Edinburgh International Festival

The Edinburgh International Festival presents three weeks of the finest creators & performers from the worlds of the arts.

About Edinburgh International Festival

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Every August, the Edinburgh International Festival transforms one of the world's most beautiful cities, presenting three exhilarating weeks of the finest creators and performers from the worlds of the arts - for everyone.

Edinburgh's six major theatres and concert halls, a few smaller venues and often some unconventional ones too, come alive with the best music, theatre, opera and dance from around the globe.

Upcoming Events at Edinburgh International Festival

Edinburgh International Festival: Midsummer

2nd August 2018 - 26th August 2018

Enjoy this newly expanded version of David Grieg’s heart-warming and humorous love-letter to Edinburgh, featuring original songs by Ballboy’s Gordon McIntyre.

EIF: Standard Life Aberdeen Opening Event: Five Telegrams

3rd August 2018

A spectacular free outdoor event, the Standard Life Aberdeen Opening Event: Five Telegrams will celebrate the start of the 2018 International Festival in Festival Square.

Edinburgh International Festival: Waiting for Godot

3rd August 2018 - 12th August 2018

Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett’s iconic absurdist play, is brought to life in what has been called its greatest production for 25 years.

Edinburgh International Festival: Cold Blood

4th August 2018 - 6th August 2018

Cold Blood is a remarkable live, feature-length cinema-dance show that is filmed in front of the audience.

Edinburgh International Festival: Nicola Benedetti

4th August 2018

A morning of witty and theatrical Baroque works from Nicola Benedetti, accompanied by the world-renowned Academy of Ancient Music and Richard Egarr.

Edinburgh International Festival: The Opening Concert

4th August 2018

Celebrate the launch of the 2018 International Festival at the Usher Hall on 4th August with Josef Haydn’s explosive oratorio The Creation.

Edinburgh International Festival: National Youth Choir of Scotland

5th August 2018

Christopher Bell directs the National Youth Choir of Scotland in four sumptuous works at The Usher Hall on 5th August.

Edinburgh International Festival: The Barber of Seville

5th August 2018 - 8th August 2018

A new production of Gioachino Rossini's comic opera that brings a refreshing immediacy to this irresistible masterpiece.

Edinburgh International Festival: NYO - USA Jazz

5th August 2018

Listen to Carnegie Hall's National Youth Jazz Orchestra perform a varied programme that celebrates the big band sound at the Usher Hall on 5th August.

Edinburgh International Festival: Notes from the Field - CANCELLED

6th August 2018 - 18th August 2018

Unfortunately, all performances of Anna Deveare Smith's 2018 Edinburgh International Festival, Notes from the Field, has been cancelled due to unforseen scheduling conflict for Ms Smith.

Edinburgh International Festival: Dover Quartet

6th August 2018

Considered one of the finest quartets of the moment and Winners of the prestigious Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Dover Quartet play The Queen's Hall on 6th August.

Edinburgh International Festival: Piotr Anderszewski

7th August 2018

Celebrated Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski performs one of the greatest works of the piano repertoire – Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations at The Queen's Hall on 7th August.

Edinburgh International Festival: Ane Satyre of The Thrie Estaitis

7th August 2018

A workshop presentation and discussion about Tyrone Guthrie’s legendary production of Sir David Lindsay's play.

Edinburgh International Festival: YOA Orchestra of the Americas

7th August 2018

Having tour the world to enormous acclaim, the YOA Orchestra of the Americas comes to the Usher Hall on 7th August.

Edinburgh International Festival: Siegfried

8th August 2018

A star-studded cast, backed by Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé orchestra, provide the third instalment of Wagner’s monumental Ring Cycle in this concert performance.

Edinburgh International Festival: Viktoria Mullova and Katia Labèque

8th August 2018

A wonderfully eclectic recital of Schumann, Prokofiev, Takemitsu, Pärt and Ravel from Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova and French pianist Katia Labèque.

Edinburgh International Festival: National Youth Orchestra of Scotland

9th August 2018

Paul Daniel conducts the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland in works by French and Scottish composers, ending in Debussy’s transcendent La mer.

Edinburgh International Festival: Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony

9th August 2018

Martyn Brabbins, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Edinburgh Festival Chorus join forces to celebrate the 90th birthday of Scottish composer Thea Musgrave.

Edinburgh International Festival: Ilker Arcayürek and Simon Lepper

9th August 2018

Turkish tenor Ilker Arcayürek makes his International Festival debut with the poignant songs of Schubert and Wolf.

Edinburgh International Festival: King Creosote

9th August 2018

King Creosote returns to the International Festival as part of Light on the Shore with Edinburgh Gin Seaside at Leith Theatre.

Edinburgh International Festival: Love Cycle: OCD Love

9th August 2018

Intensely kinetic OCD Love is one of two complementary, standalone dance pieces from the world-renowned L-E-V Dance Company.

Edinburgh International Festival: London Symphony Orchestra 1

10th August 2018

In the first of two concerts, Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO are joined by legendary pianist Krystian Zimerman for Bernstein’s Second Symphony.

Edinburgh International Festival: Takács Quartet and Marc-André Hamelin 1

10th August 2018

The world-renowned Takács Quartet and powerful Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin perform two complimentary concerts of Mozart, Dvořák and Dohnanyi.

Edinburgh International Festival: Love Cycle: Love Chapter 2

10th August 2018

Dark and provocative Love Chapter 2 is one of two complementary, standalone dance pieces from the world-renowned L-E-V Dance Company.

Edinburgh International Festival: Hocus Pocus

10th August 2018 - 12th August 2018

A captivating visual spectacle for families, Hocus Pocus weaves together dance, theatre and visual art to tell a fantastical tale of bravery. Age 7+.

Edinburgh International Festival: Django Django

10th August 2018

Genre-blurring band Django Django bring their live show to Light on the Shore with Edinburgh Gin Seaside at Leith Theatre.

Edinburgh International Festival: Power, Gender and The Arts

10th August 2018

An afternoon of debate, discussion and performance exploring the history and the reality of power in the arts.

Edinburgh International Festival: Autobiography

11th August 2018 - 13th August 2018

Each performance of Autobiography, from Company Wayne McGregor, is unique and an experience for dancers and audience alike that’s never again repeated.

Edinburgh International Festival: London Symphony Orchestra 2

11th August 2018

In the second of their two-concert series, the LSO and Sir Simon Rattle perform Mahler’s gargantuan Ninth Symphony – the composer’s struggle with the meaning of life.

Edinburgh International Festival: Love Cycle: OCD Love

11th August 2018

Intensely kinetic OCD Love is one of two complementary, standalone dance pieces from the world-renowned L-E-V Dance Company.

Edinburgh International Festival: Takács Quartet and Marc-André Hamelin 2

11th August 2018

In the second of two complimentary concerts, the internationally-renowned string quartet and pianist further explore the sounds of central Europe, with more music from Mozart, Dvořák and Dohnanyi.

Edinburgh International Festival: Anna Meredith and the Southbank Sinfonia

11th August 2018

The Southbank Sinfonia join Anna Meredith and her band for a live performance of Varmints, the 2016 Scottish Album of the Year.

Edinburgh International Festival: Love Cycle: Love Chapter 2

12th August 2018

Dark and provocative Love Chapter 2 is one of two complementary, standalone dance pieces from the world-renowned L-E-V Dance Company.

Edinburgh International Festival: Handel’s Samson

13th August 2018

Join the Dunedin Consort and John Butt, Scotland’s finest period-instrument ensemble, as they bring Handel’s powerful oratorio to life.

Edinburgh International Festival: Ronald Brautigam

13th August 2018

For his International Festival recital, Ronald Brautigam performs Mendelssohn and Chopin as it would have sounded in the 19th century.

Edinburgh International Festival: Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov

14th August 2018

Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexander Melnikov tackle the late sonatas of Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninov at The Queen's Hall on 14th August.

Edinburgh International Festival: National Youth Orchestra of Canada

14th August 2018

Listen to The National Youth Orchestra of Canada, conducted by Jonathan Darlington, at the Usher Hall on 14th August!

Edinburgh International Festival: Catriona Morison & Simon Lepper

15th August 2018

Edinburgh-born singer Catriona Morison is joined by the brilliant pianist Simon Lepper to perform a programme of Brahms, Schumann and Mahler lieder.

Edinburgh International Festival: Hansel & Gretel

15th August 2018

A stunning international cast tell this bewitching fairy tale in a concert performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's opera.

Edinburgh International Festival: Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra

16th August 2018

Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic return to the International Festival with a vibrant programme of Richard Strauss and Prokofiev.

Edinburgh International Festival: La Maladie de la mort

16th August 2018 - 19th August 2018

British director Katie Mitchell presents her own uncompromising stage adaptation of the provocative novella by Marguerite Duras.

Edinburgh International Festival: Robert Levin

16th August 2018

The early keyboard pioneer returns to the International Festival with an all-Mozart affair – contrasting some well-loved sonatas with lesser known works.

Edinburgh International Festival: Karine Polwart’s Scottish Songbook

16th August 2018

Karine Polwart performs a soundtrack of seminal Scottish pop songs live as part of Light on the Shore with Edinburgh Gin Seaside at Leith Theatre.

Edinburgh International Festival: The Beggar’s Opera

16th August 2018 - 19th August 2018

The Beggar’s Opera is brought into the modern day in this brand new production from Paris’s Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, resident company at the 2018 International Festival.

Edinburgh International Festival: XENOS

16th August 2018 - 18th August 2018

Marking the great dancer's final performances in a full-length production, Akram Khan’s XENOS confronts the tragedy of the First World War.

Edinburgh International Festival: Eivind Holtsmark Ringstad and David Meier

17th August 2018

Norwegian violist Eivind Holtsmark Ringstad makes his International Festival debut at The Queen's Hall on 17th August alongside German pianist David Meier.

Edinburgh International Festival: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

17th August 2018

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra performs heady works from Stravinsky, Ravel and Debussy, conducted by Ludovic Morlot.

Edinburgh International Festival: Neu! Reekie!

17th August 2018

Come along for a special evening at the International Festival from Neu! Reekie! Part of Light on the Shore with Edinburgh Gin Seaside at Leith Theatre.

Edinburgh International Festival: Scottish Chamber Orchestra 1

18th August 2018

One of Scotland’s best-loved ensembles performs the cycle of Brahms’ symphonies over two nights. In this concert he performs his first and third symphonies.

Edinburgh International Festival: Eurovision Young Musicians 2018: The Semi-finals

18th August 2018 - 19th August 2018

18 of the most exciting young performers from across Europe compete for one of the world’s most prized titles: Eurovision Young Musicians 2018.

Edinburgh International Festival: Christian Blackshaw and Soloists of the Berliner Philharmoniker

18th August 2018

Renowned British pianist is joined by four principal players from the Berliner Philharmoniker to perform Schubert and Mozart.

Edinburgh International Festival: Lau-Land

18th August 2018

Lau will be joined by a host of friends and collaborators for a special Lau-Land on 18th August as part of Light on the Shore with Edinburgh Gin Seaside.

Edinburgh International Festival: Scottish Chamber Orchestra 2

19th August 2018

In the second of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra’s Brahms cycle, Robin Ticciati conducts the second and fourth symphonies.

Edinburgh International Festival: Colburn Orchestra

20th August 2018

Colburn Orchestra, an American youth ensemble, perform music by Salonen and Rachmaninov and joining them is violinist Simone Porter for Barber’s Violin Concerto.

Edinburgh International Festival: Pierre-Laurent Aimard

20th August 2018

Pierre-Laurent Aimard performs an intimate recital of virtuosic and mystical piano from Chopin, Scriabin, Debussy, Obouhow and Messiaen.

Edinburgh International Festival: John Grant

20th August 2018

As part of his UK tour, John Grant brings his captivating music to a very special International Festival concert at Edinburgh Playhouse on 20th August.

Edinburgh International Festival: Dvořak’s Requiem

21st August 2018

Emerging young conductor Jakub Hrůša is joined by four soloists and Edinburgh Festival Chorus in one of classical music’s greatest choral epics 'Dvořak’s Requiem'.

Edinburgh International Festival: Dorothea Röschmann and Roger Vignoles

21st August 2018

The celebrated German soprano, Dorothea Röschmann, returns to the International Festival with a rich moving collection of Romantic songs and is joined by British pianist Roger Vignoles.

Edinburgh International Festival: The End of Eddy

21st August 2018 - 26th August 2018

Born into poverty in rural France, this is the story of Eddy’s struggle to understand who he is, who he might become, and his fight to escape.

Edinburgh International Festival: Pavel Haas Quartet

22nd August 2018

One of the world’s most exciting string quartets perform two landmark works in the repertoire – Schubert’s ‘Rosamunde’ and Ravel’s String Quartet.

Edinburgh International Festival: Des canyons aux etoiles

22nd August 2018

Matthias Pintscher and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra perform with Pierre-Laurent Aimard Des canyons aux etoiles by Messiaen.

Edinburgh International Festival: The Prisoner

22nd August 2018 - 26th August 2018

The Prisoner, co-written and co-directed by legendary theatre-maker Peter Brook, is a provocative exploration of some of the most compelling issues of our times.

Edinburgh International Festival: HOME

22nd August 2018

HOME is a breathtaking spectacle of illusion, choreography, inexplicable construction and storytelling, capturing all the drama and emotion of our everyday lives.

Edinburgh International Festival: Eurovision Young Musicians 2018: Competition Final

23rd August 2018

Experience the classical music stars of tomorrow at the Eurovision Young Musicians 2018 Competition Final held in the Usher Hall.

Edinburgh International Festival: James Ehnes and Steven Osborne

23rd August 2018

Canadian violinist James Ehnes and Scottish pianist Steven Osborne perform a sumptuous recital of Brahms, Ravel, Debussy & Prokofiev.

Edinburgh International Festival: Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Tamara Stefanovich

24th August 2018

Pierre-Laurent Aimard is joined by Tamara Stefanovich to perform the French composer’s Visions de l’Amen and Brahms’s Sonata for Two Pianos.

Edinburgh International Festival: La Cenerentola

24th August 2018 - 26th August 2018

A visually stunning and boldly staged production of Rossini’s opera. The classic tale of Cinderella is radically transformed by renowned director Stefan Herheim.

Edinburgh International Festival: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 1

24th August 2018

Celebrated conductor Marin Alsop directs a programme of Stravinsky, Schumann and Gershwin’s Piano Concerto.

Edinburgh International Festival: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra 2

25th August 2018

Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra are joined by Nicola Benedetti to celebrate Leonard Bernstein on the centenary of his birth.

Edinburgh International Festival: Hebrides Ensemble

25th August 2018

The Hebrides Ensemble bring The Queen’s Hall concerts to a resplendent close as they celebrate Bernstein’s centenary year with two of his compositions.

Edinburgh International Festival: St. Vincent

26th August 2018

St. Vincent, the Grammy Award-winning musician brings her transgressive pop on a rare visit to Scotland as part of her Fear the Future tour.

Edinburgh International Festival: Mahler’s Eighth Symphony - SOLD OUT

26th August 2018

Daniel Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra join with the NYCoS Girls Choir and Edinburgh Festival Chorus to perform Mahler’s immense masterpiece.

Edinburgh International Festival: Virgin Money Fireworks Concert

27th August 2018

Enjoy the annual International Festival finale with inspirational music from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and breathtaking fireworks set against the backdrop of Edinburgh Castle.