Thursday 16 August 2012

Edinburgh Festivals Go For Gold in 2012


The Edinburgh Fringe
Having already held its Jazz Festival in July, most of the Edinburgh Festivals take place in August, turning the city into a hotbed of culture and entertainment. With the Art Festival, Fringe, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, International Festival, International Book Festival and Mela, it’s best to follow the seasoned Edinburgh Festival goers’ motto: ‘you can sleep in September’.

The Edinburgh Fringe (3 – 27 August) is the largest arts festival in the world, and though it has theatre, dance, cabaret and music, it is best known for excellent comedy. Residents and visitors alike pound the streets in search of the next up and coming talent, or simply a night of non-stop laughter. If it’s difficult to choose among the hundreds of acts on offer, you can experience a taster of each show by walking up the packed Royal Mile (the series of streets leading from Edinburgh Castle up to the Queen’s residence, Holyrood Palace), where there are stands representing all the shows.

Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival (9 August – 2 September) was the first of the Festivals, established in 1947 to try to reinvigorate Europe’s cultural life after World War II. In almost 200 events across the city, this year the festival gathers over 3000 artists from 47 nations with audiences from approximately a third of the world’s nations.

NVA’s Speed of Light
From 9 August to 1 September the festival will present one of the most extraordinary events of the cultural year, NVA’s Speed of Light – which, fittingly in this Olympic year, fuses public art and sporting endeavour. Arthur's Seat becomes the stage for a mass choreographed act of walking and endurance running. Members of the walking audience form an intrinsic part of the work, carrying portable light and sound sources to illuminate the dark features of the hill. As they go up they gain a view of the mesmerising visual display beneath, of hundreds of runners wearing specially designed light suits navigating the intricate path networks below

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