During August Edinburgh takes on a whole new charater. The city is flooded with visitors from all over the world, the bars and restaurants are crowded at 2am almost every night of the week, and the streets come alive with an endless variety of street performers. Oh yes, I almost forgot... there is also the Edinburgh Festival going on!
What is usually called 'The Edinburgh Festival' is in reality a whole series of festivals. The two main festivals are:
The International Festival (13 August-3 September)
This is the festival it all started with in 1947. Lots of high-brow classical music, drama and dance in Edinburgh's principle theatres.
The Fringe Festival (6-28 August)
The Fringe Festival also has its beginnings in 1947, when the International Festival attracted so much attention that 8 theatre companies turned up unannounced and uninvited. The Fringe really got going in 1950's when a local printer published the first Fringe Programme, Edinburgh University set up a central box office and the Fringe Society was formed.
The Fringe took another leap forward in the 1970s when the first professional administrator was appointed. In the 1990s technology made buying tickets much easier, meaning an end to the regular queues at the Fringe box office on the High Street, but rest assured that queuing is still a major part of the Fringe experience!
Today, each year the Fringe boasts approximately 600 Companies, 1500 shows and 14,000 performances covering drama, music, visual arts, comedy etc etc. With all these shows, it's no surprise that it is the Fringe that offers the most to the gay visitor.
The other festivals during this time are:
Edinburgh Film Festival (14-27 August)
Edinburgh Book Festival (12-28 August)
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival (28 July-6 August)
Edinburgh Mela (3-4 September)
Edinburgh Military Tattoo (4-26 August)
You should find the programmes for most of the festivals in just about any theatre, cinema, bar or cafe in Edinburgh, but if you have any problems, or you want to order a programme in advance, try the festival websites or these addresses:
Edinburgh International FestivalAlso look out for the useful daily diaries published each day for the Fringe.