Graham Colvan

Technical Site Manager at Edinburgh International Book Festival

I’m Technical Site Manager for the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

My role involves planning and installing the power for all the temporary structures – the lighting, heating, cooling, any exterior lighting – anything technical and outdoors – including flooding!

I’ve worked for the Book Festival for four years, slowly going up the ranks. I started off as a venue technician. I was at the Tattoo before then. This would have been my eleventh year working for the festivals in some shape or form.

What do you enjoy most about working for the festivals?
It’s got to be the people. I just love working here. It’s such a big family, such a nice place to work, even if it is a bit manic. You share so much with your colleagues, you can sit and talk to them, any problems you can discuss them. The Book Festival as a whole is just such a lovely festival, it’s a little bit less manic than the rest, there’s not the same massive queues for shows and it feels nice and secluded in Charlotte square – it’s very different from the others, very special.

What is your favourite festival memory? 
Well, most of my favourite memories are things going wrong, so I’m not sure I can talk about those! I love the problem solving and the teamwork.

I have a strong memory of the end of a long, late night of many issues, being very wet and cold and getting handed a couple of cups of coffee and two bacon rolls – one from press & marketing and one from security, just to make sure that I was okay. That’s why I love it – if you’ve had a hard time your colleagues are always there for you.

The moments you get to see your friends and colleagues, having a catch up – it’s a very special time. I very rarely get to see events as I’m on call for any issues, so it’s these moments that make it for me.

What makes you proud to be a Festival City citizen? 
I moved from Glasgow because I loved the festivals. I love the fact we have the world’s biggest art festival here. It’s a major shame it’s not happening. The city is missing its vibe, the people. It just seems quiet and bleak. It’s very strange to not have my festival family to have a pint with and see how their hectic day is going compared to mine. Roll on next year – I absolutely can’t wait.