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 ...

Site last updated on February 8th, 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 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
Threats to the future of Edinburgh's Festivals
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
late March
 tba
Fringe
6 Aug - 30 Aug
early June
 tba
Book Festival
14 Aug - 30 Aug
early June
 22nd June
Film Festival
16 Jun - 27 Jun
early May
tba
Jazz & Blues Festival
30 Jul - 8 Aug
early June
Art Festival
29 Jul - 5 Sep
early June
Military Tattoo
6 Aug - 28 Aug
Nov 2009
Dec 2009
Forest Fringe
16 Aug - 28 Aug
n/a
The Edge Festival
31 Jul - 28 Aug
early June
tba
Notes: dates in italics remain to be confirmed. More complete information will be added as it becomes available.
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 advance booking facilities.

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

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


Latest Newsall 2009-2010 news | 2008-2009 | 2007-2008
More on festival passports
posted February 8th, 2010. previous post October 31st, 2009.

The Scotsman provides slightly more news on this disturbing development. Festivals Edinburgh is selling "festival passports" to the travel trade. It provides three or more of the "best shows" per day from £40 per day as part of travel package deals. Travellers will not of course find out which events have been selected for them until July, once all the programmes have been launched. The Scotsman mainly focuses on the criticism that it will only benefit big name performers. My concern is the added difficulty to ordinary punters who may find it problematic, if not impossible, to get tickets for some of their chosen shows. Further information can be found here on the Festivals Edinburgh site.
Fringe posts profit in 2009
posted January 29th, 2010.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe posted a comforting profit of £132K in 2009, reports The Scotsman, after its calamitous loss of circa. £900K in 2008 which was largely attributable to the box office system fiasco. It received £255K in grants in 2009, the largest sum in its history.
Fringe looking for volunteers to help with new website design
posted January 28th, 2010.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is developing a new website for the 2010 event and it is looking for volunteers to take part in workshops to say what they like and dont like about the ideas that it currently has. The workshops will be held in Edinburgh (Mon 1st Feb at 7pm) and London (Tue 2nd Feb at 6pm and 8pm). Contact the Fringe if you are interested.
Edinburgh City Council considering funding reductions
posted January 26th, 2010.

According to The Edinburgh Evening News the City Council is discussing how to tackle a £90m gap in its finances over the next three years. Wide-ranging cuts to third parties, including the arts, are likely. Among the proposals are 1.5% cuts in funding to each of the individual festivals next year, growing to 3.5% in each of the two following years; theatres such as the Traverse and the Lyceum plus Festivals Edinburgh (which markets the festivals) may see 2.5% next year with a further 3.5% in years two and three; while the Queens Hall is among those who could be hardest hit with 3.5% next year and 4.5% subsequently.
Edinburgh Film Festival MD steps down
posted January 16th, 2010.

EdinburghGuide.com reports that Ginnie Atkinson, Managing director of the Edinburgh Film Festival for 15 years and CEO of the Filmhouse for 5 years, has stepped down from both roles.
Fringe constitutional survey results
posted January 7th, 2010. modified January 16th, 2010.

Slightly later than scheduled, the results of the online survey that the Fringe conducted in October on its constitution have been announced - see this article in The Stage. Key items of feedback from respondents include: a limit placed on the tenure of chair of the board; an increase in the number of members of the Society (currently limited to 100); and a desire to see elected board members with expertise in particular areas such as IT and sponsorship. Here is a summary of the results (Microsoft Word format as issued by the Fringe or pdf version). A five strong working group will now discuss the findings with stakeholder groups - including performers, producers and venues - and a set of proposed constitutional changes will eventually be put to the vote in June 2010.
Tattoo gets Royal status
posted January 4th, 2010.

Royal status has been conferred on the Tattoo which will henceforth be known as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, as reported in various newspapers, including The Scotsman.
Edinburgh Art Festival 2010 - Impressionist and Surrealist exhibitions
posted January 1st, 2010.

The major exhibition at the National Galleries' complex this summer will be Impressionist Gardens at The Scottish Royal Academy, featuring around 90 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. See the press release for further details. Meanwhile, the Dean Gallery will host Another World: Dali, Magritte, Miro and The Surrealists. The exhibition will include the first showing of the complete Surrealist collection of The Scottish Gallery of Modern Art, according to the press release.