Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Fireworks

The Edinburgh International Festival’s independent offshoot , a full grown sibling these days, is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (7-31 Aug). The Fringe is spread across the city centre, from makeshift small venues to the ‘Big Two’ of The Pleasance and the Assembly Rooms. These are excellent places to hang out, meet new people, or do some Festival celeb-spotting. The Fringe encompasses everything. Comedy tends to sell best although prices can vary wildly. (Note: When the Fringe ends most of the Festival visitors tend to leave as well). The Fringe incorporates the music festival, The Edge, and the Edinburgh Comedy Festival.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe
7th - 31st August 2009

Edinburgh Fireworks Display

As far as the locals are concerned ‘the big one’ is The Bank of Scotland Fireworks Display (9pm, Sun 6th Sept). This is the grand finale to the Edinburgh Festival. Princes Street resounds to a classical concert with up to quarter of a million people on the streets enjoying the spectacular pyrotechnics display fired from Edinburgh Castle. On a clear night great views - and partying crowds - can be found on Calton Hill and in Inverleith Park.

As for the rest it really is a cultural free-for-all. To work out what’s on you need to sit down and go through the various programmes. Don’t worry about the bewildering choice as even experienced Festival goers can be overwhelmed. If your budget is low this needn’t be a problem either as there’s plenty of free events, street performers, cut price tickets and freebies given away on the city streets, especially around the High Street area. Keep your eyes and ears open!