🪩 Edinburgh Culture Minute: 27 Aug - 2 Sept 2025
Jupiter Artland to open all year, record numbers at festivals, Creative Edinburgh Awards open, big job at Leith Theatre, La Clique keeps the festival going in the Spiegeltent + Psych Fest weekender
Welcome to the 98th weekly Culture Minute: a round-up of Edinburgh’s local creative news, events, jobs and opportunities.
If I’ve missed anything please get in touch. Thanks to everyone who contributes!
👀 The most-viewed links from the last Edinburgh Culture Minute:
- 📸 Collective’s new Calton Hill panorama exhibition.
- 🏛️ Royal High School Preservation Trust wins more funding.
- 🔊 Headliners announced for Days Music & Arts Festival at The Pitt.
News:
🎨 Just announced: The owners of Jupiter Artland have announced it will remain open all year for the first time. Autumn and Winter opening hours will be Thursday to Sunday, November 2025 to February 2026. They’ve published details of new exhibitions, events, activities and workshops for the autumn and winter seasons. - More details via Mark Westall in Fad Magazine.
🎟️ The city certainly feels busy this month, but was that reflected in the numbers? The short answer is yes. Ticket sales have not reached pre-pandemic levels, but they’re not falling. The festivals all report their numbers in different ways, so I’m afraid there are no simple at-a-glance charts. Here’s a round-up from each festival:
🎭 Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Organisers reported more than 2.6 million tickets issued for 3,893 shows. - Full numbers are here.
Tony Lankester, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said:
“The Fringe remains the most important cultural event in the world. Artists remain at the heart of this joyous festival, and we’re consistently in awe of their creative work which often tackles topical issues and examines them through a creative lens. We recognise the many challenges artists, producers and venues face in staging the event, and call on the City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Government and the UK Government to continue working with the Fringe community to explore ways to alleviate these challenges. There are no easy answers to the challenging cost of participating in the Fringe, but we know that the will is there to explore some innovative, high impact solutions, and we look forward to advancing the many conversations we’ve begun with stakeholders and partners. This year’s Festival Fringe has felt joyful and exciting, and we thank the artists, the hundreds of venues, promoters, producers, workers and teams that make this fantastic event happen every year.”
- Next year's Fringe is set for 7 – 31 August.
🟡 The Edinburgh International Festival welcomed more than 111,000 people from 91 countries to shows by more than 2,000 artists and participants from across 41 countries. - More numbers are here.
"This year's International Festival has been one of extraordinary contrasts, from grandeur and scale to intimacy and informality. I've seen this year how art can build bridges, change minds and find connection in a world that so desperately needs it. This Festival reminded us why we gather, why we create, and why we believe." – Nicola Benedetti, EIF Director.
- The overall number of EIF tickets sold went down on last year by around 14,000 to 110,000, reports Brian Ferguson in The Herald. Organisers point out there were fewer tickets available, and that selling 88% of its tickets was the EIF’s highest percentage in a decade.
📚 The Edinburgh International Book Festival reported ‘record numbers’: hosting more than 650 authors and nearly 700 events with an 11% increase in ticket sales over the previous year. Its on-site footfall increased by 60% to 161,000 at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, including 25,000 visitors in one single weekend. - More details here.
🎨 Edinburgh Art Festival: Organisers reported ‘record numbers’ with 150,000 people visiting exhibitions, including 7,400 at their EAF Pavilion and 3,300 at its Civic programme.
“This year was an incredible year for us and we were delighted to host so many one off and special events across the city seen by so many; those who live here, those who have been visiting or who are here as part of visits connected to the festivals. Our commissions saw record numbers of people attending, and engaging. The city was buzzing and our live events, screenings, parties, and workshops, most of which were sold out, were received by audiences with excitement, empathy and care. It was wonderful to collaborate with partners across the city and beyond, to cross disciplines, share ideas, and forge community. We can’t wait for 2026.” - Kim McAleese, Director, EAF.
🎬 Edinburgh International Film Festival held a seven-day programme of sold-out premieres, with 194 screenings, 34 industry and panel events, 300+ filmmakers and a total in person attendance over 16,500. - More details here.
“We are extremely proud of all the exceptional films we launched, as well as all the filmmakers, cinematic legends and audiences we welcomed to Edinburgh this past week. Our competitions continue to thrive, with buzzy titles provoking, entertaining and moving audiences, and our wider programme of features, shorts, events and talks signal our place in a global film culture that is alive and exciting. Putting it all together has been the collaborative work of many organisations, teams and individuals, and we owe them all an immense debt of gratitude. We cannot wait for EIFF 2026.” - EIFF Director, Paul Ridd.
🎪 Hit festival show La Clique has extended its run at the Spiegeltent in St Andrew Square from tonight until the end of August. 13,500 people have attended 43 shows in its Edinburgh run so far. Some other stats from the show: the cast have gone through 27 cans of shaving cream, 1,000 litres of bath water and 15 boxes of popcorn kernels. - Tickets are here. Thanks to the team at The List for sharing this.
🎤 Local comedian Connor Burns sold out every night of his entire Fringe run, performing to more than 10,000 people in total and raising more than £6,500 for the Edinburgh Food Project in the process. - He posted about it all here.
💰 Another comedian who sold out at the Fringe was Zara Gladman, who kept a promise on Instagram to share the cost of performing for the fortnight. Her overall bill (excluding PR and accommodation) was £3,834. She added that she made ‘a small profit’. - Her video with a full cost breakdown is here.
“These were costs for a two week run of a character comedy show in one particular venue, so obviously not representative of all shows! I have a full time job and took two weeks of annual leave. I was extremely fortunate with accommodation, thanks to a very kind friend/icon. I am lucky that I could afford this, many can’t - and the arts scene is worse off for that.” - Zara Gladman.
🎤 The comedy continues with the Post Fringe Fest all-day live music and art event at The Biscuit Factory in Leith next week. Organisers say one of their goals is ‘to give Edinburgh’s hospitality staff a chance to enjoy some good, local live acts’. It’s arranged with In Solidarity Edinburgh, which provides direct support to families in Gaza. - Full line-up details are here.
🏆 Nominations are now open for the 2025 Creative Edinburgh Awards. The event will be held on Friday 14 November at Central Hall in Tollcross: ‘spotlighting the people and projects who have made their mark and helped redefine what creativity means in our city today’. - Nominate here before the 28 September deadline, and get event tickets here.
📖 This year’s Scottish International Storytelling Festival is on between 22 October and 1 November at Scottish Storytelling Centre and various other venues. - The programme will be revealed soon.
📚 If you’re missing the book festival bookshop, you might enjoy next week’s Edinburgh Book Fair at Augustine Church Hall on Saturday 6 September. - Details are here.
🖼️ A new series of hands-on Wood Cut Printing Weekends will begin next month at Edinburgh Printmakers. - More details here.
👀 If this edition is too long and gets cut off in your inbox, read it online here.
🎭 What's on Edinburgh's stages this week?
Here’s Thom Dibdin of All Edinburgh Theatre:
After the beano and buffets of the festival season, there is very little on Edinburgh's stages this week, although the Spiegeltent is staying open, there's new writing on Monday and hot tickets go on sale tomorrow.
Before that, to report that All Edinburgh Theatre had its best Fringe ever with reviews of 155 local, Made in Edinburgh productions, in the 180 published reviews. An A-Z of All Æ’s reviews of Made in Edinburgh productions at the 2025 Fringe is here.
As the Fringe decamps, one show remaining is La Clique!, who have extended their run in The Famous Spiegeltent in St Andrew Square Garden to Sunday 31 (Tickets).
Also, Jo Clifford still has a couple of shows at St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral. Thursday is the final performance of Ringing the Changes (Tickets), and she is performing The Gospel According To Jesus Queen Of Heaven on Sunday (Tickets).
Then, before next week's Culture Minute drops, Pen Pal Productions return with Drama at the Depot on Monday at the Leith Depot, with six script-in-hand plays on the subject of Feast (Mon: Tickets).
And finally, for fans of SIX the Musical, which sells out everywhere it goes, here's a heads up that it returns to the Festival Theatre in September 2026, with briefs on sale from 11am tomorrow (details here).
🎸 Big gigs this week:
The big ticket is the Edinburgh Psych Fest multi-venue festival. Headliners include Nadine Shah at The Queen’s Hall, George Clanton at Summerhall and La Sécurité at The Mash House. - Full details and tickets are here.
⮑ Billie Estrine previews it in The Skinny.
🎟️ Tickets for CMAT at the Corn Exchange go on sale on Thursday.
📌 Edinburgh Culture Minute Community Noticeboard
📌 “Thursday 11 September 2025: Join us for a launch party for 'Take Me to the River' selected writing about wild swimming by Jackie Kemp and Vicky Allan at The Pitt, Granton, from 5.30pm to 9pm. Food trucks, bar, Soul Water Sauna. Free but ticketed on Eventbrite.” - Thanks to Jackie Kemp and Vicky Allan for sharing this.
⮑ Here’s a taster from Vicky Allan and :
📌 “Inaugural Pentlands Open Studios (POSt) Art Trail this weekend (30 &. 31 August, 10am - 4pm, FREE Entry) offers opportunities to visit the studios/community exhibiting locations of local artists and makers living and working within Balerno, Currie, Juniper Green and Colinton area.” - Thanks to C&B News for sharing this.
📌 “Thursday 4 September 2025 – Two caustic comedies of infidelity unite in the wickedly entertaining double bill of L’heure espagnole by Ravel, and The Bear by William Walton. Presented by Scottish Opera, it is the centrepiece of Lammermuir Festival’s tribute to Ravel in his 150th anniversary year.” - Thanks to Emily at Scottish Opera for sharing this. - More details are here.
📌 “Announcing a brand new weekly community cinema night in Leith: Leith Kino at Leith Depot! Curated by a film collective taking it in turns to lead on screenings, we have an eclectic lineup for you - starting on Sundays in September. Tickets only £5 to cover our costs, please support your local Kino! ” - Thanks to Morvern Cunningham of Leith Kino collective for sharing this.