Relaxing in Edinburgh With Its Festivity and Shows
By: Edward Grey
Submitted: 2008-11-01 07:36:08 | Word Count: 517
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland. Aside from being heart of its financial activities, the city serves as the center of culture of the country. Unlike other buzzing metros, Edinburgh is able to keep a relax pace of life which attracts a lot of tourists from all over the globe.
Every August, thousands of tourists flock to this corner of the United Kingdom to witness and take part in the city’s most popular event, the Edinburgh Festival. The Edinburgh Festival is the largest arts festival where you can enjoy different beats of music, dancing, and other activities in a long span of 4 weeks. This tradition was started in 1947 by the EIF or Edinburgh International Festival with the aim of providing a venue for the free expression of the human spirit.
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The best of artists from the UK and the rest of the world convene to fill the craving of the locals and the tourists for great entertainment.
The EIF operates from the Hub, their central office which was built in 1999. The hub, formerly known as the Old Tooth, is located near the famous Edinburgh Castle. This gothic structure also serves as the focal point of the festival where tickets are sold, exhibitions are displayed, and where party spirits conquer everyone.
The Edinburgh Festival is actually a series of summer activities organized to promote thriving of the human spirit:
Edinburgh International Festival
Held every August, only the top caliber artists from the music industry, theater, and opera are invited to perform in this original festival of the EIF. A lot of workshops and talks are conducted to promote the event and the other activities which trace their roots in the original efforts of the EIF in 1947.
This year s event posted record sales of £2.6m, way up higher 7 than last year. This sudden increase in ticket sales is largely attributed to the overall popularity of dance programme events. The shows estimated viewers reached 13,000 at one time, as stated by the organizers.
The next Edinburgh Festival will be held next year 2009 around August 14 to September 6. So have your schedule ready.
Edinburgh Fringe
Popularly known as The Fringe, this is considered the largest arts festival in the world. This festival focuses primarily on the performing arts pertaining to drama and comedy. Famous works by Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett, and other literature giants are featured in the different performances. Experimental performances are also given an opportunity to be appreciated by the public.
This years event was quite disappointing with only 1.5 million tickets sold, compared to sales figure in 2007 which pegged at 1.7 million. This was blamed to some ticketing system hoopla that made tickets unavailable for the public. This led to the resignation of its director Jon Morgan. Nevertheless, the event offered more that 2,200 shows participated by 31,000 performers in music, dance and theatrics.
Edinburgh International Book Festival
This event takes place in Charlotte Square near the center of the city. Renowned authors from all over the globe showcase their works in this book festival. There are also debates and discussions organized so everyone can healthily tackle the different issues of the world.
