Festivals, Cultural and City Events

Edinburgh's Festivals 2020

Festivals, Cultural and City Events statement on the Edinburgh Festivals 2020

festival flower in george square gardens 2019
festival flower in george square gardens 2019

 

For the first time in over 70 years, the festivals that transform Edinburgh into the world’s leading cultural destination every August will not going ahead due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While we are deeply sorry about this news which be felt across the world, the safety of everyone involved must remain an absolute priority and we fully support the decisions that have been made.

 

The University’s history of working with Festivals stretches back to 1947, where in the aftermath of the Second World War the Edinburgh International Festival was founded to reconcile and reunite people and nations through art, in an event that transcended political and cultural boundaries. We are proud of the close links we have built with them in myriad ways over the past 50 years. We are invested in our relationships with Festivals and are committed to doing everything we can to help them continue to flourish.

 

We will be working with Festival organisers to play our part in helping them to re-establish as soon as it is deemed safe to do so. We’re also looking at what we can do to support a festivals and events presence online. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff who have contributed to the Festivals over past years. This will be a quiet year but the cultural fabric of the city remains. It will re-emerge in the future, perhaps in new forms, but just as vibrantly.