Festivals show no signs of ageing as they hit 70

Edinburgh: City kicks off its annual extravaganza of all things entertaining

Edinburgh’s main festival season officially got under way in a landmark year in the cultural life of the city.

The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe are both celebrating their 70th anniversaries.

The annual run over the next three and half weeks sees the Scottish capital play host to the largest arts jamboree in the world.

Also adding to the attractions on offer is the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which is returning for its 68th season and officially kicked off yesterday.

This year’s EIF began last night with a large-scale public arts event involving light and music.

Entitled Bloom in recognition of the “blooming” of Edinburgh as the world’s festival city, it took place at St Andrew Square and used illuminations and projections to celebrate “the explosion of colour, vibrancy and optimism” that came with the arrival of the festival in 1947 in the aftermath of the Second World War, organisers said.

Overall, this year’s international festival will bring more than 2,000 artists from 40 nations together to perform between August 4-28.

The line-up features a diverse range of artists across theatre, dance and music, including singer-songwriter Jarvis Cocker, Mercury Prize winner PJ Harvey, violinist Nicola Benedetti, playwright Alan Ayckbourn and renowned Milan orchestra Filarmonica della Scala.

The EIF festival was established two years after the Second World War to “provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit”.

The Fringe began when eight theatre companies turned up uninvited to perform at the inaugural festival.

The companies were refused entry to the programme but decided to perform on the fringe of the festival anyway.

To this day, the Fringe adheres to its open access principle that permits anyone with a show and a venue willing to host them to participate.

Famous names hitting the Fringe include Ruby Wax, Sue Perkins, Sean Hughes and Dead Ringers star Jan Ravens. Craig Ferguson, who last performed at the Fringe 24 years ago before leaving Scotland to find fame in the US, also returns to the capital.

Picture: PA. Street performer Able Mable during her act on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, as the main festival season officially got under way.

Pictures: PA. An armed police officer on duty on the Royal Mile and right, a performer does a bit of promotion.