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The Edinburgh Festival – Why Brits Are Missing Out |
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Friday, 19 August 2005 |
The annual Edinburgh Festivals are regarded world wide as some of the
best Europe has to offer in terms of film, literature and music. Every
year it is estimated that the population of Edinburgh doubles as the
city becomes one of the most vibrant places to be in all of Europe.
However, despite this worldwide recognition, only a third of the
visitors are locals which means many Britons are failing to take
advantage of this fantastic short break opportunity available to them
right on their doorstep.
Starting in 1947, the Edinburgh
Festival has grown into the largest festival in the world of its type.
In 2004 there were an amazing 25,000 performances of 1,700 shows in
over 230 venues across the city! To give an impression of how gigantic
the festival really is, it would have taken over 5 years to see every
performance back-to-back in 2004!
Many big names from both sides
of the Atlantic have graced the festival throughout the years, such as
Robin Williams, Christian Slater, Jude Law and Hugh Grant to name but a
few. It is remarkable considering the vast amounts of money that these
people can demand for a film role that they would choose such humble
surroundings – but getting back to the roots of their acting careers
seems to be the goal and the fresh challenge is one they seem to relish.
This
year’s festival is set to be one of the most entertaining in recent
years, with a large number of quality plays, concerts, gigs and films
set to entertain the masses throughout the duration. One of the most
eagerly awaited plays is “Beyond Midnight” by Diane Samuels – writer of
the popular “Kindertransport”. Pitched as an adult fairy-tale, the
production picks up where Disney left off and follows the trials and
tribulations of Cinderella’s daughter, following the death of her
mother. While this dark tale is certainly not for children, no
Edinburgh Festival would seem complete without a fresh offering from
the Trestle Theatre Company.
One film that seems set to make its
mark is “On a Clear Day” which tells the story of a man recently made
redundant who decides to focus his life into swimming across the
English Channel. Starring Peter Mullan and Brenda Blethyn the film can
certainly draw parallels with the Full Monty (another Edinburgh
Festival hit) and certainly seems to be the next worldwide British
blockbuster.
In terms of music, Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish
band making waves and their festival appearance at Prince’s Street
Gardens is eagerly anticipated by fans and critics alike. Perhaps the
main reason for this is it will be one of the first opportunities to
hear the band’s new work from their new album – “You Could Have it So
Much Better...With Franz Ferdinand” – set to be released in September
2005.
With so much going on in the city there really couldn’t be
a better time to visit for a few days. However, despite numbers
increasing steadily throughout the years it is amazing that more
Britons do not choose Edinburgh as a short break destination at this
time of year. Accommodation can certainly be hard to come by but hotel
specialist companies such as http://www.superbreak.com always have a range of excellent deals in city hotels for those looking to spend a weekend in Scotland’s Capital.
In
many ways the situation mirrors visitor patterns in London’s West End.
For years American and Japanese tourists realised that the quality of
venues and shows available in London were amongst the best in the world
– it just seemed to take locals longer to take advantage of its
wonders. However, this trend is certainly reversing and, buoyed by high
profile shows such as “Billy Elliot”, London’s West End is proving
extremely popular with Britons looking for an event driven short break.
For further listings on all aspects of the Edinburgh Festival try these helpful websites - http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk and http://www.edfringe.com.
About the Author
Edinburgh based travel writer and webmaster of http://www.travel-tips.co.uk
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