Welcome

These pages hopefully contain useful information on Edinburgh and its August festivals for all fellow punters, both established and new. It should be particularly helpful to those who are trying the festival for the first time. However, beware all you newbies - you may get hooked! To get a flavour of the effect that Edinburgh can have on punters and artists alike, read ... ... or take a look at our light-hearted experiences over the years.

Site last updated on July 29th, 2010.
Most Popular Pages on This Site
Page When
A History of the Edinburgh Festivals all the year round
Links to Previews & Picks June to mid-August
Info on Reviews, Awards, etc June to August
News all the year round
A Potted History of Auld Reekie all the year round

Other Contents:

The August Feast: A Punter's Perspective on Edinburgh & Its Festivals
Potential Threats to the future of the Edinburgh Festival
Previous Festival Years
Variety of Links
Some Pictures and More Pictures
Bibliography and Further Reading
Links to Venue Information
2010 Festival Dates for Your Diary
Festival
Festival
dates
Prog.
Launch
 Public
Booking
International Festival
13 Aug-5 Sep
 27th March
Fringe
6 Aug-30 Aug
 11th June
Book Festival
14 Aug-30 Aug
 26th June
Film Festival
16 Jun-27 Jun
3rd June
Jazz & Blues Festival
30 Jul-8 Aug
11th June
Art Festival
29 Jul-5 Sep
now
Magic Festival
7 Jul-11 Jul
mid April
mid April
Military Tattoo
6 Aug-28 Aug
Nov 2009
Dec 2009
Forest Fringe
9 Aug-21 Aug
n/a
The Edge Festival
5 Aug-31 Aug
11th June
Mela Festival
6 Aug-8 Aug
29th June
Festival Mailing Lists and Friends / Supporters

Most festivals provide a mailing list which you can freely subscribe to. Others allow you to become a friend or supporter for a fee; this will normally provide you with advance information and priority booking facilities.

Festival
Mailing list links
Friend /
Supporter
International Festival
Fringe
Book Festival
Film Festival
n/a
Jazz & Blues Festival
Art Festival
n/a
Military Tattoo
n/a
Mela Festival
n/a
Recent Additions of Ancillary Information

Jan 2010 - links to EWHS Edinburgh House Histories e-newsletters
Dec 2009 - revised version of Threats to Edinburgh's Festivals
Dec 2009 - update to a History of the Edinburgh Festivals
Oct 2009 - link to EWHS brief history of some of Edinburgh's pubs

all Review links Latest Preview & Review Linksall Picks & Preview links
Derevo's Harlekin (Dance) in The List
Folk, Jazz and other music on The Fringe in The Scotsman
City Art Centre photography exhibitions in Edinburghguide.com
Book Festival Primer in The Skinny
Hurrah some picks ... this set from Whatsonstage.com
Telegraph's Edinburgh festival page takes shape
Jazz & Blues Festival preview in The Scotsman
Made in Scotland Fringe showcase in The Herald
14 pics from Impressionist Gardens exhibition in The Telegraph
fringereview.co.uk recommendations
Forest Fringe unfolding blog of their 2010 festival
Django Reinhardt's gypsy rhythms live on in The Herald
Review - Another World in The FT
30 shows to watch ... according to The List
Rest of The Edge in The Fest
Guardian picks across all the festivals
Note - critics recommendations generally seem to be running late this year
Latest Newsall 2009-2010 news | 2008-2009 | 2007-2008
Blow for EIFF as Film Council is scrapped
posted July 27th, 2010.

The UK Film Council has been scrapped as part of the government's economy drive. The council has been a major supporter of the EIFF, awarding it £1.9m in 2008 to help with its rebranding and move to a June festival.
Hints of arts funding cuts to come
posted July 24th, 2010.

The Guardian reports on hints from Creative Scotland, the newly formed Scottish Arts body, of a 10% cut in subsidies over three years. Joyce McMillan acts as defender of arts subsidies in The Scotsman. These likely cuts come on top of reductions that have been proposed by Edinburgh city council.
Heritage watchdog attempts to block Festival Theatre extension plans
posted July 21st, 2010.

The Cockburn Association (The Edinburgh Civic Trust) is trying to block the Festival Theatre's development plans for a rehearsal area and student accommodation, saying that it is "mediocre, misguided ... lacking in ambition".
Comedy awards online poll upsets Stewart Lee
posted July 20th, 2010.

Comedian Stewart Lee has attacked the Fosters' Comedy Awards for introducing an online public poll to vote for your "comedy god". The list of possibles contains all the Perrier and if.comedy nominees over the 30 years of the comedy awards' existence.
Scott Monument becomes a fringe venue for the first time
posted July 18th, 2010.

The Scott Monument will become venue 283 for this year's festival, hosting a photography exhibition.
Bank of Scotland to cease sponsorship of EIF fireworks concert
posted July 17th, 2010.

The Herald reports that the Bank of Scotland will cease to sponsor the very popular fireworks concert which is held at the end of the EIF festival after this year's event. Lloyds, its parent company, is in the process of closing 265 Halifax agencies and getting rid of 650 jobs.
Requests for reductions in temporary theatre licensing fees turned down
posted July 15th, 2010.

The Stage reports that the Fringe Society had asked for reductions in the temporary theatre licensing fees for three venues which it considered worthy of financial assistance. The requests were turned down by the City Council, as was a similar request from Vittoria's Restaurant on Leith Walk.
Festivals Edinburgh awarded £300K for digital initiative
posted July 14th, 2010.

Festivals Edinburgh, the body which promotes all Edinburgh's fetivals, has been awarded £300K by Creative Scotland to help it set up an Innovation Lab. The stated aim will be "to develop ideas to improve and inspire audience experience, while tackling themes such as helping festival attendees create the best possible experience while also creating new ways to distribute festival content and heighten the environmental credentials of the festivals" ... whatever that quite means?!
Unbound evenings at the Book Festival
posted June 30th, 2010.

At this year's Book Festival there will be a mini-festival, called Unbound, which will start each evening at 9pm in the Highland Park Spiegeltent where authors can try out new ideas and different approaches to discussing their writing. The programme can be downloaded from The Skinny. Entry is free.
Changes to Fringe constitution delayed
posted June 30th, 2010. previous post January 7th, 2010.

The Stage reports that the implementation of a revised Fringe constitution has been delayed. It is now unlikely to happen before November at the earliest. The reason for the delay is a current lack of consensus on key questions such as: the eligibility criteria for membership of the Fringe Society; who can be a director of the Fringe Society; and how a director should be appointed.
Amnesty International announces 2010 festival events
posted June 28th, 2010.

Amnesty International has announced details of its 2010 festival events, including: the Stand Up for Freedom comedy event at the EICC on Thursday 19th August, 2010; the Imprisoned Writer Series at the Book Festival when each day a well-known writer reads from the writings of a person who has been locked up, threatened, et cetera; and an exhibition by six Scottish graffiti artists at the C Venues SoCo Urban Garden, on Edinburgh's Cowgate.
Laughing Horse loses main sponsor
posted June 23rd, 2010.

Laughing Horse, one of the two major promoters who put on free shows at the Fringe, has lost its major sponsor. Known as The Edinburgh Free Festival, it plans to hold an auction in early July in an attempt to find another sponsor. The other major promoter of free shows is Peter Buckley Hill's The Free Fringe.
More on Book Festival desires to expand
posted June 19th, 2010.

The Book Festival 's need for more physical space was mentioned in the late autumn. Now an article in The Herald highlights a desire to expand in Charlotte Square itself. The idea is to close off the north and west sides of the square during the festival.