Discover the hidden facts of Edinburgh’s world-famous summer festivals that even locals don’t know!
Edinburgh incredible summer festivals are known the world over, but to many people August in the city is synonymous with two things – the bustling Royal Mile filled with street performers and big-name comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe. While both elements are essential parts of our summer festivals, they are only the very surface of what makes August such a special time in Edinburgh.
Read on to discover some amazing lesser-known facts about Edinburgh’s biggest and busiest time of year, and plan your stay to experience the festivals like a true insider.
1 – Edinburgh is home to 6 festivals in August
Part of what makes August in Edinburgh so unique is that not only are our two most famous festivals taking place, Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, but the city is also home to four other major global arts festivals at the same time!
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo takes over Edinburgh Castle and its esplanade for the first three weeks of the month for a rousing celebration of military bands and cultural performers from Scotland, the UK and around the world.
In the middle of the month the UK’s largest visual art festival, Edinburgh Art Festival, takes over indoor and outdoor spaces across the city with a kaleidoscopic celebration of international art rooted in Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Book Festival arrives next with the UK’s largest literary celebration featuring over 600 events with some of the world’s most exciting writers and thinkers.
And finally, the weeklong Edinburgh International Film Festival arrives – an intimate yet ambitious global film festival which showcases some of the most innovative new films of all types. August in Edinburgh is a truly unique global hub of art and creativity, and no stay in the city in August is complete without sampling all of our festival offerings.
2 – Don’t judge a book by its cover
Edinburgh’s festival names often hide the variety of events they have on offer. The Book Festival is not just readings from new books (although they have plenty of fantastic ones on offer!), it is also one of the most interactive festivals in August. With workshops to improve your writing and close reading skills, panels debating pressing global issues and unique events like intimate discussions with cookbook authors over lunch cooked by them!
The Edinburgh Art festival isn’t just paintings in galleries; it’s a vibrant tapestry of disciplines and breaks out across the city. From performances and installations at iconic locations like the Royal Botanic Garden and Calton Hill to live music and parties, it truly is a celebration of art in all forms.
Even the Fringe has grown beyond its beginnings in comedy and theatre to become a true allrounder. Now the festival is also one of the world’s largest showcases of circus, with major performances at all venues and a dedicated Circus Hub built on The Meadows each year. Plus, the festival is now a culinary wonderland with brilliant street food offerings popping up across the main festival sites. Come hungry!
3 – The Fringe is the birthplace of global stars and smash hit shows
What makes Edinburgh’s flagship festival so special for performers and audiences alike is that every room you go into might be the start of a next global phenomenon. Since its founding in 1947, the fringe has been the launchpad for countless careers on stage and screen. In the early days of the festival, one of the first major successes was Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, one of the most revered 20th century plays and later a major film, which started in a tiny room of the Royal Mile in 1966. In 1981, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie came together for the first time as a comedy duo, performing alongside Emma Thompson in a show which overnight turned them into comedy and acting superstars.
In recent years, two of the biggest TV shows in the world started as theatre productions at the festival. Phoebe Waller Bridge’s megahit Fleabag began in 2013 as a one-woman show in a 60-seat venue in a cave on the Cowgate, and Richard Gadd’s Baby Reindeer also had it’s first performances at Summerhall in 2019. Not to mention the global musical sensation Six began at the festival in 2017 too.
So next time you’re at the Fringe, take a chance on something new. Ask the venue staff or Box Office sales team what shows they’d recommend or have heard good things about, or load up the Fringe Society mobile app and use their ‘Shows Near Me’ function to see what’s on around you and walk into something unplanned. You never know who, or what, you’ll uncover!
4 – Our festivals take place in wacky and unexpected venues
The Fringe has a reputation of taking over bars, pubs and clubs in Edinburgh and transforming everyday buildings into performances spaces. Those venues only scratch the surface of the weird, wonderful and beautiful places you can see shows across August.
The Fringe is hosted in the widest variety of locations, including Edinburgh’s two main football stadiums, Tynecastle and Easter Road, which are both regular hosts of Fringe performances. There are also comedy venues in the hidden arches and vaults of Edinburgh’s old town alongside venues which really turn heads, like Underbelly’s giant purple cow in George Square!
The Edinburgh Book Festival has recently moved to a new home in the Edinburgh Futures Institute, The University of Edinburgh’s innovation centre built in the stunning former Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh building. And the international festival hosts performances in Edinburgh’s grandest concert halls and venues through to the outdoor Ross Bandstand set below Edinburgh Castle. If you can think of a place for a potential venue, there’s a very good chance Edinburgh has it in August!
5 – The Edinburgh festivals are as big as the Olympics!
Every year, Edinburgh has around 4.5 million attendances across its August festivals, which is only topped by the Olympics’ 8-9million. But as the Olympics only take place every 4 years, that means the Edinburgh Festivals sell twice as many tickets in that time!
The Fringe alone has between 3000-4000 shows per year, the International Festival welcomes 2000 artists annually and across all six festivals performers from around 70 countries come to Edinburgh. We don’t call it the largest celebration of the arts in the world for no reason!
6 – The Fringe is longer than you think…
The Fringe officially takes place for 25 days across August (and occasionally late July), but did you know the performances often last longer than this? Many venues open up to three days before the official Fringe start date for ‘Preview’ performances, with slightly discounted tickets and usually quieter streets. It’s a great way to take in the Fringe in a more relaxed setting before the buzz really sets in from day one.
7 – Among the buzz and bustle, there are always oases of calm
If you’re looking for other ways to escape the excitement and crowds of the festival during your August stay, then you’re in luck. Edinburgh has bountiful quiet escapes located just off the main Fringe thoroughfares, like the beautiful Dunbar’s Close tucked just off the Royal Mile, or Bruntsfield Links a 15-minute walk away from the busy Meadows and George Square performance hubs.
Or if you still want festival performances with a quieter setting, explore beyond Edinburgh’s old town to the performances happening across the city. The Edinburgh Art Festival makes brilliant use of tranquil, open spaces across the city, while increasingly the Fringe and International Festival are bringing performances to new areas of the city, like Leith, Portobello and South Queensferry. Head to the festival websites, filter by location and watch a show somewhere unexpected to make your festival stay truly unforgettable.
