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The Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Edinburgh Festival and Fringe? Do us all a favour and move them to November
The good news: the Balmoral Hotel, which sprouts grandly from Edinburgh Waverley station, has space for next weekend. But you must commit to a three-night minimum stay. In a Deluxe Castle View room that indulgence will cost you over £5,000. The Balmoral is a magnificent hotel, but if you don't have the resources of J K Rowling (who famously finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in room 552), you might prefer a simple two-star budget hotel – such as the Ibis in the Old Town. Next Saturday night is all yours for £427. Now, I have no problem with the travel industry responding to demand by raising prices. It is a sensible way to allocate scarce resources, whether hotel beds or seats on planes: next Friday, on a British Airways flight between London Heathrow and Edinburgh, some economy fares are touching £500 each way. Hoteliers and airlines are responding to the intense demand to be in the Scottish capital for the Festival and Fringe, which drape themselves across almost all of August. Audiences, performers and the media bid up prices. Heaven help the unwitting tourist who turns up unaware of the cultural frenzy that seizes the city each summer. In fact, divine intervention is not needed. But radical action is. The Edinburgh International Festival was a brilliant post-war concept. A Jewish refugee of the Nazi regime, Rudolf Bing, proposed a global celebration of human creativity. Since the first event in 1947, the festival has proved an extraordinary force – inspiring the counter-cultural Fringe, which has now become the most intense collection of performing arts on the planet. A lifetime has elapsed since that debut. And tourism, like culture, has blossomed. In 1947, Edinburgh was doubtless as seductive as it is now. Some British tourists passed through on the way to the Highlands, but probably only a handful of international visitors visited. Today, Edinburgh airport is in the premier league of UK hubs, alongside the London airports and Manchester. At least 25,000 passengers touch down every day in August, along with countless thousands of arrivals to the city by rail. The Scottish capital simply does not need to host a festival in August, let alone two massive, global celebrations. Move the events to make room for real tourists. Were the festivities to vanish, the vacuum created would be filled instantly by actual tourists. They would make the most of the superbly reinvented art gallery, the National; wandering the Royal Mile and spending in its implausibly large number of tourist shops; climbing Arthur's Seat; and enjoying the beguiling mix of ancient, modern and natural beauty. Edinburgh would be full every August. Hoteliers and transport providers would continue to make a tidy profit. And many people would be happy. But what happens to the festivities? They just need to be moved. I have two helpful suggestions. One involves time, the other distance. I confidently predict not everyone will like them. First, shift the International Festival and Fringe to November. That is a dull month in northerly nations, and it would cheer up the city no end. Hoteliers will also be glad to respond to increased demand; current room rates for November are typically between a quarter and one-third of those in August. It will provide a boost to the capital before the pre-Christmas and Hogmanay excitement begins. If you are unimpressed with that plan, you may be even more displeased with the alternative. Keep the cultural extravaganza in August, but shift it 40 miles west. To Glasgow. Edinburgh's great rival has plenty of performance venues and an expanding range of hotel rooms. While I love Scotland's most populous city, it does not have the same touristic charisma as Edinburgh. So while the international sightseers are frolicking by the Firth of Forth, the cultural masses are on the Clyde. Incensed by a geographical move? It could have been worse. When I first pitched the idea to my colleagues on the travel desk, I was going to recommend exporting the whole cultural caboodle either to November or… Birmingham. Let me know your thoughts to s@ Simon Calder, also known as The Man Who Pays His Way, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. In his weekly opinion column, he explores a key travel issue – and what it means for you.
The Herald Scotland
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Edinburgh Festival shows the power of culture in our fractured world
Peter Florence, the former Director of Hay Festival, put it simply: 'When politics and society pull people apart, festivals are invaluable places to bring people together.' This belief is in the DNA of the Edinburgh International Festival. It was our founding purpose in 1947, when a Jewish refugee and opera director named Rudolf Bing, alongside civic leaders and artists, envisioned a way to heal post-war Europe – not through politics or hard power, but through culture. The idea of that original festival – which still resonates in our meeting rooms, green rooms, theatres and concert halls today – was to use the arts to transcend division and bring people of disparate nations together. Edinburgh still maintains that purpose, and as Tereza Raabová, from Culture Matters, a platform for creative businesses in the Czech Republic, claimed, 'Edinburgh is indeed the city of festivals'. Alongside the Czech Republic we had truly international representation from Ukraine, Bosnia, Hungary, Italy, Sweden, and dozens of other nations. Some are working in contexts of censorship or underfunding. Others face different pressures – shrinking resources, climate volatility or changing audience behaviours. But the sense of shared purpose was palpable. Haris Pašović from East West Centre Sarajevo said, 'You could literally see the satisfaction and joy on the shining faces of the participants.' The important thing now though, is that those conversations move beyond rooms of the like-minded and into more mainstream public and political discourse. The Edinburgh International Festival is uniquely placed to lead this kind of international cultural dialogue. As the original festival – the one that sparked a global movement – it sits at the heart of what has become one of the world's great cultural ecosystems. Every August, alongside our sister festivals the Festival Fringe, the International Book, Art and Film Festivals, and the Tattoo – we help transform Edinburgh into a truly international meeting place where ideas and perspectives are exchanged, business is conducted and friendships formed. Together, each year, we form the largest cultural gathering outside the Olympic Games, right here in the capital. We welcome thousands of artists, producers, diplomats and millions of visitors, every August, putting Scotland on the map and generating more than £600 million for its economy each summer. The chance to host such an event once in a lifetime is something many cities would gladly bid for; that Scotland gets to host it every year is truly a windfall. What became clear during the summit is that this collective effort – across festivals, borders, and disciplines – can be both insightful and strategic. Festivals, in their very nature, are built on the act of welcoming. As Raabová reflected: 'Festivals seek to blur boundaries and differences between people, seeking common interests and understanding.' This is not just sentiment – it is a form of soft power. Showing that our country is a welcoming and open place for the exchange of ideas, is critical in a world where democratic institutions are being tested, and global crises require long-term, human-centred thinking. A particularly resonant moment from the summit came in a session titled 'Being Good Ancestors'. It asked not just what festivals can do now, but what kind of world we want to leave behind. That question echoed with Llaria Laaghi, from Lugo Music Festival, Romania, she had 'never thought of [her] work in those terms before… to think of festivals as a way of spreading peace, to leave something to the next generations.' But that's exactly what the best of gatherings do. They create space to seek different truths. That sentiment underpins our programme this year, with the theme The Truth We Seek. This year, and indeed every year, we will support artists in telling complex and difficult stories, sharing with us a perspective on the world that we cannot hope to glean from the internet or TV alone. They give audiences the chance to connect across differences by being in the same physical space – and, through that, to encourage new or deeper thinking. The Edinburgh International Festival will continue to do just that. We will present the highest quality art for the broadest possible audience. But more than that, we will convene and spark conversation, with an unshakeable belief in the role festivals can play in our future. Francesca Hegyi is Chief Executive, Edinburgh International Festival
