A high level group of scientists is to be recruited to provide independent advice to the European Commission.

The panel will supersede the role of chief scientific advisor that was controversially abolished last year by new EC President Jean-Claude Juncker.
The commission wants also to strengthen its relationship with the national academies across Europe.
Mr Juncker believes the reforms will be a better mechanism to ensure EU policies are evidence-based.
The former Luxembourg prime minister outlined the new system when he met a group of Nobel Laureates on Wednesday in Brussels.
These eminent scientists, who included UK Royal Society President Sir Paul Nurse, have been highly critical of the decision to drop the CSA role.
They interpreted the post's demise as a downgrading of the value of scientific advice within the commission.
After the meeting, Sir Paul said the delegation was encouraged by the development but that its success would depend on the detail and the execution.
The outgoing CSA, Scottish biologist Anne Glover, often complained about a lack of resourcing and staff.
The laureates believe the secretariat supporting the incoming expert panel must be given sufficient funding.
Implementation of the new mechanism will be the job of Carlos Moedas, the European commissioner for research, science and innovation.
He has spent the past few months investigating the routes to scientific advice for the EC.
Mr Moedas has taken the view that the EU's executive arm already has some excellent internal guidance - for example from the EC's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre.
He has, however, always recognised the need for an additional layer of assistance - one that is truly independent of the Brussels machine, and transparent.
Mr Moedas will now set about recruiting the new expert group and better linking the EC to the expertise found in Europe's academies and learned societies.
The commissioner has given himself an autumn deadline.
The panel will have seven individuals on it, and they will come from a range of disciplines, including the social sciences.
"One of the things about science advice is that it has to be totally independent, so our view is that the members of this panel should not be employees of the commission," Mr Moedas told reporters.
"They will keep their positions as independent scientists. There will be total transparency in this system, so you will have information about all the work in this panel… and, of course, as independent scientists they can talk to the press."
He added that staff and several million euros per year would be found to support the panel and to facilitate contacts and exchange of information with the external academies.
Wednesday's meeting with Mr Juncker was also an opportunity for the visiting group of internationally awarded scientists (Jules Hoffmann, Serge Haroche, László Lovász, Jean Tirole and Edvard Ingjald Moser, and Sir Paul) to discuss the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI).
This is a stimulus package designed to invigorate the flagging EU economy.
Various areas of the EU budget are making a contribution, but it is the money being taken from science pot (Horizon 2020) that has so exercised the research leaders.
They think it sends the wrong signal about the importance Europe places on R&D.
Mr Juncker tried to reassure them that the slice being taken from Horizon 2020 would actually pay dividends in the long run. And he told them that he was working to make sure that any potential short-term impact on fundamental research was minimised as much as possible.
Sir Paul said his fellow scientists had no objection to the EFSI; indeed, they thought it a very good idea.  However, using Horizon 2020 money was not the way to fund it.
"Science, and the generation of knowledge, is at the basis of all sustainable economic growth and the public good, and to cut it at all is a bad thing," he argued.
"And we are seeing movement to try and reduce those cuts. We, of course, would like to see those cuts kept to a minimum, and we will continue to work in that direction. But it was a meeting of minds, and I'm optimistic that we will at least make some good progress in achieving [the right] outcome on science funding."
Dermot Kelleher, president of the Federation of European Academies of Medicine, said he "very much welcomed" the proposal to involve Europe's many eminent academies more directly in scientific advice.
He said that the two proposals, of a formal scheme for advice from the academies as well as an appointed expert panel, would hopefully prove complementary.
"It's possible that the internal panel might at times disagree with the advice given by the academies, but I think it's more likely that we would be able to reach a consensus," Prof Kelleher told the BBC.
He also noted that the new system, if it is well structured and resourced, could prove useful for avoiding controversies like the Horizon 2020 funding dispute, which scientists saw as a "raid" on their research budget.
"We think this is a really good opportunity to begin to try and shape things in a proactive way, rather than coming in retrospectively and trying to fix problems that we believe have arisen," said Prof Kelleher, from Imperial College London and a fellow of the UK's Academy of Medical Sciences.
"So if you take the issues around Horizon 2020 - the involvement of academies in science advice might allow those decisions to be made in a more consensual way. I think that's positive."
The EFSI aims to generate at least 315bn euros - from both public and private funds - for investment across the European Union.
The proposal is that Horizon 2020 will contribute 2.7bn, or 3.5% of its total budget, with key programmes such as the European Research Council and the Marie Curie Actions (fellowships) redeploying less than 2% of their monies.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


A Liverpool fan who told grieving parents he had "cradled" their dying son at Hillsborough said he now believes it was another young victim.

The new inquests heard John Owen visited the parents of Henry Rogers, 17, at their home in Cheshire five days after the tragedy on 15 April 1989.
But Mr Owen now says he was mistaken and he had been with an unknown victim.
Henry Rogers was one of 96 football fans fatally injured in a terrace crush at the FA Cup semi-final in Sheffield.
The jury heard how Mr Owen and David Roland - who had also been at the match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest - tracked down Veronica and Stephen Rogers after they had seen Henry's picture in a newspaper.
He said he wanted to offer "comfort" to his parents.
Patrick Roche, representing Mr and Mrs Rogers, asked Mr Owen if he had made the visit "to tell them that Henry had not died alone".
Mr Owen agreed.
Mr Roche then asked: "Do you still think that what you told them was correct?"
He replied: "No."
He also said Mr Roland accompanied him for "support" because "it's something I didn't want to do alone".
Asked why he believed his original account was wrong he said: "The accounts I gave first were probably quite rushed and quite hazy. The only thing that I could remember with any great certainty is that I had seen Henry Rogers on that pitch on that day."
Mr Owen said he now believes he dealt with two casualties - one an unnamed young man who died in his arms, and the other was Henry, whom he helped carry across the pitch.
Part of a statement Mr Owen gave in 1989 was read to the court, in which he described coming across Henry on the pitch.
In the statement, he said: "I took his hand and asked him if he was all right. I lifted his head up.
"I think he was still alive then but he didn't say anything. I saw his eyes roll backwards and he died in my arms."
Mr Owen, who was 30 at the time, said that was "not his current recollection".
Mr Roland said he continued to believe both he and Mr Owen were with Henry when he died and he disputed he only went to see Mr and Mrs Rogers to "support" Mr Owen.
The court heard how Henry went to the match with his older brother, Adam, and two friends.
Adam also died six months after the disaster. His parents believe the trauma of the day and losing Henry contributed to his death.
None of the group of friends had tickets for the match and, in part of Adam's 1989 statement, he described how, as they tried to buy tickets from touts outside the ground, they were swept into the crowd at the turnstiles.
They went into the ground through an opened exit gate, down a tunnel into pen three, and within seconds were caught in a crowd surge that separated them.
Adam went on to describe how he escaped on to the pitch, searched for his brother at the stadium and then caught a train back home.
Karl Knights, who was a sergeant with South Yorkshire Police in 1989, said he climbed into the enclosure, gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to Henry and then carried him on to the pitch.
The officer helped carry him into the gym where a doctor confirmed his death.
The inquests, sitting in Warrington, Cheshire, are due to resume on Tuesday.
BBC News: Profiles of all those who died


Kilmarnock face the threat of relegation and the financial dangers of the drop to the Championship, according to former coach Billy Brown.

Brown was Jim Jefferies' assistant at Rugby Park between 2002 and 2010.
Killie won a relegation play-off final against Falkirk to retain their place in the top flight last season.
"The way they're going, whether it's this season, next season or the season after, Kilmarnock are going to get relegated," Brown said.
In the event of dropping out of the top flight, Brown predicts tough times ahead.
"And when they get relegated, there are going to be big problems, and it doesn't matter who the manager is," he added.
Kilmarnock sold top scorer Souleymane Coulibaly to Egyptian champions Al Ahly on Tuesday, receiving a fee in the region of £800,000 for the Ivorian striker.
Coulibaly was one of more than 20 new signings made this season by boss Lee Clark.
Killie currently sit 10th in the Premiership table, four points clear of bottom side Inverness Caledonian Thistle, after 21 games.
Their final league position has fallen each season since the 2010-11 campaign, when they finished fifth - the last time the club placed in the top six, and only the fourth time they secured a top-half finish since the turn of the millennium.
Director Michael Johnston, who was the subject of a vote of no confidence at the annual general meeting of the Kilmarnock Football Club Supporters Association last June, remains a target for some frustrated fans who want him to leave the club.
"Lee Clark is doing as good a job as anybody can possibly do," Brown told BBC Radio Scotland. "He's trying everything - he's bringing players in, an enormous amount of players, but what could he do? He had to try to revamp the situation.
"Now they've got this money [from the sale of Coulibaly], that'll keep the club going for a wee while, but it wont solve the problems. The problems are still going to be there.
"I was there seven-and-a-half years - the last two, the money problems started to bite and Michael Johnston was very difficult to work for.
"I'm not saying everything he's done at Kilmarnock has been wrong, because he's kept the club going, but really, he doesn't promote good feeling inside the club."


People in France are due to take part in a US-style primary to chose a centre-right candidate who will run in next year's presidential election.

Seven candidates are competing to represent the Republican Party.
The forerunners include ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy and ex-Prime Ministers Alain Juppe and Francois Fillon.
The winner of the conservative primary seems assured to make the presidential run-off, where he or she is likely to face far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
Polls suggest that the Republican candidate would win that election. With the governing socialists unpopular and divided, it seems unlikely that any left-wing candidate will survive the first round,
The centre-right primary will be held in two rounds. The top two candidates in Sunday's vote will face each other in a second ballot a week later.
Voting is not restricted to party members. Those taking part have to sign a statement saying that they "share the Republican values of the right and the centre".
The candidates are:


Canadian politicians have expressed outrage after protesters at a political rally chanted "lock her up" about Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.

Protesters erupted into jeers at a rally against a carbon tax, hosted by the right-wing Rebel media group.
"Lock her up" was frequently chanted by Donald Trump supporters in reference to Hillary Clinton during the US election.
Mrs Clinton was under FBI investigation over her emails but Ms Notley has not faced any criminal probe.
But the New Democratic Party leader has been subject to threats of violence since her election in 2015.
The crowds began shouting the phrase outside the province's legislature on Saturday at a rally over the provincial government's planned carbon tax.
Do 'lock her up' chants mark a new low?
The dark depths of hatred for Hillary Clinton
The rally was organised by Rebel Media, an online news and right-wing opinion outlet.
Conservative leadership hopeful Chris Alexander, who was criticising Ms Notley in a speech when the shouting began, said he was "shocked" and mortified" by the chant.
But Mr Alexander has since come under fire for not immediately intervening at the rally.
A video of the incident appeared to show Mr Alexander cracking a smile and gesturing with his finger when the chanting began.
The former immigration minister told a CBC News programme he did not interrupt because he was "trying to find a moment to interject with what I thought was the real conclusion of what this discussion was".
He added he wanted to change the chant to "vote her out".
Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose condemned the incident as "inappropriate and unoriginal".
"We don't lock people up in Canada for bad policy, we vote them out," she said.
"I don't know what to say - it's people acting like idiots."
Conservative Party Leadership Candidate Deepak Obhrai also weighed in on the rise of intolerance trickling into Canadian politics.
"We're witnessing Trump-style politics invading Canada," Mr Obhrai, a Calgary-area MP said.
"It is the responsibility of event organisers that they distance themselves from hate-mongering and insults. Otherwise we all lose."
Protesters invoked a slogan often shouted by supporters of president-elect Trump, who accused Mrs Clinton of criminal wrongdoing in her use of a private email account while at the State Department.
An FBI investigation concluded that while she was "extremely careless", her actions did not warrant criminal prosecution.
Still, the phrase became a rallying cry for many Trump supporters.
Ms Notley's NDP-led government has planned to introduce a broad-based carbon tax on gasoline in a conservative province struggling with a downturn in the oil sector.


Sheltered housing residents have used hundreds of spent coffee pods to create a portrait of The Queen.

Residents at Wallace House in Hatherley, Gloucestershire, spent five weeks creating the mosaic using 1,634 recycled coffee machine capsules.
Carol Gatter, who runs the craft club, said she did not initially tell the group what they were working on.
She said: "I'd been telling them that it was a nude of myself so I think they were relieved that it was the Queen."
Ms Gatter, who has only just started the group, said she had wanted to "start off with something really exciting".
She said: "I thought 'Let's go big' and the only way we can do a mosaic is to go very large.
"But I didn't realise that used Nespresso pods still have their coffee in them.
"So they've all been emptied out by myself and now my garden smells lovely."
With 2,500 donated single-serving coffee pods cleaned out "for the colours", it then fell to residents to create the monarch's likeness to celebrate her 90th birthday.
Working two hours a week for five weeks, resident Pat said she had "really enjoyed" creating the completely-recycled artwork.
"It's in nine separate parts so until you put it all together you couldn't tell what it was going to be," she said.
"So we didn't actually know until the last week - but it's just magic, basically."


Older and disabled people could be disproportionately affected by plans to force councils in England to sell high-value social housing, campaigners say.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said the policy was likely to lead to a widespread sell-off of bungalows, which are often popular among the elderly.
It said 15,300 council-owned bungalows in England could be sold off by 2021.
But ministers say councils can decide not to sell a property if it meets "a particular need" or is hard to replace.
The Housing and Planning Bill - which the government says will help more people become home owners - goes before the House of Lords later.
If it is passed, local authorities will be compelled to sell expensive properties as they become vacant, to "ensure that the money locked up in high value vacant housing stock will be reinvested in building new homes".Warning over 'bungalow sell-off plan'
According to the Bill, what will count as a "high value" property is likely to vary in different areas.
However, the foundation called on ministers to make bungalows - which it says are in high demand - and sheltered housing exempt from the initiative.
How will extending Right to Buy work?
Such a move would bring England in line with Northern Ireland, where councils are not forced to sell bungalows or ground-floor flats under a similar initiative.
In the foundation's report, researchers from Cambridge University said they found high demand for bungalows meant they were almost three times more likely to be sold off and would be harder to replace because of the amount of land needed.
It also estimated that while bungalows make up 9% of council-owned housing, they were likely to make up 25% of high-value property sales because of their higher cost and more frequent vacancies - a result of people moving into residential care or tenants moving later in life.
One in five older people currently lives in a bungalow, a proportion that increases steadily from 55-75, according to the report. This figure rises to one in four when there is someone sick or disabled in an older person's household.
Brian Robson, from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said the housing Bill would reduce the number of affordable homes at a time of an "acute housing crisis".
"We risk holding a great British bungalow sell-off that will make things worse for older and disabled tenants who are trying to find suitable, affordable accommodation," he said.
"The increasing reliance on costly, insecure tenancies in the private-rented sector to house families on low incomes will only serve to trap more people in poverty."
However, a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said local authorities would have the power to decide not to sell a property "if it meets a particular need and would be difficult to replace".
"Planning policy already requires local plans to take the housing needs of older and disabled people into account. Where there is a local need, councils can set much clearer standards for accessible and wheelchair-adaptable new homes," he added.


Celtic youngster Michael Johnston signed a new three-year contract after impressing on his debut against St Johnstone on Saturday.

The 18-year-old forward, who has been at the club since the age of nine, penned a new deal in the aftermath of the 4-1 triumph at Celtic Park.
"It was literally straight after the final whistle," Johnston told the Celtic website.
"Once I got changed, I went straight in and got the deal signed."
Johnston and 18-year-old defender Anthony Ralston were praised by boss Brendan Rodgers for their performances as the champions swept Saints aside to extend their unbeaten domestic run since the start of the season to 43 games.
"I have played for this club for about 10 years and I have supported them my full life so to make my debut and then sign the contract and commit my future here is unbelievable," Johnston added.
"I have committed my future here for a reason. This is where I want to be and hopefully I can get many more appearances under my belt.
"Making my debut was one of my goals this season and to do that was a delight, and to sign the contract just topped it off.
"This has been a great season for Celtic, one of the best in the club's history, and it's something you want to be part of."


Ireland maintained their quest for the World Cup quarter-finals with a tense five-run win over Zimbabwe in Hobart.

Ed Joyce made 112, while Andy Balbirnie was run out three short of a maiden hundred as Ireland posted 331-8, their highest one-day international total.
Zimbabwe required the highest chase in World Cup history and Brendan Taylor hit four sixes in 121 from 91 balls.
Seven were needed from the final over but the last two wickets fell as the Zimbabweans bowed out of the event.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Ireland next face unbeaten India, who have already qualified, on Tuesday.
The Irish team's final match is the last of the group fixtures in the tournament, against Pakistan on 15 March, when West Indies face UAE, and is likely to determine which other three sides will advance to the quarter-finals from Pool B.
After a quiet start in which only six fours were scored in the opening 20 overs, Joyce and Balbirnie shared an Irish third-wicket record of 138 in 18 overs.
Sussex left-hander Joyce, who played 17 ODI matches for England from 2006-7, averaging 27, might have departed first ball, but a TV review deemed his edge had fallen short of slip.
He was dropped on 34 and again having completed his third ODI ton, while Balbirnie's attractive innings came to an unfortunate end when his dive was short of the crease while attempting an ambitious second run in the final over.
Despite the formidable target, Taylor, who became only the fourth Zimbabwean to pass 5,000 ODI runs, used his feet in assured fashion, timing the ball exquisitely to compile his first century since 2011.
He had guided his team to within 109 of victory when he was cleverly deceived by Alex Cusack's slower ball in the 38th over, spooning a catch to mid-wicket.
Left-hander Sean Williams, who had added 149 with Taylor, somehow kept his team in contention before, with 32 needed from 19 balls, he holed out to deep mid-wicket on 96, John Mooney taking the catch above his head with his foot perilously close to the boundary boards.
Yet 17 runs from the penultimate over kept the match on a knife-edge before Cusack took the remaining two wickets to finish with 4-32, as Ireland held on for their third victory in four matches.
Listen to highlights from Test Match Special's and Radio 5 live's 2015 World Cup coverage.


Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has admitted that his side are all but out of the Premier League title race.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Following the 1-1 draw with Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day, the Blues lie fourth in the table, 11 points behind both Manchester City and Manchester United.
Villas-Boas said: "With City and United continuing to get the points they are getting, it'll be difficult.
"Maybe the Premier League is over for us at the moment."
That [£140m] is an outstanding amount of money but it makes no sense at all
Juan Mata gave Chelsea the lead in the west London derby, only for Clint Dempsey to earn the Cottagers a point.
Former Porto boss Villas-Boas, who took charge of the Blues in June, continued: "There's no big drama in terms of how we look at things. But you have to be sufficiently real.
"That is the perspective we have to make at the moment. It's difficult, but it's not impossible. You cannot say that.
"But we have to focus on our position at the moment and make a real assessment.
"We'd targeted the December fixtures as an ideal situation to find out what would happen in the Premier League. We continue to do that."
Villas-Boas also dismissed talk he will have a budget of £140m to spend in the January and denied that he will be using the transfer window to overhaul his squad.
Fernando Torres has scored more Premier League goals for Liverpool (four) in 2011 than he has for Chelsea (three)
"The story is not true," said the Portuguese. "Whatever business we do, we will do it properly and quietly but we won't do a lot and not with those amounts.
Villas-Boas has already declared his interest in signing Bolton defender Gary Cahill to bolster his squad.
Striker Nicolas Anelka has agreed to join Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua and transfer-listed Brazilian centre-half Alex is poised to leave the club, but the Chelsea boss insisted there will not be drastic changes at Stamford Bridge.
"That [£140m] is an outstanding amount of money but it makes no sense at all," Villas-Boas added.


A major rescue operation is under way after a building collapsed at the surface of a gold mine in South Africa, blocking off the main entrance.

Three people, thought to have been in the building at the time, are still missing after the incident at the mine near the north-eastern town of Barberton, emergency services say.
More than 70 workers had to use an emergency exit to reach the surface.
South Africa's deep gold mines often pose serious safety issues.
Last year, 77 workers were killed in various mining accidents, the lowest number on record.
The three missing workers were in the lamp room near the surface of the mine at the time of the incident, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) said in a statement on its website.
There have been conflicting interpretations of the incident.
The operations manager for the Lily mine Mike Begg  told local media that 84 workers had escaped and that five were missing, describing what happened as "a freak accident".
Meanwhile, AMCU said that 75 employees were successfully rescued, and that it was "outraged at another terrible mining disaster".
It said that more than 50 family members of those involved in the incident were now waiting outside the entrance of the site for their loved ones.


Stronger than expected jobs figures helped to lift US stocks on Friday, leading the Dow to another record.

Official data showed the US economy added 209,000 jobs last month, beating analysts' expectations, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%.
The Dow Jones closed at a record for the eighth consecutive day, rising 0.3% to 22,092.81.
The wider S&P 500 index closed up 0.19% at 2,476.83, while the Nasdaq rose 0.18% to 6,351.56.
Analysts said the latest jobs report meant the Federal Reserve was still on track to raise interest rates later this year, which would be the third increase in 2017.
Shares of banks, which benefit from higher rates, saw some of the most significant gains on Friday. Goldman Sachs was among the biggest winners on the Dow, rising 2.6%.
Among individual stocks, Viacom shares sank nearly 14% after it forecast a drop in sales to US pay-TV companies and streaming services in the current quarter.
Consumer review website operator Yelp saw its shares jump by more than a quarter after it announced the sale of its Eat24 business to Grubhub for $287.5m.
Yelp also reported revenues of $209m for the second quarter of the year, which beat analysts' expectations.
US stocks are in record territory this year. The Nasdaq is up almost 17% since January. The Dow has risen 11% and the S&P 500 is climbed almost 10%.


Brazil forward Neymar has been ruled out of the World Cup with a broken bone in his back sustained in the 2-1 quarter-final win over Colombia.

Media playback is not supported on this device
He fractured a vertebra in his spine when kneed in the back by Juan Zuniga in a challenge that went unpunished.
"Brazil will be without their two most important players - leading scorer Neymar and captain Thiago Silva - against Germany.
"Neymar is a huge loss but it opens up a chance for someone else and I would expect Chelsea forward Willian to get his opportunity now."
Neymar, 22, was in tears when he was carried off on a stretcher before being taken to hospital in Fortaleza.
Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said: "Neymar was going to be hunted. For three matches that has been happening."
Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar told Brazil's SportTV: "Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to play. He is very, very sad.
"It's not serious in the sense that it doesn't need surgery, but he'll need to immobilise it to recover."
Lasmar added that he expected the recovery period to take at least a few weeks.
Neymar recovered from thigh and knee injuries sustained in the second-round win over Chile to play against Colombia.
The Barcelona forward has featured in all five of Brazil's matches at the 2014 Fifa World Cup and is their top scorer with four goals.
Neymar had a quiet game on Friday and was replaced in the 88th minute after Napoli defender Zuniga challenged him for a header, with referee Carlos Velasco Carballo taking no action.
Scolari said: "Not even a yellow card, nothing.
"People think Germany, these or the others, only they are hunted, but not Neymar."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Zuniga insisted: "I never meant to hurt a player. It was a normal move.
"I was playing for the shirt from my country, not with the intent to injure. I was just defending my shirt."
Thiago Silva's early goal and a stunning David Luiz free-kick in the second half set up victory for Brazil, who withstood a late Colombia onslaught that saw James Rodriguez score an 80th-minute penalty.
Brazil committed 31 fouls during a scrappy game while their South American rivals made 23.
Hosts Brazil meet Germany in the semi-final in Belo Horizonte at 21:00 BST on Tuesday.
Brazil captain Silva will also miss that game through suspension after picking up a second booking of the tournament against Colombia.
The final will be held at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, 13 July.
Brazil v Germany will be live on BBC One on Tuesday, 8 July from 20:30 BST


CCTV pictures have been released of two men police want to speak to in connection with a serious assault on a man in a piano bar in Edinburgh.

A 45-year-old man was attacked and suffered significant injuries to his face following the incident in the Rat Pack piano bar in Shandwick Place.
The incident happened on Sunday 19 March at about 01.00.
Police are appealing for anyone who recognises the men to come forward.
The first man is white, in his 20s, about 6ft, of slim build, with short dark hair and clean shaven.
He spoke with a Scottish accent. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a collared t-shirt, dark jeans and white trainers.
Detectives are also looking to speak to a second man who was seen in the area and may have witnessed part of the incident.
He is white, in his late 20s, about 6ft, of medium build, with short dark hair and stubble.
At the time of the incident, he was wearing a white t-shirt and dark jeans.
Det Con John Dunn, of Police Scotland, said: "The victim was on a night out when he was attacked in a vicious and sustained assault.
He suffered a painful facial injury as a result of this incident and police have been conducting inquiries including viewing CCTV footage from the Rat Pack piano bar.
"The men in the images are believed to be of significance to our investigation and anyone who can assist in tracing them is asked to come forward.
"Similarly, we would ask the men to get in touch with police themselves to help with the investigation"


Iraqi Kurds have taken over two northern oilfields amid a growing dispute with the government in Baghdad.

Kurdish peshmerga forces are said to have seized control of production facilities at Bai Hassan and Kirkuk.
Kurdish MPs withdrew from Iraq's central government, after Prime Minister Nouri Maliki accused the Kurds of harbouring extremists.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari - a senior Kurdish figure - said Mr Maliki should apologise for his remark.
If the prime minister did not withdraw his comments, the Kurds would find it extremely difficult to work with him, Mr Zebari told the BBC.
Meanwhile, the number of people killed in a car bombing on the outskirts of Kirkuk has risen to 30.
The attack took place on Friday, when a suicide bomber's vehicle struck a petrol tanker at a checkpoint to the south of the city.
The road is used by refugees fleeing violence in the rest of Iraq for the relative safety of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. Police officers and civilians were among the dead.
Kurdish forces have moved into areas of north-western Iraq abandoned by the Iraqi army during the advance of Islamist insurgents led by the Isis (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) group over the past month.
The Kurds have since declared plans to hold a referendum on independence in the areas seized, escalating tensions with Iraq's central authorities.
In a statement on Friday, the Iraqi oil ministry condemned the seizure of oil refineries, adding that they expected Kurdish fighters to "support security forces in confronting terrorist groups rather than using the conditions to raid and occupy oil fields".
Reuters news agency said a senior source within the Kurdistan Regional Government had confirmed the takeover.
The unnamed source said they had been "forced to act to protect Iraq's infrastructure after learning of attempts by Iraq oil ministry officials to sabotage it".
The two oilfields are said to have a combined daily output capacity of some 400,000 barrels per day, AFP quotes a ministry spokesman as saying.
The Kurdish minority in Iraq managed to establish an autonomous region in the north in 2005 after decades of political and military efforts to seek self-rule.
Kurdish officials, including Kurdistan Region leader Massoud Barzani, say they view independence of areas under Kurdish control as their right.
Tensions came to a head when Prime Minister Maliki said on Wednesday that the Kurdish provincial capital Irbil was a haven for Isis fighters.
Soon after, a spokesman for Massoud Barzani said Mr Maliki "had become hysterical" and urged him to step down.
Foreign Minister Zebari told Reuters news agency on Friday that the Kurdish political bloc had suspended all day-to-day government business after Mr Maliki's remarks.
He said the country risked division if an inclusive government was not formed soon, adding: "The country is now divided literally into three states - Kurdish, a black state [Isis] and Baghdad."
This row with the Kurds is the last thing Iraq needs because it is already facing a stunningly successful Islamist insurgency, says the BBC's Mark Doyle in Baghdad.
It is a three-way dispute between the Kurds, the Sunnis and the Shia and it could lead to a three-way split, our correspondent adds.
Separately on Friday, the Iraqi government recalled Iraqi Kurd diplomats based at its UK embassy who were accused of taking part in a demonstration calling for the full secession of Iraqi Kurdistan.
But the diplomats' case symbolises a much more serious dispute, with Iraq's ethnic and religious unity and the very borders of the modern state under threat, our correspondent says.
Meanwhile, activist group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said that Iraqi security forces and militias affiliated with the government appeared to have executed at least 255 prisoners since 9 June.
"The vast majority of security forces and militias are Shia, while the murdered prisoners were Sunni," HRW said in a statement.
"The mass extrajudicial killings may be evidence of war crimes or crimes against humanity, and appear to be revenge killings for atrocities by ISIS," the statement added.
Joe Stork, HRW's deputy Middle East director, said: "While the world rightly denounces the atrocious acts of Isis, it should not turn a blind eye to sectarian killing sprees by government and pro-government forces."


An Indian man who surprised mortuary staff by waking up just before a post-mortem examination has died two days later in the same hospital.

The homeless man made headlines after he was declared dead by a senior doctor in Mumbai and sent immediately to the mortuary - against hospital rules.
Patients pronounced dead are supposed to be kept on the ward for two hours in case the doctor has made an error.
Cause of death is unclear. A post-mortem will be held later on Wednesday.
Dr Suleman Merchant, the dean of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, told the BBC that the 50-year-old man, named as Prashant, died on Tuesday night.
"He was treated for having maggots in his right ear and was unconscious. We treated him for electrolyte imbalance and transfused blood because he was anaemic," he added.
Earlier, doctors said the man had a metabolic disorder and was delirious when police brought him in on Sunday.
He was brought to the hospital after he was found unconscious at a bus stop, local media reported.
Dr Merchant said the hospital had launched an inquiry into the breach of protocol that led Prashant to be taken immediately to the mortuary.


Anthony Wordsworth's second-half penalty secured Southend United a 2-1 victory against Oxford United at Roots Hall.

Wordsworth - who was making his first start of the season after recovering from a hamstring injury - slotted home 16 minutes from time after Phil Edwards had been adjudged to have handled Ben Coker's left-wing cross.
Southend had earlier gone in front after 13 minutes when midfielder Ryan Leonard marked his 200th appearance for the Shrimpers by firing a stunning 25-yard volley into the right-hand side of the net.
Oxford drew back level just before the break when Kane Hemmings headed home Marvin Johnson's short corner.
But the Shrimpers hit back to continue their remarkable recent record against Oxford.
Phil Brown's side have now been beaten just once against the U's in the last 15 meetings between the two clubs and their victory could have been more comprehensive had Simon Eastwood not denied Adam Barrett in the closing stages.
However, Shrimpers shot-stopper Mark Oxley also did superbly well to deny Wes Thomas right at the death.
Report supplied by Press Association.
Match ends, Southend United 2, Oxford United 1.
Second Half ends, Southend United 2, Oxford United 1.
Philip Edwards (Oxford United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by David Mooney (Southend United).
Mark Oxley (Southend United) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Chris Maguire (Oxford United).
Ben Coker (Southend United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Joe Rothwell (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Ryan Inniss (Southend United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Wes Thomas (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ryan Inniss (Southend United).
Marvin Johnson (Oxford United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Jason Demetriou (Southend United).
Corner,  Southend United. Conceded by Simon Eastwood.
Attempt saved. Jason Demetriou (Southend United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.
Attempt blocked. Chris Maguire (Oxford United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
Corner,  Oxford United. Conceded by Luke O'Neill.
Attempt saved. Cheyenne Dunkley (Oxford United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Chris Maguire (Oxford United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Ryan Leonard (Southend United).
Luke O'Neill (Southend United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Cheyenne Dunkley (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Luke O'Neill (Southend United).
Corner,  Southend United. Conceded by Simon Eastwood.
Attempt saved. Adam Barrett (Southend United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Charlie Raglan (Oxford United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Charlie Raglan (Oxford United).
David Mooney (Southend United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Southend United. Will Atkinson replaces Anthony Wordsworth.
Substitution, Oxford United. Ryan Taylor replaces Joe Skarz.
Foul by Joe Skarz (Oxford United).
Anthony Wordsworth (Southend United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt missed. Chris Maguire (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
Charlie Raglan (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David Mooney (Southend United).
Substitution, Oxford United. Wes Thomas replaces Kane Hemmings.
Goal!  Southend United 2, Oxford United 1. Anthony Wordsworth (Southend United) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the bottom left corner.
Penalty conceded by Philip Edwards (Oxford United) with a hand ball in the penalty area.
Liam Sercombe (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Luke O'Neill (Southend United).


Australia's government has blocked a free vote on same-sex marriage, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying the issue should be "put to the people" following the next election.

Mr Abbott said there was "roughly 60:30" support among MPs for keeping the traditional definition of marriage.
He called a snap coalition meeting ahead of a same-sex marriage bill coming before parliament next week.
A free vote or plebiscite may be held in a "subsequent term of parliament".
"Going into the next election we will have more to say, but the disposition is that in the next term of parliament, we will put it to the people," ABC News quotes him as saying.
Mr Abbott's Liberal Party and his right-wing coalition partner the National Party of Australia are currently against allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry.
The prime minister's successful bid to block any free vote on the same-sex marriage bill due before parliament, has angered members of his own party who are in favour of the motion.
Liberal MP Warren Entsch will present the bill on Monday - but it will not pass without a free vote.
Mr Entsch said: "(The outcome of the meeting) proves the disconnect between some ministers and the grassroots and why we are having such problems."


Town councillors have apologised for collecting money following the murder of April Jones after a report found it was outside their powers.

Machynlleth Town Council banked Â£71,663 before handing it to charities and local causes, including the school April attended.
Auditor BDO said money offered by the public should have been refused.
Councillors defended their actions at a meeting on Wednesday, saying it was an "unusual" situation.
Y Plas, where the council is based in Machynlleth, became a hub for the search for April in October 2012, with people wanting to donate money.
The report said: "The council had no power to collect this money or to establish a bank account for its retention, but ultimately they did not intend to collect the money, they were just given it by the public.
"When people came into the office and gave them money they should not have accepted the money."
Gareth Jones, who was town mayor at the time of five-year-old April's murder, said the council accepted and would implement the auditor's recommendations - but asked what should have been done.
"What it (the report) doesn't say is what we should have done at the time and what should be done if it happened to any other town council.
"Surely the report should be telling us what we should have done when we had thousands of pounds in the bank upstairs. It would still be there now."
Mr Jones also claimed there were errors in the report.
After the meeting he told BBC Wales these included a statement that the money had been handed to a fund set up by April's family.
He said the council had in fact set up an independent board of trustees which had decided what to do with the donations.
Councillor Michael Williams told the meeting they were "trying and traumatic" times and he found it difficult to see what else the council could have done.
The disappearance of April in 2012 sparked the biggest search in UK police history.
In May 2013, Mark Bridger was convicted of her murder and was given a whole life sentence.
A judge branded him a "pathological liar" and "a paedophile"..
Sylvia Rowlands, the current mayor, apologised to the people of Machynlleth on behalf of the council.
"We have taken the recommendations, we have read the report and we will put our house in order. We apologise to the people of Machynlleth. It was not done intentionally."
The report also drew attention to "failures in governance arrangements and inadequacies in financial management and internal control" at the council.
It found the council failed to complete its annual accounting statements and submit its annual return on time for each of the past six years.
It said the former clerk's "failure to maintain proper records" resulted in the loss of Â£5,073 when VAT was not reclaimed - 2% of the council's total annual budget.
The report said the new clerk had "worked to improve internal controls and bring the accounts up to date".


The star of new movie King Arthur: Legend of the Sword has told of being "very excited" when told scenes were to be shot in the Scottish Highlands.

Locations for the Guy Ritchie-directed movie included near the Bealach na BÃ , a pass in Applecross, and Devil's Pulpit, near Killearn.
Charlie Hunnam, who plays Arthur, said: "One of my favourite places in the UK is the Highlands of Scotland."
"When I found out that we were shooting there I was very, very excited."
The star of Pacific Rim and former TV series Sons of Anarchy and Byker Grove, added: "The Highlands of Scotland are absolutely sensational."
Hunnam made the comments in a video for VisitBritain, which has created a tourism campaign around the film.
The actor's experience of filming in the Scottish Highlands was starkly different from those of other film stars to have shot scenes there.
Scarlett Johansson described shooting scenes in Glen Coe in November 2011 for sci-fi Under the Skin as "brutal, cold and wet".
At the movie's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, she told a news conference: "It was as if you had just picked us up and dropped us into the middle of absolutely nowhere.
"It was harsh and it was brutal and it was cold, it was wet and it was terrifying but we pulled through."
Michael Fassbender and Paddy Considine told of battling the elements on Skye while shooting 2015's Macbeth.
Fassbender, who starred in the lead role, described the island as "cold, wet and beautiful".
Considine said some of the other members of the cast succumbed to hypothermia during the filming.
He told the BBC at the film's Edinburgh premiere: "It got pretty bad there."
"A few people got hypothermia. We got hit by horizontal rain. It came and hit you sideways," added the actor who played Banquo.
Fassebender said the production encountered "rain, sleet and snow - all the wetness of the elements".
Another actor, Noel Clarke, told of getting frostbite during filming for the film Centurion in the Cairngorms in 2009.
However, the film crew for 2012's Bond flick Skyfall enjoyed themselves in Glen Coe and Glen Etive, and described being "absolutely blown away" by the Highland landscape and the sight of red deer stags.


Two women have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man died in hospital of "unexplained" injuries.

Greater Manchester Police were called to the Royal Bolton Hospital at 21:30 BST on Sunday after the 46-year-old from Wigan's death.
He had suffered injuries following an altercation on Leigh Road, Leigh, earlier in the day, police said.
Two women, aged 24 and 38, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in custody.
A post-mortem examination was inconclusive and further tests are being carried out, police added.
Det Insp Paul Rollinson said the investigation was "at a very early stage" and inquiries were ongoing.
He urged anyone with information about the altercation earlier in the day to contact police.


Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele could face a ban for appearing to eye-gouge Chelsea striker Diego Costa in a fiery 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Television replays appeared to show the Belgian putting his fingers in Costa's eye during a first-half skirmish.
Referee Mark Clattenburg did not punish the player but the Football Association could take retrospective action.
Spurs' Dele Alli was suspended for three games last week for punching West Brom's Claudio Yacob in the stomach.
The England international was charged with violent conduct after television cameras caught him hitting out at Yacob.
It was an emotional London derby at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, with Tottenham shown nine yellow cards, the most by a single team in a match in Premier League history.
Spurs needed to beat Chelsea to retain hopes of winning the Premier League, but squandered a two-goal lead which saw Leicester crowned champions for the first time in their history.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino stepped onto the pitch at one point to separate left-back Danny Rose and Chelsea's Willian in the first half, and later said the intensity had got to some players.
"When you play for the title and play a very big team like Chelsea it is normal to show emotion, but fighting on the pitch is not a good example for both teams," he said.
Chelsea captain John Terry, though, said he hoped no action would be taken.
"Players are fighting for league titles, it's emotions," said the 35-year-old former England defender.
"It boiled over, let's not get silly and start banning people. It's a London derby and the fans want to see it."
Never want to miss the latest Spurs news? You can now add them and all the other sports and teams you follow to your personalised My Sport home.


A man has been arrested in connection with an assault in a Glasgow bar.

A 30-year-old man was seriously injured during an incident in The Social Bar in the city's Royal Exchange Square earlier this month.
The assault allegedly took place at about 00:30 on 10 April.
A 30-year-old man is expected to appear in Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday in connection with the incident.


Macclesfield have signed striker Tyrone Marsh on a one-year contract after he left National League rivals Dover.

Marsh failed to score in 16 league games after joining Dover from Torquay for an undisclosed fee in January 2016.
The 23-year-old made eight appearances for Dover last season, but finished the season on loan at National League South side Welling United.
Marsh is Macclesfield manager John Askey's 10th signing since the end of last season.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


Fire crews may be well versed in rescuing cats but tortoises can prove just that little bit trickier.

When one reptile got wedged between houses in Dudley, firefighters knew they faced a marathon, not a sprint.
As pictures of the operation show, West Midlands Fire Service also knew they needed a big stick - although the carrot approach remained untested.
With the rescue a success, the five-year-old tortoise was reunited with its owner.
After the operation on Saturday, West Midlands Fire Service said its work was "not just fires".
The crisis over, it allowed the service to make an irresistible joke, posting on Twitter "it was SLOW going".
The Express and Star reported the animal became stuck between two houses on Merryfield Road, with the operation taking about an hour.


Schoolchildren in Kent have quizzed astronaut Tim Peake about space in a live webcast.

Pupils from 23 schools joined students at Wellesley House School in Broadstairs to speak to the astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS).
It was the seventh in a series of UK-wide events designed to inspire scientific interest in pupils.
The astronaut is on a six-month mission for the European Space Agency.
On Sunday, he is set to run the equivalent of the London Marathon on a treadmill on board the ISS.
Initially, the group struggled to make audio contact with the astronaut, whose face appeared on a screen on the stage.
Victoria Neilson, spokeswoman for Wellesley House School, said: "It was extraordinary... like one of those movies when they are trying to make contact."
She added: "It was very exciting for everyone".
The project is a collaboration between Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS), the Radio Society of Great Britain, the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency.


Dominic Chappell, the serial bankrupt who bought BHS for £1, has been arrested in relation to an unpaid tax bill of about £500,000.

He was arrested on 2 November by HM Revenue and Customs.
HMRC did not confirm the identity of the "49-year-old businessman", but Mr Chappell told ITV News he had been arrested.
The tax related to the profits he made from the department store chain before it collapsed.
Mr Chappell's company, Swiss Rock, was paid at least £1.6m by BHS following his controversial purchase of BHS from Sir Philip Green.
The Guardian reported that Swiss Rock owed £365,000 in VAT and £196,306 in corporation tax.
Speaking about Swiss Rock's tax bill in September, Mr Chappell told the paper: "There was a return that was made in error; they [HMRC] have acted upon it and we are rectifying that as we speak."
HMRC began legal action against Mr Chappell to recover the sums, but he has put Swiss Rock into liquidation, making it more difficult for the tax man to obtain the funds.
He took a total of £2.6m out of BHS, including a £600,000 salary, which he described as a "drip in the ocean" to the BBC in August.
"Did I take a lot of money out? Yes I did. But did the business fail because of the amount of money I took out? No it didn't," Mr Chappell said.
"This was just a drip in the ocean compared to the money that was needed to turn around BHS."
The loss-making chain was bought by Mr Chappell last year. It went into administration in April and the last stores closed in August, with the loss of about 11,000 jobs and leaving a pensions deficit of hundreds of millions of pounds.
Last month MPs backed a call to strip Sir Philip of his knighthood for his role in the collapse of BHS.
The Pensions Regulator has started legal action against Sir Philip, his family's companies and Mr Chappell after failing to reach a deal over the BHS pension fund deficit.
The BBC understands that the regulator wants £350m in redress from Sir Philip, but he was only willing to offer £250m.


Hibernian have completed the signing of midfielder John McGinn on a four-year contract after agreeing a development fee with his former club, St Mirren.

The 20-year-old had rejected the offer of a new contract with the Paisley club after their relegation.
He said he had considered other offers before joining the Buddies' Scottish Championship rivals.
"Once I weighed it all up, I quickly realised that Hibs was the right move for me at this stage," he said.
"The manager is really ambitious and I wanted to be part of his plans to move Hibs forward and get the club back into the Premiership.
"I'm still a young player and I believe Alan Stubbs will help me to develop into becoming a better player."
Head coach Stubbs told Hibs' website he was "thrilled" to secure the Scotland Under-21 international.
"His arrival symbolises our ambitions for the future," he said.
"He is an extremely talented young player with huge potential and I'm looking forward to seeing John continue his development here at Hibernian.
"John had other options, so we're really pleased that he has chosen Hibernian and the aim is for him to achieve his career goals at our club."
On Thursday, Stubbs was adamant that McGinn should not be viewed as a replacement for Scott Allan, who has handed in a transfer request.
The 23-year-old has been told that he will not be sold to a direct rival after the Easter Road club rejected two bids from Rangers.
"People will ask, is it a statement, but it's just the club looking to sign good players," Stubbs said of the bid for McGinn, who held talks with Houston Dynamo earlier this summer.
Stubbs and his coaching team signed new contract extensions on Wednesday and the former Celtic and Everton defender insists neither the deal or its timing is in any way related to Rangers' pursuit of Allan.
"It's a separate issue," said the 43-year-old, who is embarking on his second season at Easter Road.
"I know people have tried to link it to that, but the position with Scott has not changed and it won't.
"People have tried to link it, that I've held the club to ransom, but that's very wrong and very unfair.
"We've been in negotiations for a number of weeks, a couple of months actually. I wanted to make sure that we signed all the players we wanted to sign and mine would take care of itself."
Allan has a year to run on his Hibs contract and Stubbs is sure last season's Championship Player of the Year can continue to make a positive contribution.
"I understand Scott's position completely, I don't dismiss it one bit," he explained. "I understand where he's coming from, but people have to respect the position of the football club."
Chief executive Leeann Dempster added: "Scott has every right to put in a transfer request and the club has every right to reject it. He's still a Hibernian player, we will continue to look after him and he's still a very big part of our squad here."


The Thai consortium which owns Reading is on the brink of selling its shares to a Chinese brother and sister, BBC Radio Berkshire reports.

Negotiations have begun with Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li and a deal could be completed "within a fortnight".
Yongge and Xiu Li failed in an attempt to buy Hull City in September.
Current owners Lady Sasima Srivikorn, Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth and Narin Niruttinanon took control of the Championship club in September 2014.
Reading have so far declined to comment. Manager Jaap Stam's side are third in the league having won five successive matches.
Any deal with Yongge and Xiu Li would see the Thais retain ownership of land around the club's Madejski Stadium, currently earmarked for redevelopment, as well as the Millennium Madejski Hotel.
But the current owners are looking to sell the stadium, the club and the training ground.
Yongge is a businessman who speaks no English. His planned acquisition of Hull from Assem Allam earlier this year reportedly fell through after he failed to meet the FA's fit and proper person test.
He is understood to favour Reading as an investment because he already flies in and out of London regularly for business meetings.
Lady Sasima intends to sell all her shares in the club while the remaining two shareholders, who currently own 75% between them, would greatly reduce their financial stake.


Utrecht defender Ramon Leeuwin has been taken to hospital after being struck by a motorbike at the Dutch club's training ground.

The Eredivisie club say the 29-year-old was run over as he was leaving the Zoudenbalch sports complex on Friday.
The rider was "pursued" by players and fans, before he was "handed over to police", the club said.
Dutch centre-back Leeuwin, who has played 86 times for the club, was taken to Utrecht University Medical Centre.


Scotland's newest and biggest music festival, TRNSMT, is to return for a second year.

Radiohead, Kasabian and Biffy Clyro were the headliners at this year's three-day non-camping event held at Glasgow Green at the weekend.
Organisers took to social media on Tuesday evening to announce that the festival will be held from 6-8 July next year.
A post on Twitter and Facebook said: "Repeat transmission."
T in the Park, which is also organised by DF concerts, took a break this year following difficulties at the new site in Strathallan.
The promoters have yet to announce if it will be back in 2018.
A statement on the TRNSMT website said: "After an incredible first year at Glasgow Green, we are excited to announce that TRNSMT Festival will return to Glasgow Green on 6-8 July 2018.
"Stay tuned for more information."
About 120,000 music fans descended on Glasgow Green for the inaugural festival, with other acts taking to the stages including the Kooks, Belle and Sebastian, London Grammar and Twin Atlantic.
Organiser Geoff Ellis told the BBC: "It went better than we could have expected for the first year.
He described the event as "a dream come true".


President Barack Obama has sought to assure US allies that President-elect Donald Trump will honour the country's international alliances when he takes office in January.

Mr Obama told reporters that Mr Trump had "expressed a great interest" in maintaining the US commitment to Nato.
During the campaign, Mr Trump said he might abandon a guarantee of protection for fellow Nato countries.
His statements alarmed the Baltic states which fear Russian aggression.
Article 5 of the Nato treaty commits allies to come to the aid of a member state under attack.
However, in July Mr Trump said the US would only come to the aid of allies if they have "fulfilled their obligations to us".
The US has long been pressing its European allies to spend more on defence.
Mr Obama was speaking hours before his arrival in the Greek capital, Athens, on his final official overseas trip.
He will later travel on to Germany and then to Peru.
Security has been stepped up in Athens, where anti-US protests are planned.
Mr Obama is expected to use his final foreign visit to calm nerves over the forthcoming administration of Mr Trump.
The property tycoon's surprise election victory has raised concern among some world leaders after a string of controversial statements he made during his campaign.
At a White House news conference on Monday, Mr Obama said his successor had "expressed a great interest in maintaining our core strategic relationships".
He said this included "strong and robust Nato" partnerships, which he said would convey "enormous continuity" to the world.
President Obama comes to Athens partly to talk about democracy in the place in which it was born. There's a lot for him to consider.
In Ancient Greece, not far from the Acropolis, populist speakers used to rouse crowds with the promise of action against the state's enemies. Those speakers were known as demagogues. You have to wonder whether or not that will remind the president of the man who will succeed him.
Modern Greece may also have some interesting lessons for the outgoing president. The recent global wave of populism had its beginnings in this country when the left-wing Syriza movement came to power in January 2015. The party's leader, Alexis Tsipras, promised to tear down a corrupt system. But almost two years on, Mr Tsipras finds himself carrying out many of the policies he had campaigned against.
Mr Obama may have little clue as to whether or not his own successor will follow a similar path. But he can expect to spend much of his time in Athens explaining and even defending the motivations of president-elect Trump.
The Greek authorities are concerned that leftist movements may try to disrupt the president's visit. For that reason, security around Mr Obama is expected to be even tighter than usual.
Mr Obama said that in last Thursday's White House meeting with his successor, he had urged Mr Trump to send "some signals of unity".
"I did say to him, as I've said publicly, that because of the nature of the campaign and the bitterness and ferocity of the campaign, it's really important to try to send some signals of unity, and to reach out to minority groups or women or others that were concerned about the tenor of the campaign," he said.
Mr Obama said he "absolutely" had concerns about Mr Trump but urged his fellow Democrats to accept the result and "recognise that that is how democracy works".
In another development, the Kremlin said on Monday that President Vladimir Putin had spoken by phone to Mr Trump and agreed to work with him towards improving US-Russia relations.
Mr Trump has repeatedly praised the Russian president, describing him as a stronger leader than Barack Obama.
Greek minister of state Nikos Pappas said there was surprise at the election result in Greece, as elsewhere, but added: "Everybody would be expecting the US government to continue to be on our side."
"The mood of Greek people for this political change is 'wait and see'," he said.
High on the agenda in talks between Mr Obama and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday will be Greece's crippling debt problems.
The US and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have urged restructuring of the debt but face resistance from EU states, particularly Germany.
As preparations for Mr Obama's visit went ahead, Greek anarchist and left-wing groups announced they were planning protest marches "against the representative of imperialist powers".
Police banned public gatherings in central Athens and near the city's international airport until after Mr Obama's departure. Extra officers are also being deployed.
The last official visit to Greece of a sitting US president - by Bill Clinton in 1999 - was marked by extensive violent protests.


The Scottish Parliament will receive new powers to raise 40% of taxes and decide about 60% of public spending, the Queen's Speech has confirmed.

The Scotland Bill will allow Holyrood to set the thresholds and rates of income tax.
A portion of VAT and the whole of Air Passenger Duty will also be under the Edinburgh parliament's control.
The Barnett Formula, which determines the money the devolved Scottish government receives, will be reduced.
The UK government said the new Scotland Bill would embody the Smith Commission agreement which was signed by the SNP, the Conservatives, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Greens in November last year.
The promise of more powers to Holyrood followed voters rejecting Scottish independence by 55% to 45% in September's referendum.
The key elements of the Scotland Bill include:
Before the Queen's Speech, SNP leader and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she wanted the Scotland Bill to go much further than the Smith proposals.
She had been keen to see Holyrood given full control over National Insurance; the minimum wage; Corporation Tax; full control of welfare and employment and trade union law.
However, the Bill does not contain any of those demands.
A new Scotland Bill will be based on recommendations made by the Smith Commission - the cross-party group formed after the independence referendum to look at what additional powers might be handed to Scotland.
But how were its foundations laid? Find out more...
In the Queen's Speech debate, the prime minister said he wanted to modernise and strengthen "our United Kingdom".
He told the House of Commons: "It [the Queen's Speech] includes bills on devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These Bills will deliver on all of the promises given to people in each of the countries in our United Kingdom and will also ensure fairness for English voters."
In her address to peers and MPs, the Queen outlined that changes would be made to the rules of the House of Commons, which would ensure that only MPs representing English constituencies could vote on legislation affecting England alone.
And in a direct message to the SNP benches, Mr Cameron said: "If you want more taxes, more spending and more borrowing you can now introduce those measures in Scotland. It is time for you to stop talking and start acting."
He added that he was clear about what "full fiscal autonomy" would mean for Scotland: "Raising 100% of what you spend means asking Scottish people to pay almost an extra £10bn in taxes or make an almost extra £10bn in additional cuts by the end of this parliament. That is £5,000 of higher taxes or additional cuts for every single family in Scotland. That is the true price of the SNP."
The SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson responded to the prime minister's address by saying that his party would stand firm against the "relentless drive of Tory austerity".
He added: "Scotland did not vote for these cuts and we will work with others across parliament to prevent them.
"With Labour all over the place and each of their leadership candidates seemingly getting ready to race even further to the right, the SNP is the only real opposition to unfair Tory cuts in the House of Commons.
"At the general election, people in Scotland gave the SNP an unprecedented democratic mandate to put an end to the cuts agenda which is hurting people across our communities - and we will use this mandate to work with other progressive forces in parliament in Scotland's best interests."
On the government's devolution plans, acting Labour leader Harriet Harman warned Mr Cameron against pitting the English against the Scottish as she said he "shamefully" did in the general election campaign.
She added: "To get change which is fair and lasting, it must be done in a way which builds the broadest possible consensus.
"The prime minister must seek agreement and he must break his habit of divisiveness.
"Of course the SNP want to break up the union, they want people to have to choose between being Scottish and being British, but it would be utterly irresponsible to continue what he did so shamefully in the general election which was to set the English against the Scottish.
"No party, especially one that claims to be 'One Nation', should set the interests of a family in Gloucester against the interests of a family in Glasgow or Glamorgan."


An anonymous tip-off has led to the discovery of two floodlights that were stolen from a Lincolnshire church.

The lights were taken from St Botolph's Church, known as Boston Stump, shortly after being installed.
A BBC Radio Lincolnshire listener, Peter Sherlock, was so moved by the story he pledged £2,000 to replace the lights.
It is not known whether the stolen lights still work, but Mr Sherlock said they could keep the money either way.
The lights were found by police in an outhouse in the town.
The Reverend Alyson Buxton said: "Peter, absolutely amazingly, has just said that he's content for us to keep that money and for it to be used either for the lights or for the security or for the church, so that gives us a great deal of security and hope for our big light up in December."
The lights were replaced after the building was damaged by flooding in December 2013.
The total damage caused by the flooding was estimated to have cost between £250,000 and £500,000.


England's major cities could be in line for sweeping new powers if they sign up for the government's devolution revolution - but is it wanted?

George Osborne believes the "old model" of running everything from London is "broken" and has unbalanced the economy.
So in his first post-election speech, the chancellor has set out plans for English cities to have greater powers over housing, transport, planning and policing - making Greater Manchester a blueprint for other large urban centres.
What do the people who live in these great cities - and the politicians who currently run them - think?
Nigel Leyland, who is from Birmingham and retired, believes the city does not need "an elected mayor and another kitchen cabinet".
"What we need is a council which is empowered to spend the right amount of money for this city and the government needs to make sure that we get the right amount of money and they're not doing that," he said.
"I don't want more bureaucracy. I want more effective responses to local needs and we're not getting that because the government is penalising us [Birmingham] for being Labour.
"I think it's another Tory joke, a bad joke."
The Midlands region has not, in the past, called for devolution with the same urgency as the north.
But Robert Alden, leader of the Conservative group in Birmingham, said the devolution plans had cross-party support there.
"There has not been a clamour for a regional assembly - people do not want another layer of bureaucracy," he said.
"But there is a call for Birmingham to have more financial powers. In the past, the city was a shining example of municipalism.
"It's been unacceptable for places like Scotland to get offered more powers while Birmingham - one of Britain's regional powerhouses - gets ignored."
He said there were a number of options for the areas West Midlands devolution could cover, which may or may not include Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry and their surrounding areas.
"The city has a really great story to tell," he said. "It was at the heart of the industrial revolution and we have continued that history of manufacturing excellence throughout."
Bristol's mayor George Ferguson is in favour of the the Cities Devolution Bill.
"It is time for us to modernise and move away from being one of the most centralised countries in Europe," he said.
"As Britain's main drivers of growth, our cities are severely hampered by having too few financial and legal freedoms and receive far too little of the benefit of their actions."
Mathew Snook, from Stokes Croft in Bristol, said he "can't see the benefit of people sitting behind a desk in London, making judgements on cities they have no knowledge about".
"Personally I think each county should be able to have its own powers, you should be able to have more direct influence over its hospitals, public transport and public services generally," he said.
"I find it very difficult to grasp the concept of how someone in London can have an idea of how any other city, apart from London, can be run. London itself is a separate entity."
He hopes Bristol's transport system would be improved under devolution.
"The transport in Bristol is an absolute sham," he said.
Councillor Peter Box, who is chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, pointed out there has been opposition to elected mayors in the past.
"There has been a referendum in Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield and Kirklees and all of those referendums gave a resounding no to an elected mayor," he said.
However, he said the position was now changing.
"We have been told if we want more devolution an elected mayor is the only option and clearly there's a decision to be made on whether we remain as we are with the devolution we've been given already, or seek to gain more devolution," he said.
"There are two issues. Firstly, we need to find out the detail from George Osborne in terms of extra power and resources.
"Secondly, once we know that we need to go out to the public, businesses and organisations that would be affected and ask what are their views. Once we know the answer to that we can go back to George Osborne."
Susan Sutton lives in Bradford but would be in favour of devolution for Leeds, where she regularly visits.
"I think it's a good thing because there are certain issues that belong locally that central government probably wouldn't understand in the way that people in northern England would," she said.
"Devolution is a good idea so that local policies can be put into place. More money would be directed to where it's needed most.
"People are different and we've got different needs to other parts of the country, so I think we would see improvement where needed."
Newcastle medical student Charan Thandi, 23, is in favour of handing more power to local politicians.
"I feel having an elected mayor and more local accountability would be beneficial," he said.
"Newcastle is a big, developing city and I think a mayor would be a move that would be positive and important and allow local communities to contribute more to what's important."
He said one of the biggest issues in the city is transport and the lack of parking, especially in the centre of the city.
"I'm a student and I know it's a problem for me and a lot of my friends," he said.
"I think having local devolution could be one way of addressing these problems and we would have more accountability. But any mayor would have to be someone who had experience and knew the area well."
Bob Vint, a 56-year-old taxi driver of 20 years from Newcastle, has little faith in the benefits of regional devolution.
"All these politicians are the same and I don't think things would be any better or worse than they are now," he said.
"It's like all these Euro MPs, they're just a strain on society and it sounds to me like all this would be just be another layer of bureaucracy and red tape.
"If I thought a dictator would be better at running the place I'd rather have that."
But James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, said the region "desperately" needed something that unites it.
"Local authority leaders are not elected to do any more than look after their local authority area, so we've got to come up with some other way that really encourages people to take responsibility on an original level," he said.
He said "big things" like health and skills and infrastructure need to be done over a bigger scale than individual local authority areas."
"I think we desperately need somebody to be a leader, whether it needs to be an individual or whether it needs to be some organisation, I don't think that's for me to say.
"But we desperately need something that really unites the region and speaks right the way across for every single person who lives here in the North East."
Lottie Travis, 21, a textiles student at the Norwich University of the Arts, said more power for Norwich could boost its support for the arts.
"It's quite an arty place and with more control it could give more support to arts events. It has a lot to offer as a model of a cultural city," she said.
Semi-retired supermarket worker Roy Green, 60, of Thorpe, in Norwich, said if local councillors had more power "they could promote the area better, rather than being governed from Westminster".
They could "improve the quality of life in the city" and improve road links.


Devante Cole's early goal proved enough to earn Fleetwood victory at lowly Shrewsbury.

Fleetwood, now unbeaten in their last 11 league and cup games, were rewarded for their bright start with a ninth-minute breakthrough as Amari'i Bell's low cross from the left was turned home from close range by Cole.
The Cod Army had the better of the first half but Shrewsbury goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler twice impressively denied them further success.
Leutwiler came racing off his line to block well from Bobby Grant after the Fleetwood midfielder dispossessed Gary Deegan.
Then Grant turned provider as his cross from the right was met by the head of Cole, with Canada international Leutwiler tipping the effort over the crossbar.
Ivan Toney's 20-yard free-kick was comfortably saved by Alex Cairns at the other end as Shrewsbury found chances hard to come by.
There were few chances for either team in the second half, although substitute Ashley Hunter curled a shot from just outside the box narrowly over for the visitors.
Shrewsbury asked more questions of Fleetwood defensively in the final 25 minutes but Uwe Rosler's men stood up to everything asked of them.
Toney had a close-range effort blocked and Shaun Whalley hammered a shot wide as Fleetwood stood firm to move into the League One play-off spots and leave Shrewsbury, beaten in their last three matches, languishing in the bottom four.
Report supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Shrewsbury Town 0, Fleetwood Town 1.
Second Half ends, Shrewsbury Town 0, Fleetwood Town 1.
Junior Brown (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Victor Nirennold (Fleetwood Town).
Corner,  Fleetwood Town. Conceded by Adam El-Abd.
Mat Sadler (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by David Ball (Fleetwood Town).
Foul by Mat Sadler (Shrewsbury Town).
Ashley Hunter (Fleetwood Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Abu Ogogo (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Cian Bolger (Fleetwood Town).
Corner,  Fleetwood Town. Conceded by Adam El-Abd.
Foul by Louis Dodds (Shrewsbury Town).
Ben Davies (Fleetwood Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Cian Bolger.
Abu Ogogo (Shrewsbury Town) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Abu Ogogo (Shrewsbury Town).
Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Substitution, Shrewsbury Town. George Waring replaces Shaun Whalley.
Substitution, Fleetwood Town. David Ball replaces Devante Cole.
Attempt missed. Gary Deegan (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Ivan Toney (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood Town).
Jim O'Brien (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by George Glendon (Fleetwood Town).
Attempt missed. Ashley Hunter (Fleetwood Town) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Foul by Jim O'Brien (Shrewsbury Town).
Amari'i Bell (Fleetwood Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Substitution, Fleetwood Town. George Glendon replaces Kyle Dempsey.
Substitution, Fleetwood Town. Ashley Hunter replaces Chris Long.
Attempt missed. Shaun Whalley (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Attempt saved. Louis Dodds (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from long range on the left is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner,  Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Ben Davies.
Corner,  Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Nathan Pond.
Attempt blocked. Gary Deegan (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner,  Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Chris Long.
Attempt missed. Shaun Whalley (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the right misses to the right.
Corner,  Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Amari'i Bell.
Gary Deegan (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Chris Long (Fleetwood Town).


Sierra Leone is mourning the death of top goalkeeper Alhaji Dauda Conteh who has died from a short illness in hospital in Freetown aged 25.

Conteh played for Guinean side Ashanti Golden Boys de Siguiri and had received several call-ups to Sierra Leone's squad but was yet to secure a place in the international side's first team.
He was part of the Leone Stars 18-man squad for their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations match against Kenya last month but dropped out the night before the match due to poor health.
It's very sad to wake up and hear news like this. Alhaji was such a great person
"Conteh was not impressive in the last day of training because something was wrong with him," Sierra Leone's coach John Keister told BBC Sport.
"I even told one of my assistants about it. This forced me to drop him from the squad. We'll surely miss him. I always liked him because he was humble and always good to be around the Leone Stars team.
"He was a clever boy and had a goalkeeper's height and good goalkeeping abilities," Keister added.
Some of Sierra Leone's biggest international stars have also been playing tribute to their team-mate.
"It's very sad to wake up and hear news like this," said former Norwich city and Middlesborough striker Kei Kamara.
"Alhaji was such a great person; being a college graduate and a footballer is a hard thing to do and he was able to accomplish that. My prayers to his family," Kamara added.
Leone Stars skipper Umaru Bangura spoke of his shock at hearing the news of Conteh's death.
"We've lost a good goalkeeper. We were with him in camp last month when preparing for our match against Kenya. We'll miss him.  Rest in peace Conteh," said Bangura.
Turkey based midfielder Alfred Sankoh also paid tribute to the 25-year-old.
"Rest in peace brother. God knows best but this is so scary after a month when I was with you in the Leone Stars camp."
Former Leone Stars captain Mohamed Kallon, who brought Conteh to his club FC Kallon some years ago, described the goalkeeper as a "great guy with lots of ambition."
"He graduated from college and he was working whilst playing for FC kallon," said Mohamed Kallon.
"He was a talented goalkeeper and it is a great loss for Sierra Leone. May his soul rest in Peace. We love him but Allah loves him most."
Conteh, who is yet to be buried, was one of few educated Sierra Leonean players with a degree having graduated from Fourah Bay college at the University of Sierra Leone.
He played for three Premier league clubs in Sierra Leone - East End Lions, Kallon FC and Diamond Stars of Kono - as well as two clubs in Guinea, Fello Star de Labè and Ashanti Golden Boys de Siguiri.


A 15-year-old boy has admitted tipping over a car with a fork-lift truck while armed with an air rifle.

A police helicopter was scrambled when reports emerged of a truck "driving erratically" around Hazel Gardens in Sonning Common in September last year.
The boy told Oxford Magistrates' Court court: "It probably wasn't the best thing to have done."
He admitted aggravated vehicle taking, possessing an unloaded firearm, and careless driving.
The magistrates heard the teenager stole the vehicle from Oliver Agriculture in Cane End, near Reading, and drove it two-and-a-half miles to Sonning Common.
There he wrote off a Fiat Punto by tipping it on to its side, a prosecutor said.
Chairman of the magistrates Colin Mcguire described the fork-lift truck as "a lethal machine" and asked the Youth Justice Service to carry out a report.
The teenager from Henley-on-Thames, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will be sentenced on 16 August.


Russia's Sergey Kirdyapkin set a new Olympic record in winning the men's 50km walk at London 2012.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Kirdyapkin broke away after catching China's Si Tianfeng at the 40km mark and went on to win in three hours 35 minutes 59 seconds.
Australia's Jared Tallent matched the silver medal he won at the 2008 Games in Beijing, while Si was third.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Ireland's Rob Heffernan was fourth with Britain's Dominic King 51st and last, more than 39 minutes behind the winner.
King, whose finishing time was 4:15.05, spent the last of his 25 laps high-fiving and applauding the crowd, which had provided tremendous support for all the athletes on the 2km circular course around The Mall and Buckingham Palace.
Si made the first big move, around two-thirds of the way into the race, but hopes of a first Chinese gold in the event faded as Russian trio Kirdyapkin, Igor Erokhin and Sergey Bakulin stepped up the pace.
Kirdyapkin then went clear and, as his team-mates and Si fell away, Tallent took advantage to move into second.
Heffernan looked to be closing in on Si but the Irish walker was forced to hold off the challenge of Erokhin over the final 100m to clinch fourth spot.


A transgender woman is using crowdfunding to raise money for reassignment surgery because of long waits for NHS treatment.

Sarah O'Connell, from Southampton, saw her GP in March last year but has only just had an initial consultation at a gender identity clinic.
The 35-year-old is trying to raise £20,000 through donations.
The NHS said it recognised the "urgent need to bring down waiting times" and funding is being made available.
Mrs O'Connell, who has a wife and five-year-old daughter, said: "Transitioning can be incredible expensive, this is a last resort. I haven't had NHS support yet. The waiting lists are very long."
She had facial surgery in September and is now hoping to raise £20,000 for all aspects of transitioning, including gender reassignment surgery, hormone treatment through a private doctor, laser treatment and voice coaching.
Mrs O'Connell had to wait until January this year for an initial consultation with a gender identity clinic (GIC) in London.
She said she does not know when her next appointment will be.
A report on transgender equality for the Women and Equalities Committee published in January said:
Mrs O'Connell said: "It is a long process, it is like being in prison for something you didn't commit and I want to get it over as quickly as possible.
"I just want to get on with my life, I don't want to spend my whole life doing this."
She said her wife has known since early in their relationship she was transgender.
"I have known who I am since I was three years old, so it has been the biggest relief telling my family," she said.
The film writer and critic decided last year to start medically transitioning and is taking hormone tablets after seeing a private doctor.
LGBT campaign group Stonewall said it was "extremely concerning, though unsurprising" to hear of such cases.
"It's essential that it's addressed with urgency."
NHS guidelines say people should be seen within 18 weeks, but waiting times can be up to 18 months for an initial consultation at the specialist clinics.
Will Huxter, chairman of NHS England's gender identity task and finish group, said: "The NHS has put additional funding into gender identity services for the last two years and will continue to do so.
"We recognise the urgent need to bring down waiting times, and to this end we have met with all the gender identity clinics to agree plans to increase capacity from April 2016."


Egypt coach Hector Cuper has been assured he has the full support of the Egyptian Football Association after losing the Africa Cup of Nations final.

The Pharaohs were beaten 2-1 by Cameroon on Sunday.
"He will stay as head coach, we like what he is doing with the team," said EFA president Hany Abo Rida.
"We are in a good place in World Cup qualification and we dream we can reach the tournament in Russia in 2018. We all support him."
Egypt are top of Group E after two games and Cuper has already instilled in his team what is required to reach a major tournament.
By taking the Pharaohs to the Nations Cup in Gabon he ended a six-year absence from the finals.
There is no room for talking about ending Cuper's contract
That he failed to win a record-extending eighth African championship has hurt the Argentine, who has suffered defeat in five finals during his career.
As Valencia coach he was beaten in two Champions League finals, while at Mallorca he lost the King's Cup to Barcelona and the Cup Winners' Cup to Lazio.
During a stint with Aris Thessalonika, he also lost to Panathinaikos in the Greek Cup final.
After the latest defeat on Sunday he said: "I don't want to say I'm used to losing another final, it's one more for me, but the point is that I wanted to win this one.
"The sadness I have isn't because I lost another final, it's because there was so much hope, especially among Egyptians.
"I'm sorry that we couldn't give happiness to Egyptians because I imagine that there was a lot of expectation among them.
"I'm sorry for the players, who put in so much effort. We have finished this competition with a defeat but they did well."
The 61-year-old has, however, restored pride in Egyptian football after some very difficult years in which the sport in the country has been blighted by fans' violence, supporter bans and the effects of political tension in the country.
Cuper took the job in March 2015, replacing Shawki Gharib, and the EFA is pleased with his results.
"He has done his best since he took charge and he has helped us build a new team," added Rida. "There is no room for talking about ending Cuper's contract."


A few days ago, British politics saw a stunning by-election result in the Cumbrian seat of Copeland.

After electing Labour MPs for 80 years, voters changed their minds and elected a Conservative.
What makes voters do this, and why is swing voting on the rise?
Back in the 1960s, about 13% of voters would change which party they voted for, says Dr Jonathan Mellon from Nuffield College, Oxford.
In 2015, that was closer to 40%.
"A really large proportion of voters are swingers - and this has been steadily increasing in each subsequent election," says Dr Mellon.
There have always been some voters who changed their minds.
The classic swing voter has no particular allegiance to any one party, and may choose a different party from one election to the next.
Their decision can decide the outcome of an election, but this usually happens indirectly.
"Either you'll get swings from the major parties to minor parties - such as traditionally the Liberal Democrats but now also UKIP, the Greens, the SNP - or you'll see voters swing back to one of the major parties," Dr Mellon says.
Joe Twyman, head of political and social research at the polling company YouGov, analysed swing voting at the most recent general election.
"One way of shifting that surprised a lot of people was the move from the Liberal Democrats to UKIP, and when people saw the data on that they would say, 'Well hang on, that doesn't make any sense, the ideology and the policies of Liberal Democrats are very different from those of UKIP. Why should people do that?'
"But it's about protest."
In the past few years, all the major parties have provided reasons for voters to turn against them.
The Conservatives damaged their reputation with Black Wednesday, a day-long economic crisis in 1992.
The Labour Party lost a million votes after the Iraq War, with many loyal members defecting to the Liberal Democrats or the Green Party.
Liberal Democrat activist Tom Southern witnessed voters turn against his party, angry with it for joining a Conservative-led coalition government and raising university tuition fees.
"It was clear immediately that around half the support had been wiped out within months if not weeks," he says.
And yet the coalition government was also beneficial to the smaller parties, including the Liberal Democrats.
The public saw that a minor party had teamed up with a major party and was now in government.
And this impression was reinforced during the 2015 general election campaign, when the leaders of seven different parties appeared on TV debates.
The media proclaimed that any one of the smaller parties might hold the balance of power.
This campaign proved to be a catalyst for voters.
One in every 12 people in the UK voted for UKIP.
One in two people in Scotland voted for the SNP.
It is much rarer for voters to switch between Labour and the Conservatives.
But the Copeland by-election is a reminder that this does happen.
James Tilley, professor of politics at the University of Oxford, has studied one reason why voters might make this move.
"In Britain it is definitely the case that older people are much more likely to vote for the Conservatives than younger people," he says.
As voters get older, they are about 20% more likely to vote for the Conservative Party.
But the reason for this is hard to identify.
"It could be that people born a long time ago are more likely to vote for the Conservatives," says Prof Tilley, "or it could be that as we get older we become more likely to vote for the Conservatives."
He leans towards the second explanation.
"People generally become a bit more resistant to change as they get older, and I think also that they tend to become less idealistic," says Prof Tilley.
"So if parties on the right represent a platform which is more favourable to the status quo, and more about pragmatism than it is about idealism, that might be more attractive to older people than younger people."
Swing voting is a nightmare for the parties.
In the past, MPs relied on their core vote to back them no matter what.
Now, they have to spend far more of their time campaigning to keep their seats and far less time legislating.
Politicians argue that democracy is less efficient when voters keep changing their minds.
But Rosie Campbell, professor of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London, thinks that politics works best when voters are willing to change their minds.
"In the past, voters stuck with parties that had let them down, or had morphed into something they didn't like," she says.
"Even if the future is more chaotic, the rise of the swinging mindset might just be the change our political system so desperately needs."
Analysis: How Voters Decide, presented by Prof Rosie Campbell, is on BBC Radio 4 at 20:30 on Monday 27 February and available later via BBC iPlayer.


The North East risks losing £900m of investment because of delays approving plans for a directly-elected mayor, the government has warned.

The Secretary of State for Communities, Sajid Javid, has told the region's council leaders that time to implement a devolution deal is running out.
Elections for directly-elected mayors are due to be held in a number of areas of England in May 2017.
However, critics say the plan will not deliver the promised benefits.
In a letter sent to the councils which make up the North East Combined Authority, and which has been seen by the BBC, Mr Javid said: "I reaffirm the government's commitment to implementing the North East devolution deal in full.
"[However] without an elected mayor the deal cannot progress.
"There is a significant risk now that we will run out of time to implement the deal unless you publish your governance review and scheme, and move forward with the consultation immediately."
The deal is part of the government's Northern Powerhouse programme to help Northern towns and cities compete with those in the South for investment.
Council leaders from Labour-led Durham County Council, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland met earlier to discuss the way forward, but it is understood divisions remain.
Gateshead previously voted against the deal. Teesside has its own plans for an elected mayor.
Implementation of the plan would see the region receive £30m government funding for the next 30 years as well as new powers on transport, skills and training.
Nick Forbes, Newcastle City Council leader, said: "Other parts of England like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool will press ahead and if we don't get alongside my fear is the North East will be overlooked and left out.
"There's a very real chance our region's economy will suffer."
The union Unison is among opponents of the plan.
Regional secretary Clare Williams said: "To have one person representing Berwick down to Barnard Castle can't be good for democracy.
"We have local councils who are elected by their communities, so we're against being told by this government we have to have an elected mayor."