Edinburgh Festivals are known worldwide. Although August is the busiest month, the festival calendar stretches across much of the year, covering music, theatre, comedy, books, film, science and traditional Scottish culture.
The Edinburgh International Festival was founded in 1947. It brings leading performers and companies from around the world to Edinburgh for a programme of music, theatre, opera and dance.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe began in the same year, when eight theatre companies arrived in Edinburgh without invitations to the official festival and staged their own performances. From those small beginnings, the Fringe has grown into the largest arts festival of its kind in the world.
Unlike the International Festival, the Fringe is largely open-access. Performances take place across the city in theatres, concert halls, pubs, clubs, churches and temporary venues. Comedy is now a major part of the programme, alongside theatre, music, cabaret, dance and experimental performance.
Another major event in August is the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, held on the Castle Esplanade. Military bands, pipes and drums and performers from around the world take part, with Edinburgh Castle providing one of the most dramatic settings of any event in the city.
The summer festival season actually begins before August. The Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival takes place in July, with concerts and performances at venues across Edinburgh. Its programme ranges from traditional jazz and blues to contemporary and international performers.
More Edinburgh Festivals
August also brings the Edinburgh International Book Festival, with writers, journalists and public figures taking part in talks, interviews and discussions.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is another long-established part of the city’s cultural calendar. Founded in 1947, it has played an important role in introducing new films and filmmakers to British audiences.
Edinburgh’s festivals are not confined to the summer. There are events devoted to science, storytelling and other subjects throughout the year. The calendar ends with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, when the city hosts several days of events around New Year’s Eve.
Together, these events have helped establish Edinburgh as one of the world’s major festival cities. August remains the peak of the season, when venues appear in unexpected places and the population of the city swells with performers and visitors, but there is now some form of festival taking place in Edinburgh during much of the year.
Edinburgh festivals and links to further information
- The Edinburgh International Children’s Festival
- The Edinburgh Science Festival
- Edinburgh Art Festival
- The Scottish International Storytelling Festival
- Edinburgh’s Christmas
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