The funerals of the future today at East Lothian Crematorium

East Lothian Crematorium & Memorial Gardens will open for services on Thursday 23 October 2025, offering families the choice of the most uniquely personal farewell and the experience of the funerals of the future – today.

The brand-new facility is the first in Scotland – and only the third anywhere in the world – to feature the ground-breaking ‘super venue’ technology.

Dynamic projections, harmoniously co-ordinated lighting and synchronised soundscapes create an immersive experience which enables funerals to be uniquely personalised to unprecedented levels and to create an atmosphere that is truly authentic to the person it remembers.

East Lothian Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of crematoria and cemeteries, with 42 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, and which is trusted by more families than any other provider to deliver funerals for their loved ones.

The crematorium will be set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance to provide a peaceful place for people to visit and reflect, while benefitting from exceptional care and support from its team.

The first crematorium in the world to install the same innovative technology was Westerleigh’s Gedling Crematorium, in Nottinghamshire, in November last year.

Basildon & District Cemetery & Crematorium in Essex became the second and now East Lothian Crematorium, in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh, becomes the third – as well as being the first in Scotland.

The super venue experience involves projecting dynamic themeing onto the ‘canvas’ – the entire wall at the front of the chapel interior, enhanched further through matching lighting and soundscapes.

With a wide choice of customisable canvas themes, funerals can be specifically tailored like never before to truly reflect the individuality, interests and passions of the person being remembered.

The technology also offers families the option of displaying, in the waiting room, 25 digital photos of their loved one on a gallery wall, and have an image displayed on the chapel’s welcome screens.

The immersive experience was developed in partnership with the UK’s leading audio-visual provider to the bereavement industry, Obitus, and now Westerleigh Group is investing in introducing it within a growing number of its crematoria nationwide.

East Lothian Crematorium & Memorial Gardens will be one of the most environmentally-friendly facilities of its kind in the UK, featuring the very latest advanced filtration and abatement technology, including NOx abatement.

Its thoughtfully-created chapel can provide an intimate environment for smaller gatherings, seeking privacy and seclusion but can comfortably accommodate larger congregations, with seating for 112 people which can be enhanced by additional standing space in the entrance lobby and chapel canopy.

There are 106 parking spaces, an overflow car park and six accessible parking spaces.

Local community can see the new crematorium – and experience the incredible ‘super venue’ technology – for themselves when it hosts its open day on Saturday 25 October 2025 between 10am and 2pm.

This will also be an opportunity to meet the dedicated team who will be providing local bereaved families with the exceptional service that Westerleigh Group has built its reputation on.

To find out more about East Lothian Crematorium, visit: www.eastlothiancrematorium.co.uk