Enhanced funding for Edinburgh's festivals

The Scottish Government will provide an extra £300,000 to support the Edinburgh Festivals in 2017-18 during the 70^th anniversary of the world’s leading festival city.

The Edinburgh Festivals were born in 1947, led by the Edinburgh International Festival, with the Festival Fringe and Film Festivals created in the same year.

The funding announced today builds on the £90,000 the government recently announced for Edinburgh Hogmanay’s Midnight Moment, which will start the 70^th anniversary celebrations next week. It takes the total sum the government will provide to support the festivals next year to £2.3 million. 

Cabinet secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop said:

“Edinburgh’s Festivals provide an excellent platform to promote Scotland’s rich culture, heritage and distinct identity on the world stage. Every year they generate tremendous cultural energy and activity, attracting around 4.5 million attendances, providing jobs, supporting our tourism industry and contributing £313 million to the Scottish economy.

“Through our Expo Fund the Scottish Government has provided more than £17 million over eight years to support artists to create and showcase their work to the world. I am pleased to announce today we will enhance our support for the festivals with an additional £300,000 next year to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the founding festivals, led by the Edinburgh International Festival.

“In line with the commitment we set out in our current Programme for Government, this extra funding will support the festivals to deliver innovative work and create performances that will catch the imagination of our international audiences. This underlines the government’s commitment to supporting the festivals to grow, and our artists to thrive.”

Julia Amour, Director of Festivals Edinburgh, said:

 “Over 70 years, Edinburgh's Festivals have become Scotland's globally renowned meeting point for arts and creativity. We are delighted to be able to celebrate this anniversary and share Scotland’s cultural riches with the wider world, thanks to enhanced support from the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.  This investment in maintaining our unique cultural edge will help make our 70th year the start of an exciting new chapter for the world's leading festival city.”

Background:

Earlier this month the Scottish Government announced an additional £90k from its 2016-17 budget to support Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Midnight Moment. The £300k announced today for the 70^th anniversary takes the Scottish Government’s funding for the Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, to £2.3m in 2017-18.

The Scottish Government Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund recognises the exceptional creative talent that exists in Scotland and gives it an international platform on which to excel. It is available to all members of Festivals Edinburgh, managed via Creative Scotland,  to support the development of Scottish-based work.