As the Tele revealed earlier this week, the band were initially contacted by Olympic officials in 2007, and were convinced it was a practical joke.

Piper Eddie Whighton said, “It seemed too good to be true, but we looked into it a bit further and started to get excited.

“Not only were we chosen to represent the UK, but the whole of Europe! Never in a million years would I have imagined we would have an opportunity like this.

“It has been like winning the lottery,” he added.

This is the first time a Scottish act has been chosen to represent Europe at the opening ceremonies.

Pipe Major Richard Smith, who has been playing for over 30 years, said, “It is a great honour and a pleasure. My only trouble has been selecting 16 members to play from our band of 26 — no easy task, but I was a very popular man for a time!”

With the authenticity of the offer confirmed, the band were raring to go, but it wasn’t going to be an easy — or affordable — ride.

“We are a registered charity, and all our players are volunteers, said Eddie, who has played with the band for seven years.

“We didn’t even have a full set of uniforms, never mind the funds to accommodate a trip to Beijing.

“We got busy writing to everyone we could think of for support — and we were amazed at the response. People were so keen to help, and really pulled out all the stops for us.”

One such supporter was White Space Solutions, the multimedia and design agency based in Abertay University’s ground-breaking White Space resource.

Marketing and business development manger Grant Alexander offered the band the use of the university’s fully equipped recording studio.

“We absolutely couldn’t have done this without White Space Solutions,” said Richard.

“We needed to be able to provide professional recordings of our set, and this would have cost us a small fortune.”

Grant added, “We are involved in a number of projects which are aimed at supporting local communities, but this has definitely been a highlight for both White Space staff and Abertay students, who were able to assist with the recording — a real test of their skills.”

The Gannochy Trust provided a generous contribution of £10,000, which funded new ceremonial outfits and went a great way in helping the band get to Beijing.

Many local suppliers and businesses also dug deep to kit the band out for Beijing.

Due to strict confidentiality restrictions, the band and their supporters were banned from making any comment prior to the event.

The outfit, whose members range in age from 13 to 63, describe themselves as focusing on friendship, family and having fun, and features two husband and wife teams and a grandfather and grandson.

Drummer Sharon Wighton said, “We don’t place the emphasis on competition — we just like to have a good time.

“We are a teaching band whose roots lie in skills being passed through generations.”

Eddie said, “Since our arrival in Beijing we have all had a fantastic time. The city is amazing and the people are fantastic.

“We can see the average person on the street is very proud to be hosting the games, and they have made us very welcome.

“We practised every day and had full dress rehearsals inside the National Stadium (the Bird’s Nest).

“The rehearsals took place in front of tens of thousands of people as the stadium was three quarters full each time, and they ran through the full version of the opening ceremony.

“What we saw of the opening ceremony was spectacular.

“The number of people involved was staggering.

“We are very excited about the opening ceremony, and we are very proud and honoured to be here representing Scotland at the Olympics, as well as being officially here to represent the European Continent.”