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.44.166.187 (talk) 21:30, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts
Performing arts

The performing arts are those forms of art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical work of art....
 that takes place in the city of Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the General Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 (especially classical music), theatre
Theatre

Theatre is the branch of the performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one or more actor, isolated in time and/or Theater , present themselves to Audience." By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the dawn of man, as a result of human tendency for story telling....
, opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
, and dance
Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to Motion of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of Emotional expression, social social interaction or presented in a spirituality or performance setting....
 from around the world to perform.

first International Festival (and the first festival of Fringe
Fringe theatre

Fringe theatre is a term used to describe alternative theatre, or entertainment not of the mainstream.In London, United Kingdom, the Fringe is the term given to small scale theatres, many of them located above pubs, and the equivalent to New York's off-Broadway or Off-Off-Broadway theatres....
, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world?s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August alongside several other arts and cultural festivals, collectively known as the Edinburgh Festival....
, although it wasn't known as such until later) took place in 1947, in the wake of the Second World War, with an optimistic remit to 'provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit' and enrich the cultural life of Scotland, Britain and Europe.






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the edinburgh international festival

--83.44.166.187 (talk) 21:30, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts
Performing arts

The performing arts are those forms of art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical work of art....
 that takes place in the city of Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the General Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music
Music

Music is an art form whose media is sound organized in time. Common elements of music are pitch , rhythm , dynamics , and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture ....
 (especially classical music), theatre
Theatre

Theatre is the branch of the performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one or more actor, isolated in time and/or Theater , present themselves to Audience." By this broad definition, theatre has existed since the dawn of man, as a result of human tendency for story telling....
, opera
Opera

Opera is an Performing arts in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work which combines a text and a musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition....
, and dance
Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to Motion of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of Emotional expression, social social interaction or presented in a spirituality or performance setting....
 from around the world to perform.

History

The first International Festival (and the first festival of Fringe
Fringe theatre

Fringe theatre is a term used to describe alternative theatre, or entertainment not of the mainstream.In London, United Kingdom, the Fringe is the term given to small scale theatres, many of them located above pubs, and the equivalent to New York's off-Broadway or Off-Off-Broadway theatres....
, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world?s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August alongside several other arts and cultural festivals, collectively known as the Edinburgh Festival....
, although it wasn't known as such until later) took place in 1947, in the wake of the Second World War, with an optimistic remit to 'provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit' and enrich the cultural life of Scotland, Britain and Europe. The founders of the Festival included Rudolf Bing, (then the General Manager of Glyndebourne Opera Festival), Henry Harvey Wood the Head of the British Council
British Council

The British Council is a Quango based in the United Kingdom which specialises in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is a non-departmental public body, a public corporation incorporated by royal charter, and is registered as a charity in England....
 in Scotland, and a group of civic leaders from the City of Edinburgh. The festivals have taken place every August since.

Today

In 1999, the International Festival moved to a permanent home in The Hub
The Hub (Edinburgh)

The Hub, at the top of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, is the home of the Edinburgh International Festival, and a central source of information on all the Edinburgh Festivals....
, formerly 'The Highland Tolbooth' - an architecturally remarkable building a couple of minutes' walk from Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is an ancient stronghold which dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock....
, originally built as an assembly house for the Church of Scotland. Its gothic
Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late Middle Ages. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
 spire is the highest point in central Edinburgh, and can be seen for many miles around.

The Festival aims to cover its costs every year. The total budget for the 2004 Festival was £6.8 million, covered by a combination of ticket sales (27%) and other earned income - broadcast fees, publications and so on (4%); sponsorship & donations (27%); and public grants (42%, mostly from the City of Edinburgh Council). Almost 335,000 people attended EIF events in 2004. 60% of these were Scottish, another 26% came from the rest of Britain, 14% came from overseas.

Besides the performances during the Festival itself, a range of education and outreach workshops, talks and lectures take place throughout the year.

The dates for the next few International Festivals are as follows: 2008 - 8 August - 31 August; 2009 - 14 August - 6 September; 2010 - 13 August – 5 September

Festival venues

The principal venues of the Festival are:
  • Usher Hall
    Usher Hall

    The Usher Hall is a concert hall located in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland.It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1896....
     (capacity 2,300)
  • Festival Theatre
    Edinburgh Festival Theatre

    The Edinburgh Festival Theatre is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh Scotland used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, large-scale musical events, and touring groups....
     (1,800), primarily used for opera and ballet productions.
  • The Edinburgh Playhouse (2,900)
  • Royal Lyceum Theatre
    Royal Lyceum Theatre

    The Royal Lyceum Theatre is an approx 660-seat theatre in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, named after the Theatre Royal Lyceum and English Opera House, the residence at the time of legendary Shakespearean actor Henry Irving....
     (650)
  • The Queen’s Hall (920)
  • The Hub
    The Hub (Edinburgh)

    The Hub, at the top of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, is the home of the Edinburgh International Festival, and a central source of information on all the Edinburgh Festivals....
     (420)


Festival directors

  • 1947 - 1949: Sir Rudolf Bing
  • 1950 - 1955: Sir Ian Bruce Hope Hunter
    Ian Hunter (impresario)

    Sir Ian Bruce Hope Hunter was a Great Britain impresario of classical music.Sir Ian Hunter, known as ?Mr. Festival? to many in the arts world, was one of the most important figures in a post-World War II cultural renaissance in the United Kingdom....
  • 1956 - 1960: Robert Noel Ponsonby
  • 1961 - 1965: George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood
    George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood

    George Henry Hubert Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood Order of British Empire , styled The Hon. George Lascelles before 1929 and Viscount Lascelles between 1929 and 1947, is the elder son of the Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood , and Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood, the only daughter of George V of the United King...
  • 1966 - 1978: Peter Diamand
  • 1979 - 1983: Sir John Richard Gray Drummond
    John Drummond (arts administrator)

    Sir John Richard Gray Drummond Order of the British Empire was an England arts administrator who spent most of his career at the BBC. He was the son of a master mariner in the British India line and an Australian Lied singer....
  • 1984 - 1991: Frank Dunlop
    Frank Dunlop (director)

    Frank Dunlop is a United Kingdom theatre director....
  • 1992 - 2006: Sir Brian McMaster
  • From October 2006: Jonathan Mills


Other Festivals in Edinburgh

About ten other festivals are held in Edinburgh at the about the same time as the International Festival. Collectively, the entire group is referred to as the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival

Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for several simultaneous Arts festival festivals that take place during August each year in Edinburgh, Scotland....
. Most notable of these is the Edinburgh Fringe
Edinburgh Fringe

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world?s largest arts festival. Established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, it takes place in Scotland's capital during three weeks every August alongside several other arts and cultural festivals, collectively known as the Edinburgh Festival....
, which started as an offshoot of the International Festival and has since grown to be the world's largest arts festival.

Further reading

Miller, E., The Edinburgh International Festival, 1947 -1996, Scolar Press, Aldershot, 1996
Bruce, G., Festival in the North: Story of the Edinburgh International Festival of the Arts, Hale, 1975

See also

  • List of opera festivals
    List of opera festivals

    This is an inclusive list of opera festivals and summer seasons, and music festivals which have opera productions.Sources...


External links

  • Full coverage of EIF
  • Previews and Reviews
  • , a free and independent Edinburgh Festival magazine
  • a guide to the Edinburgh Festival
  • A history of the International (& other August) festivals plus links to previews/reviews