List of Edinburgh festivals
Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for several simultaneous arts and cultural festivals which take place during August each year in Edinburgh, Scotland. There is no actual Edinburgh Festival as such.
History
The Edinburgh Festival traces its roots to 1947, when the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) was established in a post-war effort to "provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit".[1] That same year, eight theatrical companies "gatecrashed" the Festival by organizing their own event, outside the official auspices of the EIF; this started the movement which grew into the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The EFF is also referred to as the Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe, or, incorrectly, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[2]
The EIF and the Fringe remain independent bodies, and organize separate programmes each year. Over the period since 1947, several other Festivals have also been established in Edinburgh - with most of them similarly taking place around August each year. There is therefore not one Edinburgh Festival, but a collection of independent Festivals which happen to take place in the same city at the same time.
List of Edinburgh summer Festivals
The Edinburgh summer Festivals, in order of the year of their foundation, are as follows. An asterisk indicates that the Festival is a member of Festivals Edinburgh,[3] the umbrella body which represents the Edinburgh Festivals to government.
- Edinburgh International Festival (1947)* — The original and "official" festival consisting of classical and contemporary Theatre, Opera, Music and Dance.
- Edinburgh Fringe (1947)* — Started life as a small scale "fringe" event to the EIF, but is now the largest of all the festivals and indeed the largest arts festival in the world.[4] Includes Theatre, Comedy, Music, Musicals, Dance and Children's shows.
- Edinburgh International Film Festival (1947)*
- Edinburgh Military Tattoo (1950)*
- Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival (1978)*
- Edinburgh International Book Festival (1983)*
- Edinburgh Mela (1995) — celebrating Edinburgh's South Asian communities
- Edinburgh International Internet Festival (1999)
- Edinburgh People's Festival (2002, but claims heritage from earlier Festival of same name 1951-1954)
- Edinburgh Interactive Festival (2003)
- Edinburgh Art Festival (2004)*
- Edinburgh Annuale (2004) — contemporary art
- Festival of Politics (2005)
- Festival of Spirituality and Peace (2005)
- iFest (2007) — the Internet Festival and Conference
- Edinburgh Swing Festival
The following Festival also occurs in Edinburgh during August, but is essentially an industry gathering - it does not offer events open to the public.
Year-round Festivals
Although the phrase "Edinburgh Festival" is generally taken to refer to the August events, a number of other Festivals are held in the city around the year. These include, in calendar order:
- Ceilidh Culture — held annually in March and April [1]
- Edinburgh International Harp Festival — held annually in March/April [2]
- Edinburgh International Science Festival — held annually in April [3]
- OneEighty — the Science Festival 'fringe' (began 2006)
- Edinburgh Easter Festival — held annually [4]
- Beltane Fire Festival — held annually on May Day [5]
- Dark City Festival — a goth music festival, held annually in May [6]
- Children's International Theatre Festival — held annually in late May [7]
- Meadows Festival — usually held in June, 2006's Festival was cancelled due to rising costs[5]
- Leith Festival — held annually in June [8]
- Scottish International Storytelling Festival — held annually in October and November [9]
- Edinburgh's Capital Christmas
- The exceptionally large Hogmanay celebrations
References
- ^ http://www.eif.co.uk/G11_History.php
- ^ http://www.edfringe.com/area.html?r_menu=global&id=35
- ^ http://www.eif.co.uk/N98_PRESS_RELEASE_Festivals_Edinburgh_director_announced.php
- ^ Fringe Facts. edfringe: Official site of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2005. Accessed June 26 2005.
- ^ Axe falls on Meadows Festival. Edinburgh Evening News. 24 February 2006. Accessed 17 September 2006.
External links
- Fresh Air at the Festival - Festival guides, reviews, and over 90 interviews from performers in the 2007 Festival Fringe.
- Edinburgh Festivals
- Open Directory Edinburgh Festivals page
- Fest Magazine - "Your Complete Guide to the Edinburgh Festivals"
- A Punter's View - includes a history of the August festivals and links to venues, previews and reviews.
- ThreeWeeks, ThreeWeeks Guide to the Edinburgh Festival
- The 'Free Edinburgh Fringe Festival'
- The 'Free Fringe' Festival
- About the Edinburgh Festivals - Introduction to Edinburgh's summer Festivals from independent website FringeGuru