Edinburgh

Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Festival marks 25th anniversary

Carnival of fire and light with roots in mythology

5 Apr 2012

2012 marks the 25th anniversary of Edinburgh’s Beltane festival. Over 12,000 revellers are expected to attend the event on Calton Hill as the Beltane Fire Society marks the passage from Spring into Summer. This Carnival of Fire and Light takes place on…

A guide to Edinburgh Castle

The capital's most iconic landmark is a must-see for any visitor

16 Feb 2011

Castle Rock, the plug of an extinct volcano, is estimated to be 350 million years old. Archaeologists say that its grassy shoulders were the site of a settlement at least as early as 900bc, and by ad600 there was probably a feasting hall on the…

Why Edinburgh remains unrivalled as a festival city

A huge number and variety of festivals take place each year

16 Feb 2011

In 1961, a theatre director made a proposal. It was his opinion that the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was getting too big. It would be much better, he said, ‘if only ten halls were licensed’. Nobody listened. Had the director been able to travel…

Edinburgh in August: Ten-step survival guide

Essential insider knowledge you'll need to survive the festivals

5 Aug 2010

Niki Boyle has compiled a list of festival insider tips to help you survive August as if you were from the city itself. Avoid queues at ATMs, dealing with flyerers, umbrellas, and places to relax.

Kim Coleman and Jenny Hogarth: Staged

Edinburgh-based artists stage a cultural land grab from August’s invasion

5 Aug 2010

Entered by way of a curtained-off doorway and presented in a compact room whose pillar-effect cornices form a kind of proscenium arch, this collaborative show by Edinburgh-based artists Coleman and Hogarth sets out its stall as a reflection upon the…

Edinburgh Festival survival guide

16 Jul 2010

Late night drinking The Outhouse Wandering down the alleyway towards the Outhouse, you might wonder if you’ve taken a wrong turn. But the out-of-the-way location gets forgotten once you’re inside this chic bar with its laid-back crowd. When it’s…

Edinburgh festival 2010: Where to drink

The Edinburgh bar guide you need for the 2010 Festival

16 Jul 2010

It’s almost impossible to spend an August in Edinburgh without indulging in one of its watering holes. Niki Boyle takes the ultimate pub crawl, so you don’t have to

Edinburgh Festival 2010: Getting around town

16 Jul 2010

Those dusty, noisy roadworks getting in your way wherever you want to go? They’re called tramworks. The plan is to make the journey between Leith and Edinburgh Airport easier by installing a partial tram system by 2011, but this year the quickest way to…

The Illusionist - Sylvain Chomet's animated feature creates an Edinburgh never seen before

2 Jun 2010

Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist, the film opening the 2010 Edinburgh International Film Festival, puts a vision of Edinburgh, and rural Scotland, on screen like no other. Set in 1950s Edinburgh and the Western Isles, locations depicted in the animated…

Edinburgh festivals line-ups announced

28 May 2010

Whatever your cultural poison, Edinburgh’s festival circuit has it covered

Edinburgh, My Home: Jonathan Mills

22 Mar 2010

Edinburgh International Festival director Jonathan Mills on the virtues and indiscretions of his adopted home

Theatre Hitlist

Our recommends on the pick of the festival's theatre

29 Jul 2009

Barflies, Beachy Head, Girls of Slender Means, Orphans, Precious Little Talent, Tartuffe, Trial, Trilogy, White Tea

Event horizon - Edinburgh Mela

22 Jul 2008

While Charlotte Square Gardens, The Hub and Pleasance may think they are at the heart of the August experience, there are other cultural bonanzas going on around them. Anna Millar takes a look at some of the other Festival action Often unfairly…

Hard times - Gladder to be Gay?

Festival of Politics

22 Jul 2008

Simon Callow is heading our way with both Stonewall and Dickens on his mind. Anna Millar chats to one of theatre’s hardest working men about his love of acting and support for gay rights Mere minutes out of London rehearsals for The Magic Flute and…

Festivals - Capital Gains

5 Jun 2008

Kicking off the capital’s world famous summer festivals in late July, it’s the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival (25 Jul–3 Aug) which is the longest running jazz festival in the UK. Following hot on its heels is relative newbie to Edinburgh’s festival…

Edinburgh Fringe Festival fever begins

5 Jun 2008

Fresh from attendance at the Fringe press launch this morning, we can bring you news of a jam-packed programme for August featuring more performances than ever before - 31,320 to be precise - spread across 247 venues throughout the capital and making…

The Edge Festival announces line-up

5 Jun 2008

The line up has been announced for The Edge Festival, the new August music festival which replaces T on the Fringe. The festival takes place in August throughout the capital in various venues ranging from Cabaret Voltaire to the Corn Exchange.

Meadows Festival seeks volunteers

8 May 2008

The Meadows Festival in Edinburgh is seeking volunteers to help in the run up to the event as well as assisting on the day of the festival itself.

Edinburgh’s Big Four Venues Announce ‘the Largest Comedy Festival in the World’

21 Mar 2008

Four of the biggest Fringe venues have announced their plans to band together to launch the ‘largest comedy festival in the world’ this August. Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Pleasance and Underbelly yesterday announced their intention to launch the…