Exclusive:Culture minister Angus Robertson vows 'interventions' over festival accommodation

Angus Robertson said the Scottish Government’s Strategic Partnership for Scotland's Festivals (SPSF) had held its initial meeting, which focused on trying to “tease out the nature of the challenges” surrounding events such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Edinburgh International Festival, among others.

The cost of accommodation in Edinburgh has rocketed amid a supply and demand problem following the introduction of short term let legislation, as well as the timing of major non-festival events such as the Oasis concerts at Murrayfield Stadium in August. Some visitors and performers have warned they are being priced out of the city.

Mr Robertson said the first meeting had identified areas where festivals are “keen to try and drive improvements” - with transport and accommodation problems top of the list. However, he would not identify what form the interventions could take or a timescale within which they could be implemented.

This comes as the Scottish Government unveiled a £1.8 million boost to its Expo fund - allowing festivals outside of Edinburgh and Glasgow to apply for financial support for the first time.

The distribution of Expo funding in June saw only 14 Edinburgh and Glasgow festivals given money for this year. One Scottish festival based in Dumfries and Galloway warned the funding handout was a “missed opportunity” for events operating outwith the Central Belt.

Under the newly-announced package, awards of up to £200,000 will be available to smaller festivals in the first year and will be administered by Creative Scotland. The grants can be used for raising the international profile of festivals and to support other areas vital to their success, such as for sector and talent development and to open access to educational groups.

Mr Robertson told The Scotsman he believed transport and accommodation is an issue not only for festivals in Scotland’s two biggest cities, but in smaller communities where infrastructure may not be as developed to cope with large numbers of visitors.

He said: “We have begun the work of the SPSF and it's absolutely clear that there are festivals - small, medium and large - from right across Scotland who have great plans for the future, who want to grow their capacity, their audiences and their ability to deliver outstanding cultural output.

“We now know that these two areas [transport and accommodation] are going to be areas of particular focus. We'll be working with our festival colleagues to understand there will not be a single solution to either of these areas, but I think there will be a range of potential interventions that we should be considering in the months ahead, and we'll hopefully have a significant impact on festivals going forward.”

Mr Robertson said a collaborative approach to infrastructure and public services was vital to allow multiple major events to take place in one location at the same time.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe chief executive Tony Lankester this week said the decision to hold large scale concerts such as those performed by Oasis over the past week during festival season was “not something we would actively encourage”.

Love the arts? Us too - subscribe now to our dedicated newsletter

Mr Robertson said: “We think a strategic partnership approach to festivals and the wider cultural sector will help us have the optimal awareness of planning for cultural events, for festivals, gigs and other events, because it's really important that we are able to provide the infrastructure and support from across the public sector, from transport to policing to health.

“It's a really good thing to be able to sit down with colleagues in the cultural sector to better understand the opportunities for more collaborative working, where better decision making can take place. There is a willingness to work together and deliver just that, because we have we have such a strong cultural offering in Scotland. We have amazing events. We have keen audiences.”

He would not be drawn on whether large gigs should be held during the summer festival season, but pointed to a diverse audience which attends events at various events.

“Do we have a lot of things on at the same time?” he said. “Yes, we do. We have a significant number of festivals on at the same time in Edinburgh. People love the fact that they can go and see something at the Edinburgh International Festival, and then go and see something at the Fringe, and then can can go to the Edinburgh Book Festival. The audience numbers speak for themselves.”

Mr Robertson said he had attended the Oasis concert last Friday.

He said: “I have no doubt that a lot of people who went to see Oasis also went to see a lot of things in the Edinburgh festivals. In my experience, most people are are culturally curious and are keen to go and see lots of different things. We all have our favourite genres or favourite performers. But this is one of the joys about Edinburgh festivals and festivals in the rest of the country, is that one has the opportunity to experience all kinds of different things. The fact that people are going to events across the festivals is is a really good thing.”

He hailed the expansion of the Expo fund as “transformative” for the cultural sector across Scotland.

Iain Munro, chief executive of Creative Scotland, said: “The expanded festivals fund is a new opportunity to profile incredible creative work in every corner of the country and support other areas vital to success – from sector and talent development to further experimentation and space to develop ambitions with specific groups and communities.”

In the last Scottish Budget, the government pledged to double the Expo fund and expand it out beyond Edinburgh and Glasgow. The government has committed to investing at least £100 million more annually in arts and culture by 2028-29. For 2026-27, it plans to deliver a further £20m increase.

Arts funding has seen a £49.8m increase so far, comprised of the overall £34m in this year’s budget, and £15.8 in last year’s.

In January, Creative Scotland more than doubled the number of organisations given three-year funding packages after being promised an additional £40m from the Scottish Government over the next two years.