All Edinburgh Festivals 2020 Cancelled due to virus

All of Edinburgh Festivals 2020 are cancelled: and will not take place for the first time in 70 years. 

The Edinburgh FRINGE, ARTS, INTERNATIONAL, BOOK & FILM (plus the Tattoo) festivals are cancelled due to the coronavirus. Devastating if not unexpected news. I attend every year, what will I do August?
Edinburgh’s five August festivals, welcome audiences of more than 4.4 million people and 25,000 artists.

Shona McCarthy, the chief executive of the Fringe Society, said the decision had not been taken lightly. She also held out hope that they would find ways of “uniting people” under a fringe umbrella .What will happen to funding, performers, shows and tickets? Lets hope the festivals of 2021 will come back even more renewed.

Edinburgh festival 2019

2019 was the festivals 72nd year 

For the month of August Edinburgh’s population doubles in size, and every possible room and hall becomes a venue. Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is the perfect historic backdrop for the players to exhibit their talents. The weather in August may be changeable, but it is also just right. 

The main event is the comedy: and the international main festival, theatre plays, music concerts, dance, cabaret – from world class, to school and university amateurs. It offers an expanding platform for new talent. There is something here for everyone. Edinburgh is also just the right size to walk around the dramatic castle, old town and new town. Its worth taking time to explore Scottish history off the main tourist paths and down the Canongate. 

Many great writers have lived here - Alan Ramsay, Adam Smith, David Hume, Dugald Stewart, Adam Ferguson, James Hutton, Henry MacKenzie, Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alexander Macall Smith, Ian Rankin.

Edinburgh Festivals 2018!

The fields are golden, the sun getting lower and a chill begins in the evening air as the first leaves are starting to fall. 

 Its dark now late Sunday and the men are busy packing up the large tents on George street. We know the festival must end, and a normal and quieter Edinburgh return – but also the festival lifts us all higher for a short while, and makes the impossible possible, offers new horizons. 

EIF provides a glorious and golden end of summer bash each year celebrating the best of theatre, comedy, music, dance, art and much much more...Edinburgh offers a festival for all tastes – from the intellectual rigour of the book festival, its significant comedy festival, and extensive theatre.  

Under luminous skies, I entered with the book festival with a heady mix of anticipation, bolstered by the beaming exuberance , shared laughter and well rehearsed singers of the high street.  

The sometimes new and tacky mixes with the unique individual histories. Perhaps I might hope for more of the latter. Some worry Edina is turning into a Theme park and moving downmarket – do we want a Butlin’s image or to attract the more sophisticated traveller? 

Edina has a rich seam of authentic heritage - not only the deep stories of the dark rugged castle rock, but the majestic Georgian new town and the hidden alleyways below and beyond its Royal Mile. 

 There were 4.5 million ticket sales, second only to the Olympics – and this festival takes place every year; but the diversity means there is little TV coverage. From the grand Tattoo show on the castle esplanade,  the main international festival and the youthful Fringe shows and offers a platform for new theatre, 

**TALKS EIBF

Paris Riots 68, with Nael Ascherson

Yanis Varoufakis

Karl Ove Knaasgard

Michael Marra: Arrest This Moment

Gina Miller

**SHOWS that caught my attention

The Beggars Opera - The Kings

Mhairi Campbell, Auld Lang Syne, Storytelling centre

The Red Guitar - 

Midsummer - The Hub

Caledonian Soul - Queens hall
Ulster American - Traverse theatre

I managed a few shows, sadly not time for all.

Music and Art Edinburgh festival

Mogwai

*ART

Scottish Photography at the City Arts Centre -  charting the development of fine art photography in Scotland. The exhibition features work by a range of historic and contemporary artists - Hill and Adamson, Thomas Begbie, Joseph McKenzie, David Williams, Maud Sulter, Wendy McMurdo, Calum Colvin, Christine Borland and Dalziel + Scullion. https://edinburghartfestival.com/whats-on/detail/in-focus-scottish-photography

Rembrandt at the National galleries Mound. 

Victoria Crowe: Beyond Likeness– Scottish Portrait gallery - https://edinburghartfestival.com/whats-on/detail/beyond-likeness (also A Certain Light at the Scottish gallery)  #edartfest

https://edinburghartfestival.com

*MUSIC on offer at Edinburgh festival caters for every taste – from guitar blues, live folk sessions,, grand opera, lively musicals, fun acapella choirs, exciting live shows, intimate concerts Queens hall - Blue Rose Code, Lindisfarne, Blazin Fiddles; and impressive classical orchestras – which include Scottish and international artists; long term favourites such as Tom Jones and Brian Wilson; contemporary performers such as Paloma Faith, Rag n Bone Man; progressive rockers Mogwai at the Leith theatre; folk artists. 

Blue Rose Code

There is the Summer Nights at Princes street gardens- 

Monday 6th August: Tom Jones, with Into The Ark 
Thursday 9th August: Bastille, and The Vaccines, and Retro Video Club 
Tuesday 14th August: Rag n Bone Man, with Grace Carter, and The LaFontaines 
Friday 17th August: Paloma Faith, with Ward Thomas 
Saturday 18th August: Kasabian, plus special guests
Sunday 19th August: Brian Wilson presents Pet Sounds, with Al Jardine + Blondie Chaplinand Beat Root Revival.

#edfringe

#edmusicfest

COMEDY is of course the main event with many respected and well known comedians appearing – Pleasance venue, Underbelly and many more.

VENUES – Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Festival theatre, George Square theatre, Pleasance, Lyceum, 

Make time for a walk up the Royal mile and down the Mound to Princes street to savour the unique, colourful and often very obscure street entertainment!  Well worth it. Hope the weather holds…..

Edinburgh Festivals 2018!

The worlds largest arts festival has invited the world and the world came……

One of the highlights of my year is visiting the Edinburgh festivals in Augusts –  the Fringe, the Arts festival, the Edinburgh Book festival, as well as the main International festival. 

My main focus is always the Edinburgh International book festival, where I attend talks and do photography. Many famous faces attend from across the world of literature, politicians, sports, music the arts, science. I have photos of Scottish and authors worldwide on my website – 

Seamus Heaney, John Byrne, Ian Rankin, Iain Banks, Alex Salmond Liz Lochhead, Mark Baaumont, Neil Gaiman, Elif Shafak, Ruth Rendell, Maggie O’Farrell, Joanne Harris, Martin Amis, Nile Rodgers, Alan Cummings, Simon Callow, John Byrne - http://pkimage.co.uk/edinburghbookfestival

In the perfect setting of Charlotte square Edinburgh. EIBF is a celebration of books, written words ideas, spaces to collaborate and exchange views, inspiring stories. retrieving and renewing. I am looking outward to common interests, shared values, an informed country, and to renew the Scottish arts. The book festival will celebrate 'freedom' as their theme this year. 

Last year I was proud my son took part in the Edinburgh Fringewith the Aberdeen Aperpella group at Surgeons hall – the always popular harmony singing groups – and performed on the high street.  

The biggest part of the fringe is comedy – as well as musicals, drama, dance, music, 

The Edinburgh Arts festival is hosting a show on Scottish photography at the Arts Centre, As well as a show on Rembrandt at the Scottish National galleries. 

LINKS - 
EDINBURGH ARTS FESTIVALS -  https://edinburghartfestival.com/scottish-photography

EDINBURGH FRINGE-   https://www.edfringe.com

EDINBURGH BOOK FESTIVAL -  https://www.edbookfest.co.uk

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL - https://www.eif.co.uk

This year will see a high street revamp, I look forward to that!  The high street is always a must see. There will be nearly a thousand performers over the vast array of 3,500 varied venues. To provide the biggest platform for creative and for freedom of expression 

"All the arts involve writing and reading, in the widest sense, writing as in composition, creation, production, publication and reading as in attentive analysis, interpretation, conversation, comparisons and contrasts." Alan Raich

Theatre show Leo

Skating minster by Henry Raeburn

Edinburgh festival 2017

Royal Mile performers and festival goers

Every August is a highlight of my year to venture on Edinburgh’s historic streets and to culturally recharge my batteries at the world’s largest arts festival. There’s a special freedom of creativity, where nearly anything goes – a smorgasbord melting pot of colour, comedy, dance, song,

There’s also the high water marks of the main festival – with opera, classical, ballet, drama, and more. .

Edinburgh is ideal to see on foot with the Royal mile, the mound and over to the new town.

This year EIF celebrates 70 years!

Begun in 1947.

Comedy at the Pleasance and elsewhere is the main attraction. Remember to read the Scotsman reviews!

Then there is the wonderful literary hub of the Edinburgh International book festival at Charlotte Square – with poets, artists, sportsmen, politicians, and more.

Hopefully the sun will shine, the tattoo fireworks every evening will light our skies, and there’ll be many more joyful celebrations for those twilight summer days and nights, and with autumn leaves soon in the air.

posters on the royal mile

EDINBURGH FRINGE 2017  Celebrates its 70^th anniversary

THE ALLIANCE OF DEFIANCE

The Fringe began in 1947 when eight groups arrived in Edinburgh hoping to perform at the newly formed Edinburgh International Festival but were refused entry. Rather than being discouraged from performing, they went ahead and performed on the fringe of the Festival anyway and so the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was born.

2017 marks the 70th anniversary of these eight groups’ defiance and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is now the largest arts festival in the world.

The Fringe is a truly open access festival where, in the spirit of the original eight, no one is denied entry, making it the largest platform on earth for creative freedom.

https://www.edfringe.comm.