World Leaders

Edinburgh's Festivals are world-leading cultural brands with expertise, vision, impact and international recognition unmatched by any other cultural events on the globe. The Festivals are distinctively Scottish and yet profoundly international, drawing artists, audiences and media from every continent and over 70 countries each year. They are cultural platforms, forums for national and international debate, economic powerhouses, drivers of ambition and creators of cohesion.

Edinburgh’s reputation as the world’s leading festival city has deep roots. Since 1947 saw the Edinburgh International Festival established as a much-needed ‘platform for the flowering of the human spirit’ the Edinburgh Festivals have evolved into an operation that involves a range of major individual festivals, hosts over 25,000 international artists, more than 1,000 accredited media and audiences of over 4.5 million, while generating £313m for the Scottish economy.

The publication below provides an overview of the festivals, their collaborative story and their impact: