Hey North Edinburgh youth! Ready for an epic day out?
Together with Imaginate UK, we’ve planned an exciting day exploring the Edinburgh Festivals on Saturday 24 August, from 10.30am – 5.30pm. Expect interesting arts exhibitions, amazing live performances, and loads of fun.
This free event is for local young people aged 11-13 living in the loca area of Muirhouse, Pilton, Granton, and Drylaw. Food and travel will be provided.
This event will be also be an informal opportunity to learn more about NEA Youth Arts Collective, a new creative group for 11-13 year olds living in North Edinburgh. Part of Imaginate and North Edinburgh Arts project, Creative Encounters, which puts children at the heart of decision making
The Besties is a new series of awards celebrating the best across Edinburgh’s August Festivals. The Award is a partnership between The Skinny & Fest, Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland.
The Skinny and Fest, Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland are delighted to announce the winners of the second round of the weekly new Festival Awards, The Besties, in the following categories:
The award ceremony took place on Saturday 17th August at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, hosted by comedian Josephine Lacey whose show Autism Mama is at the Pleasance Courtyard, with performances from Orkney musician Catriona Price who performed earlier this week at Queen’s Hall and Edinburgh New Town Church, celebrating her debut album, Hert.
The Besties award, designed by artist Camillo Feuchter who has recently graduated fromInterior & Environmental Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, uses recyclable plastics gathered at the Festival Theatre Café and leftover wood sourced locally.
Reflecting the broad and diverse coverage both magazines produce every summer and responding to the need for a pan-festivals award, The Besties span all the festival activity taking place in the city over the month of August, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival which started on Thursday 15 August, and others, making them the one of the only awards to celebrate the full spectrum of culture in the city.
Winners of The Besties are chosen each week by the editorial teams of The Skinny and Fest, drawing on their cross-festival expertise to celebrate the best work happening anywhere in the festivals. The categories will reflect the diversity of the magazines’ coverage and might be different every week.
The third and last ceremony will take place on Saturday 24th August.
The Besties is a new series of awards celebrating the best across Edinburgh’s August Festivals. The Award is a partnership between The Skinny & Fest, Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland
The Skinny and Fest, Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland are delighted to announce the winners of the first of the weekly new Festival Awards, The Besties, in the following categories:
The Outwith Award (for best international artist/production) for Lou Wall’s The Bisexual Lament at Pleasance Courtyard (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
The award ceremony took place on Saturday 10th August at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, hosted by Australian comedian Michelle Brasier whose show Legacy is at the Gilded Balloon, with performances from the cast of A History of Paper, a Dundee Rep and Traverse Theatre co-production being staged at the Traverse.
The Besties award, designed by artist Camillo Feuchter who has recently graduated from Interior & Environmental Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, uses recyclable plastics gathered at the Festival Theatre Café and leftover wood sourced locally.
Reflecting the broad and diverse coverage both magazines produce every summer and responding to the need for a pan-festivals award, The Besties span all the festival activity taking place in the city over the month of August, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival which started on the 9th, Edinburgh International Book Festival which opens today and the Edinburgh International Film Festival starting next week, and others, making them the only awards to celebrate the full spectrum of culture in the city.
Winners of The Besties are chosen each week by the editorial teams of The Skinny and Fest, drawing on their cross-festival expertise to celebrate the best work happening anywhere in the festivals. The categories will reflect the diversity of the magazines’ coverage and might be different every week.
Next two ceremonies will take place on Saturday 17th and 24th August.
The Momentum Delegate Programme kicks off in Edinburgh today, Wednesday 7 August, acting as a central hub from the world-leading Festival City to connect key cultural players from across the world with the wider Scottish and international cultural sector.
Every August during the Edinburgh Festivals the capital of Scotland becomes a global celebration of culture and creativity, with citizens of the city and the country joined by artists and audiences from all over the world.
At Momentum, a cohort of producers, government agencies, funders, stakeholders and programmers from invited countries will join a tailored programme of networking and meetings with creative practitioners, policymakers and educators in Scotland.
The collaborations established will enable long-term relationships, platforming Scotland and its artists and art organisations on the world stage and further cementing Scotland’s international cultural reputation.
On behalf of Momentum partners, Julia Amour, Director of Festivals Edinburgh said: “The Edinburgh Festivals are distinctively Scottish yet profoundly international, and we’re delighted to welcome cultural representatives from around the globe to our Momentum programme, where we will help them build relationships with our festivals and the wider Scottish cultural sector.”
The 36 delegates arriving are from Viet Nam, Sweden, South Korea, the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Türkiye, Mexico and Poland – as well as two artform delegations for Literature and Visual Arts. Information on each area, its delegates and sessions are available on the Momentum website.
Since 2011, Momentum has brought over 700 international delegates to Edinburgh during the buzz of the city’s August festivals. These have contributed to multiple collaborations, most recently:
Scottish Dance Theatre (SDT) connected with Ciało/Umysł, an international contemporary dance festival in Warsaw, developed from a meeting set up by the Momentum team last year. After the initial introduction, with support from the Momentum follow-up fund, SDT Artistic Director Joan Clevillé visited Poland for Ciało’s dance platform.
SDT’s Senior Producer, Robyn Jancovich-Brownsaid: “The visit enabled SDT to get a sense of the scene, visit venues, make more connections in the area, and, critically, really understand the cultural and political context in which the artists and organisations are working.
“We’re now talking about next steps and exploring plans for an artistic exchange programme in autumn 2025, in which Scottish and Polish dancers will be able to work together.”
Ryan said: “Initially Manuela and I had some great chats just about being new in our roles and the challenges of directing festivals. We stayed in touch, sharing ideas about poets and writers, and then agreed to partner on a grant application.
“That enabled us to have an extra event at Stanza last year, in collaboration with Cúirt International Festival of Literature, called Companion Planting. An artist and an author visited from Ireland to talk about strategies of support and examined ‘care’ within collaborative artistic working practices.
“This was a perfect fit with Stanza’s theme last year. It’s rare to see a project happen that fast; I felt lucky to encounter Manuela, and get something going so quickly.”
Culture and Communities Convener Val Walker writes about the summer festival season and finding the balance:
There’s already a fantastic buzz building across Edinburgh as the summer festival season starts to get into full swing. It’s undeniable that the festivals continue to be a central part of the fabric of our city.
They contribute year-round to our worldwide reputation as an outstanding destination and showcase our identity as a welcoming place to be, both for those of us lucky enough to live here and the millions who visit each year.
Edinburgh in August is a place like no other, with our residents and visitors enjoying access to thousands of outstanding performers and shows that we’d otherwise have to travel the world to find. From the Jazz and Blues Festival at the start of this month, through to the Fringe, Art, Film, Book, Tattoo and International festivals throughout August, we’re truly spoiled for choice here in the culture capital of the world.
Beyond the cultural benefits, it’s important also to remember just how important the festivals – and the tourism industry as whole – are to our economy. Tourism in Edinburgh sustains over 30,000 jobs, bringing in £2.7 billion worth of visitor spend each year, with the festivals alone supporting over 7,000 FTE jobs and contributing £407 million to our local economy. Beyond that, of course, it affords us, as residents, the choice of restaurants, bars, and other attractions that would simply not exist otherwise.
We do acknowledge, of course, that there is another side to this – for all the buzz we enjoy in August, it is also extremely busy – and we’re fully aware of our responsibility to manage this and find the right balance between the needs of our residents and visitors.
I was delighted, then, that following our long campaign to introduce a visitor levy, we’re now able work with the tourist industry and other partners to develop our plans, with a view to introducing a levy by early summer 2026 (following an 18-month mandatory stand still period).
This presents a major opportunity for us, generating millions of pounds in additional revenue to sustain and develop the city – just as so many other major cities already do so successfully – and to support and enhance our world class festivals. As an example, had a 5 per cent levy been in place over the weekend of Taylor Swift’s concerts, it would have generated an (estimated) additional £632,000.
With the city’s population effectively doubling during August, it’s important that we also consider short-term measures to keep the city moving. That’s why, we’ve re-introduced a series of changes in and around the Old Town, all designed to make our streets and pavements easier and safer to navigate.
With the programme launching next week, we can look forward to 18 months of community and other events, shining a light on the wonderful and often colourful history of our fantastic city, and on the people and communities who’ve helped make our city what it is today.
I do hope that, like me, you’re looking forward to another fantastic August here in Edinburgh, the best city in the world.
New mobile ‘mini-masts’ have been installed by EE on street furniture like lamp-posts and phone boxes in Edinburgh to help boost mobile coverage in the busiest areas of the city.
The Scottish capital is the UK’s second most popular tourist destination after London, and the mobile mast installations come as the city prepares for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
During August, it’s estimated that the population of the city doubles, as more than 500,000 people visit for the festivals.
The mini antennas, known as small cells, are now delivering enhanced 4G capacity in high demand areas of the city. Small cells take advantage of existing street assets, such as BT’s iconic red telephone boxes, to help enhance street-level mobile coverage in busy areas where it’s impractical to build larger masts, such as city-centres and transport hubs.
In Edinburgh, EE has worked with partners including Edinburgh Council and Nokia to deploy small cells to boost capacity in busy locations including the Royal Mile, University of Edinburgh, Princes Street, Chambers Street and the National Museum, and the West End.
Responding to the news, Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “Visitors to the festival are increasingly using their smartphones for electronic ticketing, searching programme listings, booking tickets on the go, and navigating to the various venues.
“Many of these are things visitors will be able to do from the new official EdFringe app. People are also keen to share their experiences with friends and family and social media throughout the festival.
“All of this depends on having good access to mobile networks. It’s vital therefore that the city’s mobile networks can cope with this significant increase in demand during the summer. We welcome any steps like these new mini mobile masts to help boost network capacity in these busy locations.”
As well as being located on phone boxes, lamp-posts and CCTV columns, EE can also install small cells on BT’s innovative new digital Street Hubs.
James Hope, Director of Mobile Radio Access Networks at EE, said: “Edinburgh is a prime example of a city that can benefit from these small cell masts.
“The city is said to be built on seven hills and has plenty of old buildings, all of which pose a challenge to mobile coverage. It also sees huge peaks in mobile traffic in confined areas during major events. Small cells help customers continue to benefit from our fastest 4G speeds, even at the busiest times and in the most congested of locations.
“Our new digital Street Hubs also have the potential to help increase the number of small cells in the city. We’ll continue to discuss our plans with the council and we hope that Edinburgh will join other cities, such as Glasgow and Birmingham, where our new Street Hubs are already providing communities with the digital facilities needed for the future.”
14 mini masts are already live in Edinburgh, with four more sites to go live by the end of July. EE plans to deploy more small cell sites throughout the city in areas where it forecasts network congestion.
An all-night tram service is being lined up for weekends in August to help visitors and local residents to make the most of Edinburgh’s festival season.
Over the summer, the city hosts one of the world’s most popular celebrations of arts and culture, and Edinburgh Trams is gearing up to play its part in helping to keep the city moving as tens of thousands of people flock to Scotland’s capital.
In addition to daytime and evening services, which run from every seven minutes between the airport and Newhaven, trams will continue to serve all stops throughout the night on Fridays and Saturdays, so that people get home or back to their accommodation once the entertainment has come to a close.
Following the usual end of services around midnight, trams will then operate from every 20 minutes until 2am, then from every 30 minutes until the normal timetable commences the following day.
Lea Harrison, Edinburgh Trams’ Managing Director, commented: “Alongside the main festival, August also sees the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo and fantastic Fringe performances during what is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for the city.
“Following the enormous success of late-night trams in previous festival seasons, we wanted to go the extra mile this year by running a 24-hour service over the weekend, which is a testament to our commitment as Scotland’s number one public transport operator.
“For further convenience, anyone heading for the festivals can avoid the hassle of finding a parking spot in or around the city centre by leaving their cars at Ingliston Park & Ride, which has over 1,000 spaces available and a tram stop.”
The operator’s normal range of tram tickets will be accepted at no extra cost when all-night trams are running and more information on great money-saving ticket deals can be found here.
Independent research has confirmed the huge contribution that Edinburgh’s Festivals make to the economic vitality of Edinburgh and Scotland.
The latest study – conducted across the festivals in 2022 and surveying 22,000 people – shows that the Edinburgh Festivals continue to be Scotland’s world-leading cultural brands.
These unrivalled cultural programmes deliver a major economic uplift to businesses, jobs and livelihoods in the city and further afield – helping to rebuild sectors devastated by the pandemic and an especially important boost during the cost-of-living crisis, with the Festivals themselves having a stronger focus on fair work and local suppliers.
Key findings from the study show that the Edinburgh Festivals in 2022 are:
Edinburgh Festivals are World leading cultural brands
FACT: 3.2 million attendances generated by around 700,000 attendees FACT: Remain on a par with FIFA World Cup [3.4m], despite reduced scale in 2022 Edinburgh Festivals are Increasing economic powerhouses FACT: Economic impact increased in Edinburgh from £280m [2015] to £407m [2022] FACT: Economic impact increased in Scotland from £313m [2015] to £367m [2022] Edinburgh Festivals are Important drivers in the national economy FACT: Proportion of non-Scottish staying visitors increased from 25% [2015] to 31% [2022] FACT: Spend by non-Scottish staying visitors increased from £95m [2015] to £137m [2022] FACT: Impact supported 5000 FTE jobs across Scotland Edinburgh Festivals provide Crucial support to city jobs and livelihoods FACT: Impact created 5850 FTE jobs in Edinburgh [5650 in 2015] FACT: 51% of spend on accommodation (c£85m), 25% on food & drink (c£42m) and a further 19% on shopping (c£31m) Edinburgh Festivals offer Incredible value for money FACT: Generate £33 in economic impact for every £1 invested from the public purse
For the first time this Impact Study also identifies what the figures look like when the economic actions of locals are included in the calculations – previous impact studies have focussed solely on the Festivals’ role in bringing new money into the economy.
This further analysis shows the importance, previously only anecdotal, of local and Scottish audience spending driven by the Festivals rather than by other activities:
Edinburgh Festivals are Loved by locals
FACT: Had 1.5m attendances by residents of Edinburgh/Scotland [c50% of total audience] FACT: Contribute £492m to Edinburgh and £620m to Scotland in gross impact FACT: Support 7,150 FTE jobs in Edinburgh and 8,500 FTE jobs in Scotland FACT: Overnight audience spend from across Scotland has doubled since last report
Introducing the Study, Dr Simon Gage, Chair of Festivals Edinburgh commented: “The positive impact our Festivals have on businesses, jobs and livelihoods is great news for the people of our city and country – and we need to ensure that this economic recovery is built on a solid foundation of good responsible growth, looking after our people, our place and our planet.
“In this instance our impact is primarily felt by the tourism and hospitality sectors, not by the festivals themselves and the people who make them happen – in fact, their unique cultural programmes are hanging each year by a precarious financial thread, damaged by Covid lockdowns and over 15 years of declining investment.
“We call on all funders and supporters to come together to consider their long-term role in helping the Edinburgh Festivals remain Scotland’s world leading cultural brands and a crucial economic powerhouse for people’s jobs and livelihoods.”
Commenting on the Study, Richard Naylor, Director of Research at BOP consulting said: “This Study confirms and further strengthens the key message from the earlier Impact Studies that the Festivals are a major contributor to both the local Edinburgh economy and the national Scottish economy.
“This economic impact spreads far beyond the immediate cultural economy, with the biggest beneficiary businesses being those in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
“That the Festivals have bounced back so strongly shows the importance of communal events in our post-pandemic world, with audiences and visitors increasingly seeking out unique cultural experiences such as the Edinburgh Festivals.”
POLICE in Edinburgh have launched Operation Summer City 2022 to keep the public safe during the festival season.
Chief Inspector Mark Hamilton, Operation Summer City Silver Commander, said: “It’s always an incredible atmosphere within Edinburgh during the Festival and with so many people visiting our city, it’s important we have appropriate resources in place to keep people safe and respond to the range of potential incidents that could occur.
”As the city gets busier, we may see reports of certain acquisitive crimes rising and while we will have an increased presence in place to investigate these, the public can play an important role in helping prevent these offences by always keeping hold of their stuff, being mindful of anyone getting too close to them and keeping valuables stored safely away safely.
“Many of our licensed premises will also be operating with later licences and that can mean an increase in alcohol-related disorder and violence. To minimise this, we’ve been liaising with bar and nightclub staff to remind them of their licensing responsibilities and to ensure they share information with one another about anyone who has been within their venue causing trouble.
“I would ask anyone coming into Edinburgh to enjoy the night-time economy to do so responsibly and not have your evening ruined because of excessive consumption. Within the Capital we have special bail conditions that can be imposed on anyone who commits a crime in a licensed premises, or as a result of having been within one. If you are charged in connection with an offence the bail conditions will prohibit you from entering any other licensed premises within the city centre until the conclusion of your trial.
“The last two years without the Festival in its full capacity have been a huge miss to the city of Edinburgh and its local residents and businesses. We look forward to welcoming everyone back, but please work with us to ensure it’s a memorable event for all the right reasons.”
Thank you Edinburgh Castle for hosting the launch on the Castle Esplanade.
As Edinburgh’s summer festivals begin in the Capital, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture Leaders have welcomed their return, though urge everyone to play their part for a safe, enjoyable August.
In preparation for the launch of the Art, Book, Fringe, Film and International Festivals, robust plans have been drawn up to allow their safe return. Council officers have worked closely with Festivals Edinburgh, the Summer Festivals, the Scottish Government, Event Scotland and other stakeholders to support the staging of programmes within the latest safety guidance.
Culture Leaders have also thanked all those who have made Edinburgh’s festivals possible in 2021, recognising teams from across the Council, from licensing, events, environmental health and public safety to roads teams, noise and waste services.
This is in close partnership with festival operators, the Scottish Government, NHS, Essential Edinburgh and the Emergency Services, who have collaborated to bring festivals back safely and with a new emphasis on outdoor venues.
Citywide planning began in February with the approach continuously updated and adapted to remain up to date with the latest clinical advice and guidance from the Scottish Government.
While Scotland will move out of COVID level 0 on Monday, festival-goers are being reminded that for this first weekend of celebrations level 0 restrictions will remain in place, and that they should continue to follow the guidance.
From Monday, everyone is still encouraged to take care, practice hand hygiene and give one another space, as well as observing mask-wearing rules.
While delighted to welcome the festivals back, safety has remained a priority for the Council. A wider, more detailed planning process has involved different Event Planning and Operation Group meetings for each festival, all feeding into a citywide forum for overview. This year venues will be spread throughout the city and while traditional venues are being used again, a range of exciting new settings will be brought to life this year.
As in previous years, joint inspections between the Council and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are now underway ensuring safety at all venues. Throughout the festivals, spot checks will take place as well as daily multi-agency meetings to ensure the safe continued running of the festival.
In addition to safety plans the Council is working with Fringe organisers, as always, to make sure the High Street is kept clean and well managed and would remind everyone that when they’re out and about to always bin litter or take it home.
This summer the Council has added 30 additional litter bins to parks and open spaces across the city, including BBQ bins at Inverleith, Portobello Beach and Leith Links. Additional public toilets have also been installed in six parks and new signage placed on 90+ litter bins in hotspot parks and waterside locations.
Culture and Communities Convener Cllr Donald Wilson said: “We’re incredibly proud to be known as the world’s Festival City and recognise the extremely positive contribution our festivals make to our lives, bringing the arts to Edinburgh in a way no other city on the planet enjoys.
“We are delighted see their return this year but want to assure citizens that public health remains a priority and all the Festivals have planned with this in mind. We’ve been working closely with all the organisers and our partners to ensure they can be enjoyed safely and would remind everyone to follow health advice and keep everyone safe. Please remember that for the first weekend of the festivals, we’re still in level 0 of the restrictions framework, so please observe the guidance in place.
“The city and events sector has responded to the crisis with determination and innovation with either hybrid models of delivery or the creation of outdoor/online programmes and whilst this year sees a much smaller offering it will be fantastic to see some of the buzz return to the city.”
Councillor Amy McNeese-Mechan, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Culture and Communities Vice Convener, said: “The return of live August festivals events and performances truly reflects our city’s ongoing recovery and, of course, our cultural DNA.
“There’s no doubt our festivals were greatly missed last year and it’s going to be fantastic to welcome back audiences and to those visiting we ask them to continue to follow the safety guidance and please enjoy this year’s offering safely.
“The planning for the festivals has been an enormous task especially under the ongoing pressures of the pandemic and I would like to thank all the teams and partner organisations who have worked together throughout to bring some of that festival magic back to the city this year.”
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