ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the development of Edinburgh’s festivals and their relationship to the city from the nineteenth century through to present-day challenges. It discusses the first festivals and early festivalization, with the origins of the Fringe and the more radical People’s Festival. The chapter describes how the International Festival evolved, commenting on its changing content, venues, funding and political context, with the fourth turning the spotlight on to the expansion of the Fringe. It focuses on the dramatic growth of the festivals since the Millennium, with growing coordination and public policy support. The Edinburgh International Festival of Documentary Films, as initially titled, ran alongside the middle week of the Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama. The Glyndebourne connection slowly weakened. Despite entreaties from the Edinburgh Festival Society for Bing to be solely employed by the festival, he adamantly retained posts with both Glyndebourne and Edinburgh until 1949 when he left to become the Director of New York’s Metropolitan Opera.
