All Rise for the Edinburgh International Festival
Running from 7-30 August 2026, this year's Edinburgh International Festival presents 24 days of world-class performances selected for their artistic and cultural resonance across opera, theatre, music and dance.
The 2026 programme is centred on the theme All Rise, a rallying cry encompassing collaboration, resilience and ascendance. Marking the 250th anniversary of American independence, the 2026 programme examines the ideas and impact of the USA with the Festival's largest-ever representation of American artists. It explores recurring themes of freedom, ingenuity, prejudice, and hypocrisy, alongside the creative achievements made possible by the friction and energy of its cultural melting pot.
Spanning 147 performances from artists across 44 countries, including five world premieres and ten works commissioned by the International Festival, violin virtuoso Nicola Benedetti's fourth programme as Festival Director brings together a handpicked programme of some of the greatest artists in their fields. The Festival is shaped as a space for conversation and reflection, where art meets dialogue, with seven post-show talks, two exhibitions, and a dedicated Global Ideas Stage offering deeper opportunities to unpack the themes shaping the world today.
Festival Highlights
Opening Concert: All Rise [8 Aug, Usher Hall]
Trace a journey from classical to jazz and blues, via a New Orleans funeral and the rhythms of a train. This year’s Opening Concert sees 200 performers take to the stage for trumpeter Wynton Marsalis’s monumental 12-movement symphony, All Rise. Performed by the world’s premier big band ensemble, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and joined by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Edinburgh Festival Chorus and the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers.
A Trial – after An Enemy of the People [7–10 Aug, The Lyceum]
A sharp look at authoritarianism, fake news and public judgement. A Trial – after An Enemy of the People is a modern-day courtroom continuation of Henrik Ibsen’s classic and is the first-time theatrical collaboration between award-winning Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy and Wagner Moura (recent Golden Globe winner and Oscar-nominated actor).
The Galloping Cure [9–12 Aug, Festival Theatre]
A bold new opera for the opioid age, The Galloping Cure is a haunting allegory for a crisis that has become a worldwide epidemic. Missy Mazzoli weaves club beats into her richly textured score, with a visually stunning and emotionally gripping contemporary fable evoking a darkly funny and devastating vision of a crumbling society.
Jason Max Ferdinand Singers [10 Aug, The Queen’s Hall]
Following their Festival debut in this year’s Opening Concert: All Rise, the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers perform a recital of inventive arrangements of spirituals, folk songs and well-known hymns, reflecting their ethos of championing Black excellence.
Angels in America [15–20 Aug, King’s Theatre]
An epic five-hour staging of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, the epoch-defining work of the AIDS crisis. Taking place on a minimal set accompanied by a David Bowie soundtrack, both parts of the play are combined into a transformative performance by Internationaal Theater Amsterdam in the King’s Theatre.
corto.alto [18 Aug, The Hub]
Mercury Prize-nominated Scottish jazz artist corto.alto is joined by a collective of outstanding musicians at The Hub. Formally trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and now praised for making jazz popular with Gen Z audiences, his music fizzes with experiments in jazz, electronic music and club culture.
Ihsane [18–20 Aug, Festival Theatre]
A powerful dance work exploring grief, connection and the cycles of destruction and rebirth, by double Olivier Award-winning choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. Ihsane honours the cultures of North Africa and the Middle East while confronting cycles of violence and persecution with striking, emotionally charged movement.
Scottish Ensemble & Brìghde Chaimbeul [23 Aug, The Queen’s Hall]
In an evening performance, trailblazing Scottish smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul takes a creative approach to the Scottish Gaelic music tradition. With Scottish Ensemble and filmmaker Jonny Ashworth, they blend new and traditional tunes, electronic sound and bewitching footage of Scottish landscapes.
Verdi's A Masked Ball [26–30 Aug, Festival Theatre]
The UK premiere of Zurich Opera House’s production of Giuseppe Verdi’s A Masked Ball comes to the Festival Theatre as a fully staged tragicomic opera. Desire, treachery and political peril await.
Clown Show [27-30 Aug, King's Theatre]
Theatre-maker Geoff Sobelle brings the European premiere of Clown Show, a contemporary portrait of America as a falling-apart circus. Turning his attention to the American Dream, Sobelle performs alongside a small army of clowns and a live band playing an original score.
Mere Mortals [28–30 Aug, Edinburgh Playhouse]
San Francisco Ballet presents a provocative myth for the AI age, in their futuristic retelling of Pandora’s Box. Mere Mortals is a fusion of classical technique, cutting-edge visuals and electronic sound. Composer and electronic musician Floating Points performs his original score live with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. With 40 of the world’s best dancers commanding the stage, this European premiere promises to be a breathtaking spectacle.
See You Soon 💛
The Edinburgh International Festival runs from 7 to 30 August 2026 and you can browse the entire programme online and buy tickets HERE or download a brochure PDF HERE. Members' booking opens from 12pm on Thursday 19 March, with public booking open at 12pm on Thursday 26 March.
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Photo Credits [from the top]
- Wynton Marsalis © Courtesy of the Artist
- Wagner Moura in A Trial © Caio Lírio
- The Galloping Cure © Courtesy of the Company
- Jason Max Ferdinand Singers © Courtesy of the Artist
- Angels in America © Fabian Calis
- corto.alto © James Pearson Howes
- Ihsane © Filip Van Roe
- Brìghde Chaimbeul at MACRO © 2022 Jess Shurte
- Verdi's A Masked Ball © Herwig Prammer
- Clown Show © Maria Baranova-Suzuki
- Mere Mortals © Reneff-Olson Productions