Books, Film, Science

The Edinburgh Festivals

Course 5 · Chapter 5 · Books, Film and Science

The International Festival, the Fringe and the Tattoo get most of the attention, but the city's calendar is far fuller. There are festivals for books, film, science, jazz, art, children and storytelling, spread across the year. This chapter looks at four of them, asks how each began and what it adds, and considers what happens when a city becomes a collection of festivals. Names, dates and figures are from general knowledge and flagged "check".

The Book Festival

Beginnings

The Edinburgh International Book Festival began in 1983, at first in alternate years and later every year (check the dates). It grew out of the book-trade and arts circles of the city.

The tents

For many years the festival was held in a village of tents in Charlotte Square Gardens in the New Town, with a bookshop, a café and a large programme of author events (check the move to Charlotte Square and recent changes of site).

What it offers

Talks, readings and debates with authors from many countries, with events for children and young people, and a mix of fiction, non-fiction, politics and poetry (check).

  • Edinburgh and books. The city has a literary claim of its own: it was named the first UNESCO City of Literature in 2004 (check), and it has strong links with Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and many later writers.
  • Debates. The festival has had arguments over sponsorship, over author fees and over its changing site, which show that even a gentle-looking festival is also an economic arrangement (Chapter 8; check).

The Film Festival

Item (check each)Detail
BeginningsThe Edinburgh International Film Festival began in 1947, alongside the first International Festival, and is often described as the world's oldest continuously running film festival (check the claim).
Early focusDocumentary film and the work of the British documentary movement, which had a strong Scottish link through John Grierson (check).
Changes of dateIt moved from August to June in 2008 so as not to compete with the other festivals (check), and the organisation has gone through financial difficulties and changes of management.
RoleA showcase for British and international films and a place for premieres, though it competes for attention with larger film festivals (check).

The Science Festival

  • The idea. The Edinburgh International Science Festival started in 1989 and is often credited as one of the first of its kind (check). It was set up to bring science to the public, and especially children.
  • The timing. It runs in spring, not summer, which is part of the plan to spread the festival calendar through the year (check).
  • The format. Hands-on events, lectures, shows and exhibitions at venues across the city, often in partnership with the universities.
  • Why Edinburgh. The city has a scientific history, with figures such as James Hutton, James Clerk Maxwell and Alexander Graham Bell connected to it (check), and the Scottish Enlightenment is a point of civic pride.

Jazz, Blues and the Rest

  • Jazz and Blues. The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival began in 1978 as a jazz festival, and runs in July before the August festivals (check the dates and the later name).
  • Art. The Edinburgh Art Festival brings together the city's galleries in August (check).
  • Others. Festivals of children's theatre, storytelling, comedy and the Gaelic and Celtic traditions fill other parts of the year (check which exist now).
  • The calendar. Taken together, the festivals have extended the city's season, though August is still the peak.
A festival city, or a festival machine? The festivals share audiences, venues, sponsors and public money, so the success of one affects the others. Supporters call the result a festival city that makes culture a year-round habit. Critics ask whether every theme now needs its own festival, and whether the city is more a place for visitors than for residents (Chapter 7). Both views rest on figures about audiences and spending, which should be checked in each case.
A British comparison Compare the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts in Wales, the Cheltenham Literature Festival and the Cambridge Science Festival (check the examples). Each is smaller than Edinburgh's collection, but together they show how widely British towns use the festival format, and how often the same sponsors and authors appear.
Check the details Founding dates, "first" and "oldest" claims, names and sites change often. Check against each festival's own history and independent reports before quoting, and treat claims of being the world's first or largest with particular care (Chapter 1).

Exercises

Exercise 1

Choose one of the four festivals in this chapter and write a short profile covering its start, its audience and one change since it began.

→ Solution
Exercise 2

Test the claim that the Edinburgh Film Festival is "the oldest in the world", naming what you would need to check.

→ Solution
Exercise 3

Give one argument for and one against the idea that a city benefits from having a festival for almost every subject.

→ Solution

Quick Reference

  • Book Festival: from 1983, Charlotte Square tents for many years (check)
  • Film Festival: from 1947; moved to June in 2008 (check)
  • Science Festival: from 1989, held in spring (check)
  • Jazz and Blues: from 1978, held in July (check)
  • The caution: "first" and "oldest" claims need a stated definition