Edinburgh Festival: The World’s Biggest Arts Festival
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- Country:
- Scotland
Do you feel nostalgic and lost in the memories of childhood like everyone else when you hear the word Festival?! Now, you must be remembering the times when you used to go to fairs and festivals, enjoying all those fun rides, merry-go-round, eating cotton candies, buying toys and so much more. If you enjoyed going to festivals as a kid, then you will love experiencing the Edinburgh Festival.
The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is celebrated in the last three weeks of August. Thousands of world-renowned artists from the international world of music and performing arts gather in Edinburgh to become part of the world’s biggest arts festival. Visual art exhibitions, talks, and workshops are also hosted in this festival.
The first “International Music and Arts Festival” was held between 22 August 1947 and 11 September 1947 under the direction of illustrious Austrian-born showman Rudolf Bing. It covered a wide array of programs including orchestral, choral, and chamber music. In subsequent years, Lieder and song, opera, ballet, drama, film, and Scottish 'piping and dancing' were also structured in the festival held on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.
Mr. Bing, for the first time, came up with the idea of a music and art festival back in 1944, over a lunch table in a restaurant in Hanover Square, London. The idea behind the festival was to heal the wounds of the human spirit from the Second World War through the languages of the arts. The first festival was financed by Lord Rosebery's £10,000 winnings of his horse Ocean Swell and later the sum was matched by Edinburgh Town Council and then some money, in turn, was matched by the Arts Council of Great Britain under the chairmanship of John Maynard Keynes.
The festival has been celebrated every year since 1947, except for 2020 when it got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was held again in 2021 but on a smaller scale due to the global health-statutory guidelines and restrictions. Some of the most notable names in the world of music and art that participated in the festival in the past 60 years are:
Maria CallasThe iconic figure in the world of opera and music, performed in the year 1957 festival at the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh for which she got a standing ovation from the audience.
Plácido DomingoAlso known as “the King of Opera” is one of the most famous tenors of all time, took the stage in the 1977 Edinburgh festival at the Kings Theatre.
José CarrerasIn 1982, the world-famous Spanish tenor sang at the Edinburgh Festival and helped popularize opera by performing with Luciano Pavarotti and Plácido Domingo as one of the Three Tenors.
Rudolf NureyevPerhaps the most celebrated male ballerina of the 20th century danced in the 1984 festival at the Playhouse Theatre in Edinburgh and danced a further 4 times at the 1990 festival.
Marlene DietrichIn 1965, the German-born film star and singer performed at the Edinburgh Festival, singing a collection of late-night cabaret songs at the Lyceum theatre.
Richard BurtonIn 1953, Burton played Hamlet in a critically acclaimed Old Vic production in the Assembly Hall at the Edinburgh Festival.
Peter CookOne of the leading figures of the British satire boom in the 1960s, Peter Cook performed at the Edinburgh Royal Lyceum Theatre in “Beyond the Fringe”, alongside Dudley Moore, Alan Bennett, and Jonathan Miller in the 1960 festival.
Emma ThompsonThe only person to win an Oscar for both acting and writing, Emma Thompson alongside Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, and Tony Slattery, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1981.
Robin WilliamsThe stand-up comedy genius first appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1971 in a production of “The Taming of the Shrew”.
Rowan AtkinsonThe world-famous actor known for his role as Mr. Bean took a break from his engineering degree to perform skits alongside Richard Curtis for The Oxford Revue at the 1976 festival.
The list of famous names is so long that it can go on forever, this tells a lot about the true importance of the Edinburgh Festival and how huge of an opportunity it is to become a part of this years old tradition.
This year, the Edinburgh Festival is to start from 5 August 2022 to 28 August 2022 which will also mark its 75th anniversary. Thousands of performers from 58 countries will perform more than 3000 shows for three weeks at the principal venues for the festival in Edinburgh. This is also the first time after the pandemic that a live audience will get to experience this monumental festival, and to promote the event amongst the masses, the organizers of the festival decided to give away 35,000 tickets for free.
The participants include comedians like Frankie Boyle, Stewart Lee, and Al Murray. The Edinburgh Festival will open with a free gala event, Macro, by physical theatre firm Gravity & Other Myths at Murrayfield Stadium. There will be music, projections, drums, a huge light display as well as acrobatics and dance. The final weekend at the Playhouse Theatre will close with a free finale gala by the Philadelphia Orchestra marking the end of the Edinburgh festival.
After knowing the story behind the Edinburgh Festival, who would not want to be part of such a historic tradition that lifts your spirit?