With her customary ebullience and enthusiasm, Nicola Benedetti—along with EIF Creative Director Roy Luxford—introduced the various strands and individual performances which comprise this year’s Edinburgh International Festival.
Things have changed a lot since the Festival’s inception in 1947, and it often feels that it’s been drowned out by the Fringe Festival. Or perhaps it just feels too elite for those who got used to the free, ‘pay what you can’ and cheap-as-chips Fringe shows over the decades. It’s been on Benedetti’s mind since she took over as Director of the EIF in 2022 that a large part of her role is not just curating a Festival worthy of its heritage, but also addressing the issues of diversity and inclusivity that many felt the Festival certainly didn’t.
A Full Programme for 2026
Last year the Festival was pared back, with concerns and doubts about funding. This year it’s back with a bang, with a full programme of almost 150 performances and jaw-dropping numbers of performers. There are plenty of ‘first-evers’, premieres, new collaborations, world exclusives and world-renowned artists. Benedetti hopes to inspire and enthuse and to showcase excellence and some novelty.
She wants the Festival to start—and continue—conversations and cut across cultures and communities. It certainly ought to achieve much of that ambition, with its thoughtfully crafted combination of genres, including talks and exhibitions, as well as the operas, symphonies and stage plays followers of the Festival are used to.
It’s been on Benedetti’s mind since she took over as Director of the EIF in 2022 that a large part of her role is not just curating a Festival worthy of its heritage, but also addressing the issues of diversity and inclusivity that many felt the Festival certainly didn’t.
Theme: ‘All Rise’
This year’s theme is ‘All Rise’ and, as in previous years, this offers opportunities for all sorts of interpretations and means of putting that exhortation into practice. It is ‘a rallying cry encompassing collaboration, resilience and ascendance’ and specifically marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, examining ‘the ideas and impact of the USA.’
Looking at the programme, which includes the Festival’s first-ever jazz ensemble residency from Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, it’s plain to see that there is much more to talk about than politics. That said, this programme is not politics-free and as well as Jazz @ LCO’s residency launch with Wynton Marsalis’s ‘All Rise’, there is International Theatre Amsterdam’s five-hour staging of Tony Kushner’s ‘Angels in America’ about the AIDS crisis and Geoff Sobelle’s ‘Clown Show’, satirising the American Dream.
The full programme has a host of artists from the New World and themes include resilience, exile, belonging, AI, UFOs and the slave trade, but there are old favourites in here too, including Berliner Philharmoniker, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Ballet. There is plenty of homegrown talent too, including the Dunedin Consort, the Sinfonia of London and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus.
Looking at the programme, which includes the Festival’s first-ever jazz ensemble residency from Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, it’s plain to see that there is much more to talk about than politics.
The Festival happily coincides with the re-opening of the King’s Theatre, so it is back on the map, alongside the Queen’s Hall, the Lyceum, the Festival Theatre and the Usher Hall. There will be events in many other venues in and around Edinburgh, including the EIF’s home at The Hub, which will foster a cohort of ‘Rising Stars’.
Accessibility and Pricing
Accessibility is key to the Festival’s continuing success and as well as ensuring there is account taken of physical access, there are accessible performances which will be audio described, BSL interpreted, captioned and suitable for families and those with dementia.
In order to minimise exclusion due to ticket pricing, the following initiatives are in place:
- ‘Give it a Go’ Tickets: £10 each for every event in the programme.
- Concessions: 50% off for D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people, and those under 18.
- Essential Companions: Free of charge with one paid ticket-holder.
- Under 30s & Arts Workers: 30% off standard prices.
- Young Musicians (8-18): Living in Scotland? You are eligible for free concert tickets and artist meet-and-greets.
- Tickets for Good: Hundreds of tickets donated through this community initiative.
All offers are subject to availability. So while no Festival is ‘for everyone’, there are real attempts to help those who’d like to attend to do so.
Featured Image: Nicola Benedetti photo by Andrew Perry
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