Edinburgh. 2024.
The Edinburgh Festivals. #EdinburghFest
What are the dates for the Edinburgh Festivals in 2024 to 2025? Here they are. Make sure you're here and in the loop...
Edinburgh by Thomas Haywood
Edinburgh's Festivals in 2024
Edinburgh International Improv Festival
February 2024
The annual EIIF is dedicated to bringing the best improvisational theatre to Scotland while celebrating the fantastic wealth of local talent. EIIF will also teach a full curriculum of improv classes as well as a full programme of shows.
DataFest
March 2024
Now in its sixth year, DataFest will showcase Scotland's leading role in data science and artificial intelligence on the international stage, while offering an unprecedented networking platform where you can interact with local and international talent, industry, academia and data enthusiasts.
Edinburgh International Science Festival
April 2024
Edinburgh’s annual Science Festival is the world’s first celebration of science and technology, and one of Europe’s largest science events. This two-week festival made of talks, workshops and demonstrations is known for its creative, provocative and fun programming that has recently covered subjects as diverse as the science of ghosts, chocolate and laughter to the legacy of Charles Darwin and the views of Richard Dawkins.
Edinburgh Beltane Fire Festival
April 2024
What’s that coming over Calton Hill? Yes, it’s the annual Beltane Fire Festival, complete with fire, frolics and lashings of body paint.
Edinburgh Magic Festival
May 2024
Edinburgh International Magic Festival is an annual arts festival that celebrates magic. Founded in 2010, MagicFest produces the UK’s largest magic event, has consulted for the National Theatre of Scotland, broken a Guinness World Record and produced events at the Globe Theatre in London. Every year MagicFest attracts over 12,000 people at 80 different events across the city from free installations to the world-class Gala show at the Festival Theatre.
Hidden Door Festival
June 2024
Hidden Door is a non-profit, volunteer run arts festival which brings forgotten and abandoned spaces back to life with art, music, theatre, dance, spoken word, cinema and more.
The Imaginate Festival (Children's Festival)
June 2024
Ideal for family audiences, The Imaginate Festival brings local and international performers together to present a wonderful programme of fun-filled, free shows for children and young people. The Imaginate Festival is now the UK’s largest festival of performing arts for this age group.
The Edinburgh Festival of Cycling
June 2024
Scotland's greatest celebration of bicycle culture is now in its 4th year. Cited by the Guardian as one of the UK's best cylcling festivals, this is a showcase for all aspects of bike culture and the city itself. This year sees more rides, more films and more talks, plus books, photographs, workshops and more.
Leith Festival
June 2024
A week-long community festival held in the historic port of Leith with a programme covering art, music, theatre, dance and historic tours.
Turing Festival
June 2024
Turing Fest brings leaders in tech to Scotland, for two days of insight and inspiration in the heart of Edinburgh.
Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival
July 2024
The biggest festival of its kind in Britain presents over 140 gigs at 13 venues over 10 days. The best international musicians rub shoulders with top Scottish talent to present unique collaborations and outstanding musicianship. Highlights of previous programmes include Roy Hargrove, Joe Temperley, Chick Corea, David Murray, China Moses and Van Morrison.
www.edinburghjazzfestival.co.uk
The Edinburgh International Film Festival
August 2024
Renowned around the world for discovering and promoting the very best in international cinema - and for heralding and debating changes in global filmmaking. Intimate in its scale, ambitious in its scope, and fuelled by pure passion for cinema in all its manifestations, EIFF seeks to spotlight the most exciting and innovative new film talent, in a setting steeped in history. Showcasing the best in international film and documentary genres, past premieres have included Dr Zhivago, Taxi Driver, Manhattan, Blade Runner, Back to the Future, Pulp Fiction, ET: The Extra Terrestrial, The Motorcycle Diaries, and Oscar triumph The Hurt Locker.
Edinburgh Art Festival
August 2024
More than 40 museums, galleries and pop-up spaces come together in August to programme the Edinburgh Art Festival, with free entry to most exhibitions. It presents the best, most exciting and intriguing work in visual arts practice.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
August 2024
The one and only. An explosion of theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, music, children’s shows, exhibitions, musicals, and street performers brings over 2,500 shows to over 250 venues in Edinburgh throughout August. Expect the unexpected – any and all performers are welcome, with acts ranging from the experimental and emerging, to new material from household names.
Edinburgh International Festival
August 2024
Inaugurated in 1947 as a celebration of peace through the arts, the Edinburgh International Festival showcases the very best and most prestigious international companies. Featuring opera, music, theatre and dance from around the world, the International Festival is one of the most accessible events of its league, with tickets starting at £8.
Edinburgh International Book Festival
August 2024
The Edinburgh International Book Festival is the largest public celebration of ideas and the written word in the world. Over 900 participants from 47 different countries are welcomed to Edinburgh, the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature. More than 220,000 people come to soak up the atmosphere, take part in creative workshops and attend meet-the-author events.
Scottish International Storytelling Festival
October 2024
For centuries live oral storytelling, blended with music and song, has carried Scotland’s voices from generation to generation -and round the world. The Storytelling Festival is a ten-day celebration of traditional and contemporary storytelling, oral traditions and cultural diversity, bringing together artists and audiences from Scotland and beyond.
Edinburgh Horror Festival
November 2024
The Edinburgh Horror Festival is one of the first of its kind in the UK- most horror festivals focus on one style of performance be it film or theatre, or possible one area of horror such as ghosts. Our goal is to present a varied programme of performances in multiple disciplines and genres- from theatre to comedy, from magic to walking tours, from presenting authors to mediums to ghost hunters to scientists. A variable bill providing an opportunity for all those in the arts and sciences and beyond to present their work to an audience.
Edinburgh’s Christmas
November 2024 to January 2025
Christmas in Edinburgh is a magical time of year, with a jam-packed schedule of events and activity throughout the city, as well as a host of mouth-watering foodie destinations to visit and high street and independent retailers to suit all tastes and budgets Be sure to wonder around the European, Scottish and Children’s markets, catch a show in the famous Spiegeltent or take a turn on the ice rinks, big wheel, or for the brave, the Starflyer.
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay
December 2024 to January 2025
Join the torchlight procession as 25,000+ people carry their torches through the architecturally stunning medieval heart of Edinburgh. Dance beneath the stars with 80,000 revellers at the world famous Street Party, with live music stages, traditional Ceilidh dancing, and some of the hottest names in pop and rock music today. See in the New Year with the city’s famous Midnight Moment fireworks lifting from Edinburgh Castle as the crowds break into a rendition of the world’s favourite Scottish song, Auld Lang Syne.
- A great way to keep in touch with us is via Twitter @edinburghfest.
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