Latest news with #McEwanHall
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Record
Nicola Sturgeon predicts Queen's death was 'beginning of the end' for monarchy in UK
The former first minister praised the late Queen's "mystique" which she claimed members of the Royal Family lack. Nicola Sturgeon has predicted the death of the late Queen was the "beginning of the end" for the monarchy in the UK. The former first minister told an audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival she was a republican by "heart and by instinct" - but waxed lyrical about how much "admiration" she had for Elizabeth II, who died in 2022. Sturgeon met the late monarch on regular ocassions during her time as first minister from 2014 onwards. Speaking at the McEwan Hall in Edinburgh, host Kirsty Walk asked Sturgeon if the Queen had liked her. The former SNP leader replied: "I would like to think so, but I suspect everybody who has sat in private audience with the Queen got the impression she liked you. But the truth is, I don't know. "In my heart, and by instinct, I am a republican. But I had huge admiration for the Queen. I would get more nervous for audiences with the Queen, in terms of being questioned about things, than I did going on television. Asked when the monarchy should end, she added: "I think it should end probably quite soon. "But I'm not saying it will. I recon we will look back - and I don't know whether this will be 10, 15 or 100 years - and history will look back on the death of Queen Elizabeth as probably the beginning of the end for the monarchy. "Because there was such a mystique about her, and with the greatest respect to the King, and to other members of the Royal Family, I don't think they have that to the same extent, and I think without that, people focus more on the absurdities of monarchy." Sturgeon previously claimed late Queen had asked for "gossip" about the Alex Salmond harassment allegations. In her new memoir, she details tells how the monarch immediately asked for details about Mr Salmond when the women met at Balmoral Castle a few weeks after misconduct claims against him first emerged. Claiming the Queen "loved a bit of gossip", Sturgeon wrote: "She asked me about it almost as soon as I sat down. She wanted to know more of what was going on." Sturgeon regularly enjoyed charming audiences with the Queen at Balmoral. The book reads: "She was always relaxed and chatty, and these sessions would typically last for around an hour."
New York Times
11-08-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Blown Away by Bubble Art
It was supposed to be a quiet Monday at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a time for performers and spectators to catch up on sleep after a busy opening weekend. But in McEwan Hall last week, the atmosphere was riotous. For about an hour, some 400 adults and children were gasping, screaming and laughing as Louis Pearl, the Amazing Bubble Man, encased girls and boys in huge soapy globules, made bubbles levitate and wobble, filled many of the fragile spheres with smoke, and karate-chopped others in half. For the show's finale, Pearl, 68, grabbed a long plastic stick with a ring on one end, dipped it into a vat of soapy formula and waved it above his head so that thousands of bubbles drifted over the audience. Children throughout the theater leaped out of their seats to pop them. Such spectacles are at the heart of bubble art, a performance genre that, for over a decade, has been a growing presence at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the annual arts festival more renowned as a birthplace of hit comedy shows, plays and musicals. This year, four bubbleologists, as they like to be called, have shows on the Fringe, which runs through Aug. 25. Alongside Pearl's, in which he also cracks jokes while performing tricks, a performer called Ray Bubbles has a show for disabled children and an 'Ultimate Bubble Show'; an act called the Highland Joker has the simply titled 'Bubble Show'; and Maxwell the Bubbleologist has a 'Flying Bubble Show,' largely performed midair. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Scotsman
10-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh International Book Festival ticket sales rise as director Jenny Niven speaks on event future
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It has been a turbulent few years for the Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF), which has seen a move to a new location and the event lose its major commercial sponsor amid backlash from fossil fuel campaigners. However, the outlook for this year's event is positive, as the first events take place this weekend - with advance ticket sales up almost a fifth on last year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Edinburgh International Book Festival director Jenny Niven outside its new home at Edinburgh Futures Institute | Aly Wright Director Jenny Niven said the festival had this year increased capacity in its main tent and bookshop and expanded the area dedicated to children's events. But she said she had no plans to return the festival to the scale it once was at its original Charlotte Square venue. Ticket sales at EIBF, which opens for the second year in its new home at the Edinburgh Futures Institute this weekend, are 18 per cent higher compared to the same time last year, driven by demand for its extended Front List series at the McEwan Hall. Ms Niven said the series, which includes events with Nicola Sturgeon, actor Brian Cox and author Maggie O'Farrell among its line-up, had proven popular with first-time book festival audiences, as it had a focus on Young Adult literature, including a sell-out event with R F Kuang, author of Yellowface. 'We are definitely seeing new audiences,' she said. 'I think our partnership with Underbelly in the McEwan Hall is really helping with that, as well as our expanded programme choices, which are appealing to a range of readers, including some food writers, who are proving very popular. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We can tell that much at this point [that tickets are being sold to first-time visitors to the festival].' Outlander actor Sam Heughan's cocktail masterclass sold out within hours of going on sale. Other discussions, including one by former footballer Ally McCoist on his new autobiography, Dear Scotland: On the Road with the Tartan Army, have also been popular. Any major changes this year have been made following consultation with last year's visitors about the new space. However, Ms Niven is careful to balance the line-up to appeal to both old and new audiences. 'The programme is big enough that we're able to do both,' she said. 'We're very grateful to our extremely loyal book festival audience, some of whom have been coming for decades. They're vocal, they tell us what they think, which is great. Some of the feedback they gave us last year about the site has definitely been incorporated into this year.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Funding, however, remains a challenge. Ms Niven admitted the festival had not yet found a replacement for Baillie Gifford's 20-year sponsorship, which was believed to be worth around £35,000 a year. The festival was forced to end its partnership with the Edinburgh fund manager last year, warning it was no longer able to deliver a 'safe and successful' event amid 'threats of disruption'. Climate activist Greta Thunberg had cancelled an event a year earlier over the Edinburgh-based financial firm's fossil fuel investments. The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), however, has retained a tie up with the company. Festival director Nicola Benedetti told The Scotsman last week the partnership was likely to continue for the foreseeable future, despite renewed calls from campaigners who hit out at the company's investments in defence firm Babcock International. Jenny Niven, director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival. | EIBF Ms Niven would not directly answer a question as to whether she had any regrets over the decision to end the partnership. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We were in a very, very difficult position then,' she said. 'That's [considering the situation with hindsight] not in our gift. We worked with what we could at the time. 'Now, we're working with all sort of new sponsors and partners. We've got a couple of new sponsorships this year, which we're really proud of, and we've also got a new approach to forging these new partnerships and new relationships. We're looking at new partnerships all the time.' The new partners include law firm Digby Brown, as well as Amazon audiobooks site Audible - and, perhaps more unexpectedly, Pokemon, which, while not a financial replacement for Baillie Gifford, is a welcome addition to the line-up. The costumed character is due to appear in the revamped children's zone alongside other stars from children's books, including the Gruffalo and a 'real' unicorn. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Meanwhile, Audible's partnership, which has only recently been agreed, is working in supporting new writing at the festival. The bookshop, run with Waterstone's, is expecting a bumper year, with bookshop manager Caron MacPherson ordering in a total of 55,000 volumes in anticipation of sales which are far higher than last year's 30,000. While planning for the next festival begins as soon as each year's event closes its doors on the last audience members, organisers have to be prepared for last-minute changes. A gala on this year's opening day, where writers had been tasked with creating new work on the theme of repair, had been due to feature Juma Xipaia, who was due to travel from Brazil, while Colin Greenwood's slot has also been cancelled. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Both had unusual excuses - Radiohead bassist Mr Greenwood had been asked to tour with Nick Cave, while Ms Xipaia's partner, who works with indigenous groups in the Amazon, had been called away to a remote community, leaving her with no childcare. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is based at the Edinburgh Futures Institute for the second year. Robert MacFarlane has stepped in to replace Ms Xipaia, while historian and writer David Olusoga is now to appear in place of Mr Greenwood. However, Ms Niven admits there is little a festival can do if a long-planned author cancels. Front List authors are signed up to a contract, however, others are not.
Scotsman
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
'Frankly': Nicola Sturgeon previews memoir and 'turning point in my life' as she records audiobook version
Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister, will have her memoir published later this month. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Nicola Sturgeon promises her memoir will delve into the 'many challenges' she overcame to become the first female first minister, as she records the audiobook version of 'Frankly'. Her memoir will be officially launched at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on August 14 where Ms Sturgeon will appear at a sold-out show in the capital's McEwan Hall. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Nicola Sturgeon unveils her book, Frankly | Instagram Ms Sturgeon has now told her social media followers that she has recorded the audiobook version of her memoir at a studio on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Speaking on Instagram, Ms Sturgeon said: "I've spent the past year beavering away on my memoir. 'It will be published in August and today I'm in a great studio on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh recording the audiobook. It's all getting very, very close.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The former first minister said she felt she was 'at a turning point in my life' after standing down from leading Scotland and the SNP, then announcing she would leave Holyrood at the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. 'I've spent more than a quarter of a century as an elected politician,' she said. 'I was a government minister for 16 years, and I led Scotland as first minister for more than eight years. 'Having stood down as First Minister and having decided to shortly leave office as a member of Parliament, it seemed a good time to reflect on my life, my career. But importantly reflect on how my life and career has interacted with what has been the most momentous period in modern Scottish history. 'I will tell the story of that and the many challenges I've had to overcome to take my place as the first woman first minister of my country.'
The Herald Scotland
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Explainer: Why did the Edinburgh book festival move?
Nearly 700 events have just been announced for its 2025 programme, which will include award-winning stars of stage and screen, along with best-selling authors, broadcasters, politicians, sporting celebrities, stand-up comics and musicians. Read more: An overall audience of more than 100,000 is expected to events ranging in size from intimate gatherings for just a few dozen people around the historic NHS campus, which is now home to the Edinburgh Futures Institutes, to the 1000-capacity galas at the McEwan Hall. The Edinburgh International Book Festival was staged for three years at Edinburgh College of Art. (Image: EIBF) Other events will be staged at the nearby National Library of Scotland and Dynamic Earth, the science centre on the doorstep of the Scottish Parliament. The 2025 festival will be a far cry from its earliest incarnation, which was conceived as a one-off event when it was staged in 1983, when there were only two other literary festivals in the UK. The McEwan Hall hosts the biggest events in the Edinburgh International Book Festival programme. (Image: Mihaela Bodlovic) But that first edition was seen as a huge success thanks to appearances from the likes of Anthony Burgess, John Updike, PD James and Melvyn Bragg. Other authors invited to the city by founding director Jenny Brown included Doris Lessing, William McIlvanney, Liz Lochhead, Joan Lingard and Malcolm Bradbury. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is now mostly staged at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. (Image: Chris Scott) The festival would return every two years until 1997, when it became an annual fixture due to its growing popularity in Charlotte Square Garden. By the turn of the century, the book festival was playing host to 350 authors in Charlotte Square and the event played a huge part in Edinburgh being named the world's first UNESCO City of Literature in 2004. Growing visitor numbers and pressure to reduce the impact of the event on the privately-owned garden led to the event expanding onto George Street for the first time. Although the festival had resisted calls from heritage campaigners to consider relocating the event, they agreed to do exactly that in 2021, when the event returned following the lifting of Covid restrictions, with a small-scale festival staged at Edinburgh College of Art. The following year festival director Nick Barley sprung a surprise with an announcement that a long-term agreement had been reached with Edinburgh University to stage the event at the new Edinburgh Futures Institute in future. Another two editions of the festival were staged at the art school before the literary celebrated took over the former hospital site last August, weeks after the university's revamp was unveiled, under a new director, Jenny Niven. She announced a new partnership with long-time Fringe promoters and producers Underbelly to allow the biggest events with authors to go ahead at the McEwan Hall, where former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, stage and screen star Ruth Jones, Gavin & Stacey co-creator Ruth Jones and Scottish football favourite Ally McCoist.
