Recognised the world over as platforms of creative excellence, festivals in Edinburgh have received a total of £633,396 of additional funding from the Scottish Government through Creative Scotland to support continued strategic development activity.
Image credit: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Edinburgh International Festival © Andrew Perry.
Launched in 2018 and ending in December 2023, the Platforms for Creative Excellence (PlaCE) was developed in partnership with the Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh Council and Festivals Edinburgh and was designed to help festivals to:
- diversify their year-round partnerships with the culture sector across the city and Scotland
- drive transformation and creative innovation through long-term programming approaches
- increase career and skills development capacity for creatives and young people
- build new and lasting relationships with less engaged communities.
An independent evaluation report from BOP Consulting has found that PlaCE funding played a significant role in festival resilience through the pandemic and 97% of community partners reported high levels of satisfaction from engagement with the festivals.
Culture Minister Christina McKelvie said:
"The Scottish Government's commitment to investing in arts and culture remains strong, which is why we have continued to provide support, through Creative Scotland, to Edinburgh's festivals.
“Communities right across the city will benefit from almost £640,000 in PLaCE funding. We hope this will allow Festivals to continue their development and deliver more fantastic work in our schools and with our local communities."
This additional funding on top of the transformative PlaCE programme will allow festivals in Edinburgh to continue delivery of this strategic development activity into the next year and beyond.
The following festivals have received this funding:
Festival |
Funding amount |
|---|---|
| Edinburgh Art Festival | £50,000 |
| Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society | £75,000 |
| Edinburgh International Book Festival | £53,450 |
| Edinburgh International Festival | £75,000 |
| Edinburgh International Film Festival | £75,000 |
| Edinburgh International Science Festival | £60,000 |
| Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival | £75,000 |
| Festivals Edinburgh | £19,946 |
| Imaginate | £75,000 |
| Scottish International Storytelling Festival | £75,000 |
| TOTAL | £633,396 |
Background
PlaCE is a partnership between the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council and the Edinburgh Festivals providing funding of £1million per year since 2018 to organisations.
Festivals Edinburgh is the high-level organisation, created and driven by the directors of Edinburgh’s 11 major international festivals, to take the lead on their joint strategic development and work to sustain their leadership role locally and globally.
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at creativescotland.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about the value of art and creativity in Scotland and join in at www.ourcreativevoice.scot
Media Contact
Jacqueline Munro, Media Relations & PR Coordinator
M: +44 (0) 7967 822 266