Dear Blaine,Andrew ,Patricia and Jenna

 

Your letter requesting information on the Edinburgh Festival was forwarded to me from the Festival Theatre --- I will do my best to answer your questions.

 

What is today known as the "Edinburgh Festival" is in fact a collection of various Festivals all of which run at around the same time of the year:these include the Edinburgh International Festival,the Edinburgh Festival Fringe,the Book Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival etc. All of these festivals are run independently which may make the collection of information slightly difficult for you.

The Edinburgh International Festival was founded in 1947 in the aftermath of a devastating world war. The founders believed that the Festival should enliven and enrich the cultural life of Europe,Britain and Scotland and provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit. The programmes were intended to be of the highest possible standard presented by the best artists in the world. The achievement of those aims over the years has ensured the Edinburgh International Festival is now one of the most important cultural celebrations in the world.

The Festival continues to be of substantial economic importance to the City of Edinburgh and to Scotland as a whole. From its very inception the Festival's founders recognised the role the Festival could play in the regeneration of the country's economy. The 1997,50th Birthday celebration resulted in record audiences for the Festival with over 421 000 people joining the party! Ticket sales rose by 7.3% from 1996 to £2.3 million

I also enclose a 1996 Economic Impact Study which details what effect all of Edinburgh's Festivals (including non-summer Festivals such as Hogmany) have on the economy of Edinburgh. The key figures here are that £121 million of additional expenditure is earned by the Festivals for the City of Edinburgh; and that around 4000 jobs are created for Scotland.

The Edinburgh International Festival lasts for three weeks each year in late summer,programming international artists in classical music,theatre,dance and opera. THese performers appear at the invitation of the Festival Director.

The Festival Fringe in contrast is open to any production which can find a venue in Edinburgh, and as such consists if many smaller scale performers. You will need to contact the Fringe for further information;

Festival Fringe
80 High Street
EH1 1QB

tel. 0131 226 5257

I think I have managed to answer most of your questions here. Good luck with your studies

Best Wishes

Matthew Reason

Administrative Assistant

Press and Marketing Department