By Mark Mackay

TODAY’S 120th Birnam Highland Games features the first world haggis eating championships.

The games open at 1 pm at the new games park at Little Dunkeld and involve all the traditional events such as heavyweight competitions, piping, Highland dancing and running, including the Scottish 800 metre championships.

In recent years, however, the haggis-eating competition has become the focal point of the gathering—a feature event for competitors and spectators.

Competitors will be invited to wolf down 1 lb of haggis in the fastest possible time.

There will be 24 entrants on a first-come, first-served basis on the day, with two initial heats.

After around an hour-and-a-half to allow full stomachs to recover, an eat-off will determine the day’s top haggis scoffer and first world haggis eating champion.

Games’ secretary Peter Greig said, “This is a speed event, but there is a fair bit of endurance involved as well. On average only about 50% of the competitors actually finish.”