This year marks 70 years of the Edinburgh International Festival, and the University has been involved since the very beginning. At the end of World War Two, alumnus and Head of the British Council in Scotland Henry Harvey Wood, Reid Professor of Music at the University Sidney Newman, alumnus and Lord Provost Sir John Falconer, and acclaimed opera house manager Rudolf Bing embarked on a mission to bring a visionary cultural event to Scotland’s capital.
In 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival was founded as ‘a platform for the flowering of the human spirit’, with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Film Festival launching the same year. Today, these festivals offer an unparalleled celebration of arts, comedy and entertainment and bring together performers and visitors from around the world. As a proud supporter, the University offers many of its spaces as festival venues and collaborates with organisers to host major events. Our photo gallery captures the festival atmosphere across the University and city throughout August.
The University partnered with the Edinburgh International Festival for its epic opening event, Bloom, during which projections lit up the city’s St Andrew Square.
Bikes and billboards have jostled for space at the University's George Square Gardens, where the Underbelly's famous purple cow show tent resides during the Festival Fringe.
The Fringe's Circus Hub has pitched its big top on the Meadows just beyond the University's Main Library.
Festival goers have flocked to George Square Gardens at the heart of the University's Central Area to seek out shows and sunshine.
The Student Union at Teviot Row House has been transformed into the popular Gilded Balloon venue.
The University's sport and social complex at the Pleasance has been a Festival Fringe hub this month, attracting thousands of visitors.
A series of successful concerts has taken place during the festival at the University's recently refurbished St Cecilia's Hall – the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Scotland.
Edinburgh College of Arts students, who were selected to draw illustrations for the University's prospectuses, have displayed their work in a festival exhibition at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
Home to the School of Divinity, the University's New College has seen big-name comedy acts take to the stage during the Festival Fringe.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival in Charlotte Square once again hosted the University's James Tait Black Prizes for Fiction and Drama.
Parkinson's Disease expert Tilo Kunath (left) is one of many Edinburgh academics who have presented their research to the public in the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas topical talk series.
During the Festival of Art, which also takes place in August, University students have showcased their work at the Edinburgh College of Art's Masters Degree Show.
