Taking place (almost) every August, the Edinburgh International Festival is a celebration of culture that sees notable artists from the world of music and performing arts invited to showcase their work in the Scottish Capital.
The first event, then called the 'International Festival of Music and Drama' took place in 1947, with Austrian-born impresario Rudolf Bing acting as festival director and head of programming.
It featured orchestral, choral and chamber music, Lieder and song, opera, ballet, drama, film, and Scottish 'piping and dancing' on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.
It has taken place every year since, other than 2020 when it was completely cancelled due to the global pandemic.
The original idea for the Festival was to enrich cultural life following the Second World War, and it was first financed by £10,000 in winnings that Lord Rosebery made from his horse Ocean Swell - a sum that was matched by Edinburgh Town Council.
Since then it has grown in strength, and is joined by a number of other festivals during August, including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and, most notably, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
This year’s programme was launched today (Wednesday, March 11) by Festival Director Nicola Benedetti, with tickets on sale to members from Thursday, March 19, and to the general public from Thursday, March 26.
The Scotsman’s team of critics have been casting a discerning eye over the programme and here are 10 of their top tips.
You can read all of their reactions to the programme below, before booking tickets here.
1. Theatre: A Trial – after an Enemy of the People
Visionary Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy returns to the Festival with a radical sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, featuring Golden Globe-winning actor Wagner Moura. It's on at the Lyceum from August 7-10. | EIF
2. |Theatre: Angels in America
Internationaal Theater Amsterdam are returning to Edinburgh with a 'reimagining' of Tony Kushner’s epic play about the AIDS crisis in America. 'Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes' is on at the newly-reopened King's Theatre from August 15-20. Be warned though - it's nearly five hours long with just one intermission. | EIF
3. Theatre: Clown Show
Also at the King's Theatre is the European premiere of theatre-maker Geoff Sobelle’s contemporary portrait of America as a falling-apart circus. | EIF
4. Contemporary music: All Rise
This year's Opening Concert, on August 8 at the Usher Hall, will see a perfomance of a jazz symphony embodying the human condition from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and its Musical Director, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. It the first in a residency by the orchestra that also includes Duke Ellington’s milestone 'Black, Brown and Beige' as well as an exclusive collaboration with virtuoso pianist Yuja Wang. | EIF