Tag: Edinburgh Festivals

Bereaved families to benefit from National Lottery investment

… and Lottery success for Granton Community Gardeners

A mother who lost her son in the most tragic of circumstances has today welcomed a National Lottery cash boost that will allow the Scottish Cot Death Trust to support many more bereaved parents to come together to share their experiences.  Local project Granton Community Gardeners also received some welcome news this morning – the project is to receive over £78,000 to support and expand it’s programme of activities. Continue reading Bereaved families to benefit from National Lottery investment

Know your PLaCE: Scottish government doubles festivals pot

The Edinburgh Festivals will receive a £10 million boost over the next five years, the First Minister has confirmed. The Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council will each provide £5 million to fund a new programme to grow the festivals’ contribution to Scotland’s culture and economy – and the Edinburgh Festivals have pledged to raise a further £5 million towards the programme. Continue reading Know your PLaCE: Scottish government doubles festivals pot

Thanks a million: Council finds more cash to support city festivals

Extra £1 million per year to ensure ‘future success’ of Edinburgh’s festivals

The City of Edinburgh Council is proposing to create a legacy funding package for the city’s Festivals in their 70th anniversary year. The Council has agreed to invest an additional £1 million every year for five years to protect the legacy and strengthen the future of the city’s 11 major festivals towards a joint fund proposed to Edinburgh’s Festivals and the Scottish Government. Continue reading Thanks a million: Council finds more cash to support city festivals

Staying healthy at Festival time

NHS Lothian has some healthcare advice for the city’s summer visitors – and it’s useful for locals too:

Are you visiting Edinburgh for any of the 12 summer festivals, including the Fringe and the International Book Festival? 

The festivals in August are a huge part of Edinburgh’s modern culture and history. Established in 1947, the International Festival has grown significantly year by year, making it one of the most popular events in the world.

Last year, 31,545 people participated in shows on the Fringe Festival, and 2,475,143 show tickets were purchased. The average audience for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo each year is 220,000. For the Festival finale on 28 August, an estimated 250,000 spectators will see around 400,000 fireworks burst into the sky above Edinburgh Castle.

Given the numbers attending, it’s no surprise that some fall ill and we need to treat them. If you are one of these visitors or performers and you become unwell, it’s important for you to know who to turn to for medical advice or attention when you’re away from home.

Emergency care is always free at the point of use. For temporary residents from around the world, if you access any of our services we will treat you first and then sort things out later – you won’t be denied urgent care.

Here we summarise the most popular services you might need to access. For more details see our Festival Health website pages.

Common questions or minor ailments
Your local pharmacy will provide you with help and advice on common health problems, minor ailments and questions about medicines.

If you are from the UK and run out of repeat medication, a pharmacy may be able to help you get a prescription from your own GP practice, or an emergency supply.

Less serious injuries 
For minor injuries (minor cuts/burns, wound infections, sprains and small bone breaks), go to the Minor Injuries Clinic at the Western General Hospital. If you want to check if your injury is suitable for treatment here, phone ahead on 0131 537 3481.

The clinic treats adults and children over one year old and is staffed by specialist nurse, paramedic and physiotherapy practitioners. It’s open every day from 8am – 9pm. The last patient book-in is at 8.30pm, but no appointment is necessary.

Sexual health problems
The Chalmers Centre provides care and advice on sexual health issues, including emergency contraception. For appointments and advice, call 0131 536 1070. For walk-ins, you can attend the Centre between 8:30am and 10am.

GP services
If you are acutely ill and need contact with a General Practitioner (GP/family doctor) that day, you should first phone a local GP practice.

Alternatively, phone 0131 667 3925, where there are a number of additional appointments available during the festivals, between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, from 4 August to 28 August.

Urgent mental health support 
The following are some useful telephone numbers to
Mental Health Assessment Service (MHAS) on 0131 537 6000
Breathing Space helpline – 0800 838 587
The Samaritans helpline – 08457 909 090
Edinburgh Crisis Centre – 0808 801 0414

Out of hours
Need urgent medical advice out of hours, and not sure what to do? Call NHS 24 on 111.

Dental health
For information on emergency dental care, see NHS 24’s website.

Emergencies
NHS Lothian has hospital Emergency Departments at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, St John’s Hospital, Livingston and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. These services are for urgent and emergency situations only.

If at any time you think you need an emergency ambulance for a life-threatening condition, call 999.

A big welcome to Lothian’s temporary residents – we hope you all enjoy the summer festivals! 

Project Servator: Police gear up for Edinburgh Festival

project-servator-1

Police Scotland will deploy an innovative and very effective policing tactic designed to deter, detect and disrupt criminal and terrorist activity in the lead up to and during the course of the Edinburgh International and Fringe Festival 2017. Continue reading Project Servator: Police gear up for Edinburgh Festival

Party time: More cash for Edinburgh festivals

Extra £300,000 to mark 70th anniversary

The Scottish Government will provide an extra £300,000 to support the Edinburgh Festivals in 2017-18 – their 70th anniversary. The Edinburgh Festivals were born in 1947, led by the Edinburgh International Festival, with the Festival Fringe and Film Festivals created in the same year. The city’s festivals will now receive £2.3 million in public funding. Continue reading Party time: More cash for Edinburgh festivals

Fire festival spreads to Mound

This year’s Samhuinn Fire Festival, the event held in Edinburgh every Halloween to mark the end of summer and beginning of winter, is to move beyond its usual Royal Mile route and will now climax at the Mound Precinct.
Samhuinn
With more than 6,000 spectators last year, the Beltane Fire Society event has become so popular it’s had to move its finale to its new city centre location by Princes Street, so thousands more people can watch the spectacle and mark the turning seasons.
The celebration will begin at 9pm on Friday 31 October at the High Street, with a procession of drums, fire and characters from celtic lore making their way from the High Street at the Royal Mile, down Cockburn Street, and on to the stage at the Mound Precinct for the final battle between the forces of Summer and Winter.
Sara Thomas, event co-ordinator said: “It’s great to be taking Samhuinn to the very heart of the city this year. The extra space at the stage on the Mound Precinct means we can make the event more spectacular than ever, and far more people will be able to see every moment. It’s an incredible event, fantastic to watch – even more so given all the performers are volunteers, we don’t get any formal funding, and the audience can turn up on the night with no need to buy tickets – just make a donation to our lovely Bucketeers.”
Becky Salter, playing the key role of the Cailleach in the event, said: “Samhuinn is a wonderful event to be part of, full of fire, drums and excitement. There’s nothing like it anywhere in the world. We want the people of Edinburgh to share it with us, to join us in marking the end of Summer and the rise of Winter – and this extended route will mean far more people can witness it all.”
Attendance at Samhuinn Fire Festival is by donation on the night, with no ticket needed.
The event is organised by the Beltane Fire Society, a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.
Samhuinn Fire Festival is a modern ‘re-imagining’ of an ancient celtic festival marking the end of summer and rise of winter. The modern event has been held in Edinburgh since 1995. Its spring and summer counterpart, Beltane, takes place on Calton Hill on the last day of April each year, and has been running since 1988.

Stay safe during the Festival

The Festival gets into full swing this month and Edinburgh’s population more than doubles as visitors pour into the city to be entertained. With the Fringe getting under way this weekend, police have issued safety advice to visitors from near and far.

Lothian and Borders Police are encouraging those visiting Edinburgh’s festivals to think about how they can guard against falling victim to crime.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists and visitors are expected to visit the Capital in the weeks ahead, and while incidents of crime remain relatively low during the festival period, the increased numbers of people in the city provide attractive opportunities for criminals.

The policing response to this year’s festival activity will focus on preventing crime, in particular theft, violent crime, and anti-social behaviour.

As part of this preventative approach, police are urging people to access advice on how they can protect themselves from becoming victims of crime.

Tips on crime prevention are available on information displays that have been erected in the High Street, while the Police Information Centre, also located in the High Street, will act as a hub where visitors will be able to obtain advice.

Chief Inspector Gavin Phillip, from Lothian and Borders Police, said: “Edinburgh’s festivals are world-renowned and attract a huge number of visitors, enhancing the Capital’s reputation as a safe place to visit, live, and work.

“We want to ensure that people enjoying the city during this period have an enjoyable time, and in that regard our policing plan in the month ahead will focus heavily on crime prevention.

“In particular, we want people to take steps to keep their personal possessions safe and avoid falling victim to thieves.

Likewise, we are asking revellers taking advantage of the extended opening hours during the festival to be mindful of their personal safety.

“A range of crime prevention advice is available on the Lothian and Borders Police website, and I would urge those planning to visit the city centre in the weeks ahead to visit the site”.

Community Safety Leader, Councillor Cammy Day, said: “Edinburgh really comes alive during the festival season with thousands of people flocking to the city centre to take in all the fantastic events taking place.

“Thanks to the great partnership work between City of Edinburgh Council and Lothian and Borders Police the Capital is a safe place, however it’s important people take steps to ensure they don’t fall victim to crime.

“There will also be extra patrols from both police and the Council’s community safety officers and environmental wardens to ensure the city continues to offer a very warm welcome to visitors from all over the world.”