For three weeks in August, Scotland’s capital becomes an unparalleled celebration of the performing arts and an annual meeting point for people of all nations. The International Festival presents a programme featuring the finest performers and ensembles from the worlds of dance, opera, music and theatre.
Our impact extends beyond the annual programme: our community learning and engagement and professional development programmes run throughout the year, reaching the widest possible audiences and contributing to the cultural and social life of Edinburgh and Scotland.
The 2025 Festival invites audiences to examine their relationship with truth through a curated programme of music, dance, theatre and opera. The pursuit of truth is an essential part of being human, but today this search for meaning is precarious, fractured and abused. Through the lens of this year’s theme The Truth We Seek, the International Festival presents contemporary reflections on the world alongside time-honoured tales, a place where fact meets faith and fiction.
Where possible we will update our listings to notify of cancelled, postponed and rescheduled events, however we STRONGLY ADVISE that you check with the venue/organiser in the first instance for updates.
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Want to be the first to hear about what's happening in Edinburgh? Follow us on Facebook and join the What's On Scotland Group!Zurich Opera presents Giuseppe Verdi’s stunning opera, A Masked Ball, filled with desire, treachery and political peril.
READ MORESan Francisco Ballet presents a provocative myth for the AI age, in their futuristic retelling of Pandora’s Box at Edinburgh Playhouse.
READ MOREThe Berliner Philharmoniker and Chief Conductor Kirill Petrenko open the Usher Hall series with Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony and Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variations’.
READ MOREExperience ‘the world’s greatest orchestra’ (LA Times) performing with award-winning soloist Augustin Hadelich in the closing concert of their residency.
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Dr Bonk, Scotland's silliest surgeon, presents the Macarbaret: a madcap hour of drag, burlesque, music, comedy, and medical mayhem!
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Join Madame Mabh for her haunted house party at the Banshee Labyrinth, featuring both classic cabaret acts and unusual happenings!
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Improvised, macabre tales featuring (voluntary!) members of the audience as actor, writer and tour guide Alex Staniforth invents a horror story every night at Stand Up Horror!
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After a hugely successful 2025 Edinburgh Fringe run with five-star reviews, Jamie Leonard returns with his most exciting hour yet: Wonder Boy!
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Join the Monster for his annual Monsters Masquerade Ball this Hogmanay at Frankenstein Pub!
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Join us at the Shanghai Nightclub for a night in Wonderland this NYE with full theme decor, live entertainment, performers & more!
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Join us at Le Monde for a night in Sin City, as vintage vegas comes to Le Monde this Hogmanay! With full venue decor, casino, performers and more...
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Say farewell to 2025, and welcome in 2026 at The Vegas Grand Hogmanay Ball in the Voodoo Rooms Edinburgh!
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