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The 2025 Edinburgh International Festival will officially open tomorrow, launching a 24-day global celebration of music, opera, theatre, and dance. Now in its third year under Festival Director and acclaimed violinist Nicola Benedetti, this year’s Festival invites audiences to explore the theme The Truth We Seek—a journey into the elusive and multifaceted nature of truth in personal and public life.
More than 2,000 artists from 42 countries will participate in this year’s programme, which offers bold, thought-provoking performances and participatory events designed to break down barriers to cultural engagement. With over 50,000 tickets priced at £30 or less and £10 Affordable Tickets available for all performances, the Festival also expands access for NHS workers, young people, and local communities.
The Festival opens with The Big Singalong and The Ceilidh Sessions, large-scale participatory events set in Princes Street Gardens against the iconic backdrop of Edinburgh Castle, celebrating community through music and dance.
Programme Highlights
Make It Happen (1–9 August, Festival Theatre)
James Graham’s world premiere drama on the 2008 financial crisis in Edinburgh stars Brian Cox as Adam Smith and Sandy Grierson as Fred Goodwin. A co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep, the play offers a distinctly Scottish perspective on global economic collapse.
Opening Concert: The Veil of the Temple (2 August, Usher Hall)
John Tavener’s eight-hour spiritual epic will be performed in its entirety, featuring over 250 singers from the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, Monteverdi Choir, and National Youth Choir of Scotland. Audience members will be seated on beanbags for an immersive, contemplative experience.
Dance People (7–10 August, Old College Quad)
Choreographer Omar Rajeh and his company Maqamat present an open-air dance performance that merges activism and movement, dissolving boundaries between performance and public space.
Orpheus and Eurydice (13–16 August, Edinburgh Playhouse)
Australia’s Circa joins forces with world-class opera singers for a thrilling, acrobatic reimagining of Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice in its European premiere.
Figures in Extinction (22–24 August, Festival Theatre)
Nederlands Dans Theater presents the Scottish premiere of Figures in Extinction, a collaboration with Crystal Pite and Simon McBurney that confronts the climate crisis and humanity’s responsibility through powerful contemporary dance.
Additional Programming
The Festival’s home base, The Hub, will host intimate Up Late gigs from artists including Alabaster DePlume (8 August), Kathryn Joseph (9 August), and Hanni Liang (7 August), who will create a live piano response to audience-submitted dreams.
Family-friendly programming includes Art of Listening for Families (4–9 August), The Ceilidh Sessions (4 August), and NYO2’s Family Concert (4 August), while major residencies will feature performances from the London Symphony Orchestra, Poland’s NFM Leopoldinum, and Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra 2.
Audiences can also enjoy morning recitals at The Queen’s Hall with artists like María Dueñas, Bomsori Kim, and Mark Simpson, and evening concerts at Usher Hall with the NCPA Orchestra from Beijing and pianist Bruce Liu.
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