What makes Edinburgh the world’s leading festival city?
With 11 major festivals taking place throughout the year, the festivals are an inescapable part of Edinburgh's identity. Here, we take a look at what makes ours a world leading festival city.
World
The festivals are international - each year, they feature performers, artists, thinkers and speakers from over 70 countries. This global spirit was the founding idea behind the first Edinburgh International Festival in 1947, which brought performers from across the globe together again following conflict. And the spirit extends across all our festivals. For the Scottish International Storytelling Festival the programme includes tales from every continent, bringing the world to Edinburgh and providing a platform for international artists. While at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, military bands in the United Kingdom are joined by performers and musicians from across the globe to create an incredible spectacle, with Japan, New Zealand and India just a few of the countries represented in recent years.
Leading
Edinburgh’s Festivals have always been, and continue to be, pioneers. It was the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which was used as a test-bed for the world's first mobile media phone - the first of a new generation bringing the internet to the mass market. In 1989, Edinburgh founded the world’s first Science Festival, particularly appropriate given the city’s great scientific history – Dolly the Sheep and Penicillin were both born here! Within the world of cinema, the Edinburgh International Film Festival champions fresh British talent, having presented premieres of formative films by Bill Forsyth, Danny Boyle and Stephen Frears, among many others.
Festival
Edinburgh takes festivals very seriously, understanding that great festivals interrupt the every day and create extraordinary moments of communal celebration. Edinburgh has a festival for everyone! In 1990 a dedicated children’s festival, the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, was founded to bring a programme of world-class theatre and dance performances to the city specifically for children, young people, their families, parents and carers. For committed revellers, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is the ultimate New Year’s Eve experience, with over 50,000 people enjoying the multi-day festivities, which include the world-famous Street Party on Princes Street and the Torchlight Procession through the heart of the Old Town!
City
The city's resdients are the lifeblood of the festivals, attending the festivals in numbers that would make major league footbal clubs very happy. And the festivals transform the city every year – from medieval closes to the Georgian grandeur of the New Town, Edinburgh is the stage. The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival brings an international flavour to the streets of Edinburgh every summer, animating the city’s historic centre with a huge outdoor carnival. For two weeks in August, the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s pop-up venues take over the Edinburgh Futures Institiute, the city's former Royal Infirmary which becomes publicly accessible. Forming permanent features of the city, Edinburgh Art Festival’s commissions are located around Edinburgh, seen and used every day by thousands of residents and visitors alike.