First Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival opened in August 1947, a few years after the Second World War, with the aim of reviving European cultural life and bringing artists from many countries together in one Scottish city. It was the beginning of what would grow into one of the world's most celebrated arts gatherings. The summary's claim that it is the "world's largest arts festival" really applies to the whole cluster of events that grew up around it, especially the Fringe, rather than to the official festival alone.
The idea came from a group of figures who wanted a symbol of postwar reconciliation. Rudolf Bing, the Austrian-born general manager of the Glyndebourne Opera, is usually credited as the driving force. He had the support of local civic leaders, including Edinburgh's Lord Provost, and of British cultural bodies. Edinburgh was chosen partly for its dramatic setting and its relatively undamaged historic center, and partly because the city's leaders saw the benefit of attracting visitors. Continental Europe, meanwhile, was still recovering from destruction, and Britain itself was under rationing.
The first festival ran for about three weeks and was dominated by classical music, opera, theater, and art exhibitions. Prominent European performers took part, and the Vienna Philharmonic appeared under the conductor Bruno Walter, a symbolically weighty moment given that both had been affected by the Nazi era. Walter, a Jewish musician who had fled Germany, returning to conduct a major Austrian orchestra was widely seen as a gesture of healing. Theater and music were staged in venues across the city, and the event was considered a success despite the austere conditions.
The most enduring surprise came from outside the official program. Several theater companies that had not been invited turned up anyway and staged their own shows on the margins of the festival. Within a few years observers were describing this unofficial activity as the "Fringe," and it became a permanent, open-access counterpart to the curated program. Over the decades the Fringe expanded enormously, with thousands of shows, particularly in comedy and experimental theater.
Today August in Edinburgh brings multiple overlapping festivals, including the International Festival, the Fringe, a book festival, and the Military Tattoo, which together draw large international audiences and make a significant contribution to the local economy. The festival's founding aspiration, that culture could help rebuild connections across a divided continent, remains part of its identity, even as debates continue about cost, crowding, and access in the city that hosts it.