The Origins of the Edinburgh Festival

Every August, the streets of Edinburgh come alive with actors, comedians, musicians and performers from around the world. Millions of people flock to the Scottish capital to enjoy everything from theatre productions and comedy shows to classical music concerts and street performances. But how did the Edinburgh Festival begin, and how did it grow into the world’s largest celebration of the arts?

An event to lift spirits

The Edinburgh International Festival was founded in 1947. It was the brainchild of Rudolf Bing, the general manager of Glyndebourne Festival Opera, aided by Edinburgh’s Lord Provost, John Falconer; and Henry Harvey Wood, head of the British Council in Scotland. The idea was to stage an event that would lift people’s spirits in the aftermath of World War II through creativity and the performing arts. The founders described their vision as “a platform for the flowering of the human spirit”.

The first festival took place between 22 August and 11 September 1947, with performers from several European countries travelling to Edinburgh to take part. Glyndebourne Opera performed Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Verdi’s Macbeth, while Sadler’s Wells Ballet presented classical ballet performances. The appearance of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter was particularly poignant. Having fled Nazi persecution because of his Jewish heritage, Walter’s return to Europe was hugely symbolic and summed up the hopeful post-war spirit of the festival.

The birth of the Fringe

The very first Edinburgh Festival also coincided with the beginning of the Edinburgh Fringe. Eight theatre groups that hadn’t been invited to perform at the festival, turned up at the event and decided to perform anyway. They held shows in church halls, function rooms and anywhere else that would have them. These spontaneous performances took place again the following year, prompting theatre critic Robert Kemp to write: “Round the fringe of official Festival drama, there seems to be more private enterprise than before.” Inadvertently, he had coined the name that would become synonymous with the world’s largest arts festival.

A launchpad for talent

The Fringe quickly established itself as a springboard for future stars of stage and screen. Actor and comedian Robin Williams appeared there in 1971 as part of a student production of The Taming of the Shrew, while Scottish comedian Billy Connolly’s breakthrough came a year later with The Great Northern Welly Boot Show. More recently, award-winning productions such as Fleabag, Six and Baby Reindeer all began life at the Fringe before finding international success.

Since its inception, the festival has expanded over the years to include more events. The programme now includes the Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Edinburgh Art Festival and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Today, Edinburgh’s festivals welcome around four million attendances each year to this internationally renowned celebration of the arts. What began as a modest post-war cultural gathering nearly 80 years ago has grown into a global phenomenon.

Will you be visiting the festival this year?