, live advertising consent application)

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