Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is the largest city by area and the second largest by population in the country. The city was one of the historic major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh.
Host
The Edinburgh International Festival has been connecting audiences and artists for over sixty years. Founded in 1947, the Festival grew out of the rubble of the Second World War with the aim of providing 'a platform for the flowering of the human spirit'. This belief in the power of the arts to nurture and transform lies at the heart of the Festival's mission today.
City
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of the unique character of the medieval Old Town and the planned Georgian New Town. There are 12 major annual festivals in Edinburgh, the Festival City. The number of visitors attracted to Edinburgh for the Festivals is roughly equal to the settled population of the city.
Every August, the Edinburgh International Festival transforms one of the world's most beautiful cities, presenting three exhilarating weeks of the finest creators and performers from the worlds of the arts - for everyone.