From 2-25 August 2024, Edinburgh International Festival presents a hand-picked selection of leading international and local artists in the world’s Festival City, with 24 days of world-class opera, dance, music and theatre.

The 2023 Edinburgh International Festival has ended on a high, after 24 packed days of events from 2,500 remarkable and diverse artists representing 50 nations.

The programme was characterised by a high quality of art, presenting work from 130 Grammy nominated artists, 33 Grammy Award-winners, 14 Brit Award-winners, 6 Olivier Award-winners and 3 Venice Golden Lions awards. Artists also attracted significant worldwide media attention and positive reviews, with two-thirds of International Festival performances receiving four and five-star reviews.

With an unprecedented emphasis on a deepened audience experience, the 2023 International Festival reimagined how we interact with and appreciate live performance, through audio introductions, contextual demonstrations and discussions before and during performances, and bringing audiences and artists closer together through more informal, intimate performance environments.

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A range of 39 free events have been added to Edinburgh International Festival’s 2023 programme, the first from incoming Festival Director Nicola Benedetti. The free events, and two low-cost in-conversation events, capture the spirit of community and the joy of music making, and join over 300 performances from the world’s leading performers of music, theatre and dance, that take over Edinburgh’s venues and concert halls from 4-27 August 2023.

An Opening Fanfare Weekend taking place from 5-6 August, features brass bands and pipers, rappers and choirs, as over 300 young musicians from Scotland’s vibrant homegrown music scene assemble for an energetic weekend of music-making in Princes St Gardens.

On Saturday 5 August, between 12pm – 5pm Scottish youth and amateur ensembles take over three pop-up stages in the gardens, culminating in a final moment of joint music making at the end of the day. Ensembles featured include Intercultural Youth Scotland, Drake Music Scotland, Tinderbox Collective, Musicians in Exile and the Edinburgh Ukrainian Choir ‘Oberih’. All performances on Saturday are free and entry is non-ticketed.

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Bringing in the Edinburgh International Festival’s 76th year is the overriding question ‘where do we go from here?’ A provocation introduced quite rightly so by newly appointed artistic director Nicola Benedetti – the world renowned and award winning violinist who came to prominence when she won the coveted BBC Young Musicisn accolade in 2004. Aware of what she’d like to explore and examine in this year’s festival, Benedetti would like for the month long event, from the 4th to 27th August, to provide the deepest possible experience amongst the years. As someone who didn’t go to many arts events when she was younger, there’s an understanding as to why people may find theatre inaccessible – so this needs to change.

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The 2022 Edinburgh International Festival has drawn to a close following 92 different productions featuring over 2,400 artists from around 45 different nationalities, returning to full theatres and concert halls with critical acclaim for the first time since 2019. The 2022 International Festival marks Fergus Linehan’s last as Festival Director following an eight-year tenure, before Nicola Benedetti takes up the role in October 2022. The 2023 International Festival will take place 4 – 27 August.

A Wee Journey by Farah Saleh & Oğuz Kaplangı.

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Edinburgh International Festival is giving out over 35,000 free tickets to celebrate its 75^thanniversary, with performances featuring leading contemporary circus performers and world-renowned orchestras as well as an immersive installation described as a ‘spa for the psyche’. The free programme is dedicated to the residents of Edinburgh who have opened their city and helped the International Festival to welcome the world to Scotland’s capital for the last 75 years.

Fiddler on the roof: Aidan O’Rourke (pictured on the roof of BT Murrayfield) appears in MACRO alongside Gravity & Other Myths, Djuki Mala, the National Youth Choir of Scotland and other Scottish musicians. Photo credit: Duncan McGlynn

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The National Theatre of Scotland announce their 2022 programme forming part of this year’s Edinburgh Festivals, including new Alan Cumming dance theatre, Burn, brand-new staging of Liz Lochhead’s Medea at the Edinburgh International Festival and Uma Nada-Rajah’s politically urgent Exodus as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Both EIF productions will tour across Scotland after the Festival. The cast announced for Liz Lochhead’s Medea includes Adura Onashile as Medea, Robert Jack as Jason, Stephen McCole as Kreon, Alana Jackson as Glauke, Anne Lacey as the Nurse and Adam Robertson as the Messenger. The National Theatre of Scotland supports a double bill of Annie George plays Home Is Not The Place and Twa at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and will also take part in the Scottish Parliament’s Festival of Politics (programme to be announced in July 2022).

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Taking place from 5th to 28th August, Edinburgh International Festival marks its 75th year since its founding, returning yet again with a mixed programme of opera, classical music, dance, theatre, contemporary music, circus and digital events. A diverse theatre programme including Liz Lochhead and Michael Boyd’s (National Theatre of Scotland) Medea, Kae Tempest, Kyle Abraham’s An Untitled Love, Belvoir S.Shakthidhara and Eamon Flack’s Samsara and Odile Gakire Katese and Ross Manson’s The Book of Life amongst others, this year’s festival will also feature a season very pertinent to current circumstances titled ‘Refuge’ – a season of contemporary theatre, dance, visual art, film and conversation questioning what it means to be international in today’s world. With this year’s programme officially announced, festival director Fergus Linehan tells us more about what to expect from his last programme before musician Nicola Benedetti succeeds as director later on this year.

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What is theatre? I’m sure the answer is different for everyone. Whether it’s therapeutic, a means of entertainment, escapism, or a tool to addressing social and political ills, a hobby, a passion… we’ve all had an experience of theatre in some form or other. Edinburgh International Festival is set to liven up the historic city of Edinburgh with an array of performances and exhibitions from some of the world’s exciting creative talents. What better way to learn about the inspirations and motivations of performers and creatives than to listen to their thoughts via Festival Portraits. Introducing Academy Award winning actress, artist and dancer, Juliette Binoche… Continue reading

What is theatre? I’m sure the answer is different for everyone. Whether it’s therapeutic, a means of entertainment, escapism, or a tool to addressing social and political ills, a hobby, a passion… we’ve all had an experience of theatre in some form or other. Edinburgh International Festival is set to liven up the historic city of Edinburgh with an array of performances and exhibitions from some of the world’s exciting creative talents. What better way to learn about the inspirations and motivations of performers and creatives than to listen to their thoughts via Festival Portraits. Introducing Director, Playwright and Actor Robert Lepage…

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