Edinburgh Festival gets under way

Edinburgh's famous festival season is under way, with hundreds of thousands of performers and visitors arriving in the Scottish capital.

The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe annually run over three-and-a-half weeks in August, hosting the largest arts jamboree in the world.

A free event will open the EIF, Anna Meredith's Five Telegrams light show.

It is inspired by five aspects of communication during the World War One.

Jason Donovan

The Fringe programme this year features more than 3,500 shows covering theatre, dance, circus, physical theatre, comedy and music.

Performers this year include Hi-de-Hi! star Su Pollard, who will be making her Fringe debut, actor and singer Jason Donovan, broadcaster Esther Rantzen, actress Maureen Lipman and Lee Ridley, winner of this year's Britain's Got Talent.

Also in the programme are the shows Trump the Musical and Mandela Celebration, a South African musical extravaganza of traditional music, jazz and township big bands honouring the life of Nelson Mandela.

The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo will add to events in the capital with nightly performances on Edinburgh Castle esplanade until 25 August.

Fergus Linehan, EIF director, said: "We're pretty excited now. The preparations are really ramping up and we have an absolutely stunning opening event.

"This year's event includes live performance for the first time, and combining with Anna's intricate and moving score and the spectacular visual show that 59 Productions has created, I think it will be both an awe-inspiring and emotional start to this year's festival."

Human spirit

The EIF was established two years after World War Two to "provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit" through a shared celebration of artistic excellence and cultural exchange.

The Fringe began in 1947 when eight theatre companies turned up uninvited to perform at the inaugural international festival.

The companies were refused entry to the programme but decided to perform on the fringe of the festival, beginning the start of the Fringe.

To this day, the Fringe adheres to its open access principle that permits anyone with a show and a venue willing to host them to participate.

Shona McCarthy, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: "This year's programme contains an eclectic mix of creative endeavour from across the globe that will move, challenge and, of course, entertain.

"This year we are encouraging everyone who comes to the Fringe to take a leap into the unknown.

"Whether this is your first or your 50th time visiting the Fringe as a performer or audience member, this is a place where new discoveries wait around every corner."