Edinburgh is internationally renowned for the annual Festival programme which it hosts. Starting with the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947, it has developed a year-round programme of Festivals which is crucial to the cultural, economic and social life of the city and its region, and of Scotland itself.

This study published in July 2016 was developed by BOP Consulting commissioned by Festivals Edinburgh and assessed the impact of the 12 Festivals. It takes a holistic approach that considers social, cultural and economic effects. The research results showed that the Festivals do not just provide great cultural experiences, but also help to increase access to culture and build wider participation and discovery among audiences.

The core festival outcomes presented and detailed in the study are:

– Cultural Impact

– Social Impact and Wellbeing

– Place-making and Identity

The sections about Wellbeing and Place-making are especially interesting as they show a not so obvious perspective of the impacts of hosting this kind of major event.

The economic impact is considered a wider festival outcome and presented in a separated report section from the core outcomes.