An August occasion

The mission that drives the Edinburgh International Festival is “to be the most exciting, innovative and accessible festival of the performing arts in the world”, and thus promote the cultural, educational and economic well-being of the people of Edinburgh and Scotland. Success is therefore measured through a number of factors. Some of these are concrete: audience numbers, financial results, critical acclaim, online and social media engagement, for example. But, for me, success is about what we set out to do and what we actually achieve.
Planning a festival programme begins years ahead. Working with each artform’s different planning cycles requires locking in orchestras or opera companies two or more years in advance. Theatre and dance companies work to shorter timetables, but international work always requires significant planning time. Conceiving festivals thematically means I have ideas about the shape of future festivals up to five years in advance. Programming the festival is a collaborative and iterative process. I set the direction, but it has to be flexible. What I and my team seek to understand is the core of an idea. People come and engage with us, bring their ideas and identify connections between their plans and our themes and agendas.
The festival’s permanent staff totals 32. Come August, this inflates to more than 200 working across the city. In the space of just three weeks we host around 2,300 artists and go to great efforts to ensure that their visit and performances go smoothly – and that they enjoy their experience. We try to balance the books across the programme with income from a number of sources: public sector investment, corporate sponsors, individuals, trusts and foundations, and ticket sales. Recent annual budgets have been in the region of £9m. I believe that it is the possibilities of Edinburgh, the depth of our history and the blank and broad canvas we offer, that underpin our success. It is curated, cross-cultural, political, environmental, and we have a multiplicity of positions, not just a single point of view.
Part of the continuing success of Edinburgh is the juxtaposition of the open access Fringe Festival and the curated International Festival. Currently there are seven festivals that constitute the summer programme in Edinburgh. Together, the festivals bring a vast number of visitors to the city and create a cultural opportunity like no other in the world. We work collaboratively on strategic issues, which is both rewarding and exciting. Together we can unlock major possibilities in areas including promotion, technology, innovation and sustainability. There will always be challenges in trying to pull off something as big and complex as the Edinburgh International Festival. Despite enormous support and goodwill, the current economic climate presents a considerable challenge. But anticipating environmental pressures encourages us to think outside the box and develop new areas of work and partnerships to future proof this great festival as well as we can.