The Proclaimers: Iconic Scottish music hit I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) to be brought to Winter Olympics

It is one of Scotland's best known hits, made even more famous in recent years by film Sunshine on Leith.

Now (I’m Gonna Be) 500 miles by The Proclaimers is to be played at the Winter Olympics - as the free dance music of British Olympic ice dance hopefuls and world bronze medallists Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear.

Mr Gibson, from Prestwick, said the choreography would include some elements of Highland dancing.

The choice follows in the footsteps of Edinburgh siblings Sinead and John Kerr, who finished eighth at the World Figure Skating Championships in 2008 with a ceilidh-themed programme, dressed in tartan costumes.

Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear announced the 500 Miles free dance programme on their Instagram page. | Lewis and Lilah

Mr Gibson and Ms Fear, who are ranked in the top few ice dance pairs in the world, will be vying for a spot on the podium in Milan next year.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Village construction site. | AFP via Getty Images

The pair introduced their programme for this year on their Instagram page, where they captioned a picture of them in dark tartan costumes, linked to the music of (I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles. The post included the words “introducing our Olympic Scottish Free Dance” and tagged The Proclaimers.

Mr Gibson said: “We have always had in the back of our minds to do a Scottish-themed program. There is such an identifiable dance style in the Highland dance that we really wanted to translate on to the ice.

“Scotland is beloved around the world and we want to bring the culture to the ice. We choose 500 Miles as it’s such a feel-good track and, of course, known by many from all over the world.”

Mr Gibson and Ms Fear won Great Britain’s first figure skating World Championship medal in more than 40 years with ice dance bronze in Boston last year. The pair are seven-times British national ice dance champions and two-time European silver medallists.