The Edinburgh Festival

Every August, Scotland’s capital is transformed into the largest arts festival in the world. For three weeks the city sees its population of around 450,000 double as performers and tourists from every corner of the map descend on the so-called ‘Athens of the north’.

The Edinburgh Festival first came to being in 1947 as part of a post-war effort to ‘provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit’. The “Official” Festival is a programme of events in the fields of theatre, opera, music and dance. While the official festival is a popular and successful event, it is not the part that is best known around the world.

The original festival in 1947 was effectively gate-crashed by a group of eight theatrical companies who put on their own unofficial events. This movement grew in following years and came to be known as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. As a resident of the City of Edinburgh (and a veteran of many festivals) I would argue that it is the Fringe that really brings the crowds to town.

The reasons for the creation of the Fringe and the differences between it and the Festival can be explained in varying ways, it all depends on your point of view. The Official Festival organisers would probably tell you that, historically, the Fringe grew out of sheer enthusiasm from people inspired to put on their own shows in addition to official events. Others will point to a class divide; with the official festival being seen as pro-establishment and elitist, while the Fringe is affordable, working class entertainment. It could simply be explained as appealing to different audiences; those who would spend their evening listening to Masaaki Suzuki conduct Handel’s Rinaldo choosing the Festival, while those who would prefer a few pints of beer while watching the world’s top comedians compete for the coveted Perrier Award choosing the Fringe.

So now that I’ve got past the introduction of what the Edinburgh Festival is, what would be my advice to would-be visitors to my fair festival city?

Hotels I’d recommend for different budgets and tastes

Edinburgh city centre it fairly compact for a major European capital, so if you’re staying in a hotel then anything near the centre will leave you with easy access to most potential Festival venues and other tourist attractions.