Why Edinburgh International Festival is unique, fantastic – and very important
The founding vision of the Edinburgh International Festival is to ‘reunite people through great art’
In November 1945, not long after the end of the Second World War, The Scotsman revealed plans were being drawn up for a music and drama festival in Edinburgh. “Not only will the projected event probably be the first great post-war international art assembly in Europe but it will certainly be the first of its scope and importance to be held in Britain,” we reported.
Two years later, the first Edinburgh International Festival was held, with a founding vision to “reunite people through great art”. As the world’s biggest and best arts festival gets underway, we should remember how it all started. Its ethos is just as important now as it was then.
However, this is not a time to be maudlin, it is a time to celebrate humanity at its finest. This year will see more than 2,000 artists from 42 nations put on 133 performances, including opera Orpheus and Eurydice, Scottish Ballet’s Mary, Queen of Scots, in which the Renaissance meets punk meets haute couture, and Holst’s The Planets, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
As this fantastic, unique spectacle begins, we simply cannot wait.
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