prize5-2, Exercise 1: Why 1947 and why Edinburgh

Model answer (one possible summary; check the details):

The International Festival began in 1947 because the end of the war created a wish to rebuild cultural life and to bring performers and audiences together. Rudolf Bing, the manager of Glyndebourne, was the main artistic driver, and civic leaders such as Lord Provost Sir John Falconer gave political and financial support. Salzburg and Glyndebourne provided models of how a festival could work. Edinburgh helped by being undamaged by bombing, having an attractive historic setting and halls and theatres close together. The first festival ran for about three weeks in the late summer of 1947, with major visiting orchestras and companies. Accounts differ on who first proposed the idea, so it is safest to say that several people contributed.