It’s nearly time for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to take over the theatres, gyms, hotels, streets and pubs of Scotland’s Capital.
Taking place from August 2-26 (although there are previews in the days running up to the official launch), there are over 3,500 shows taking place, from music and dance, to theatre and spoken word.
The largest - and most high-profile - section of the programme is comedy, with theatre coming a close second.
But there are plenty of spoken word events too, including live interviews with some of today’s leading political brains - from former UK Prime Ministers and Scottish First Ministers of the past, to freshly-appointed Labour government ministers.
Here are 11 of the biggest names in politics appearing in 2024.
9. Liz Truss
Holding the unwanted record as the shortest-serving UK Prime Minister in history, Liz Truss only served seven weeks at Downing Street before being axed following her disasterous 'mini-budget'. There will certainly be some interesting questions for her to answer when talking to Iain Dale as part of his 'All Talk' podcast on Monday, August 5, at 1.30pm at the Pleasance at EICC. | Getty Images
10. Rachel Reeves
The surprise early election (less surprisingly) won by the Labour Party means that Rachel Reeves will be in Edinburgh as Britain's first female Chancellor of the Exchequer. She's talking to Iain Dale as part of his 'All Talk' podcast on Sunday, August 4, at 1.30pm at the Pleasance at EICC. | Getty Images
11. Wes Streeting
Another new Labour government minister in Edinburgh this August is Wes Streeting - who was appointed Health Secretary by PM Keir Starmer. He's talking to Iain Dale as part of his 'All Talk' podcast on Monday, August 5, at 4.05pm at the Pleasance at EICC. | Getty Images