Will AC/DC and Oasis concerts at Murrayfield do more harm than good for Edinburgh, Fringe and its festivals?

The unstoppable momentum built up over more than 70 years, which saw well over three million tickets sold in 2019, was brought to a shuddering halt the following year.

The enforced hiatus led to serious questions over when and how the self-declared "Festival City" would recover - and whether its residents would want it back in anything like the same form.

Five years later, all the indications are that Edinburgh is shaping up for its busiest ever August - powered by some of Scotland's biggest ever concerts, which have suddenly become part of the cultural landscape in August.

The three huge Oasis shows at Murrayfield, the only Scottish gigs in their long-awaited comeback world tour, became Scotland's hottest concert tickets as soon as they were announced last summer.

Subsequent announcements on Robbie Williams and Billy Joel shows earlier in the summer had already ensured the home of Scottish rugby was set for its biggest ever line-up of outdoor concerts.

Now it has emerged that Murrayfield and Edinburgh have secured the only UK date on a new European tour by rock giants AC/DC.

The six shows booked into the home of Scottish rugby will be two more than the previous record set two years ago when Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen and a Harry Styles double-header ran over 11 days.

Unlike last year's three Taylor Swift shows across successive nights at Murrayfield, the six shows lined up for this summer will be staged across nearly four months.

However the majority - the three Oasis shows and the new AC/DC date - will coincide with the busiest time of the year in the city and a string of its most high-profile events.

Mega concerts at Murrayfield are nothing new for the stadium and the city, dating back to the 1980s when David Bowie and U2 headlined.

But Murrayfield gigs were almost always one-off occasions and have never before coincided with the Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe, the Tattoo and the book festival before.

Given that just nine concerts were staged at Murrayfield between 2009 and 2019, Scottish Rugby deserves huge credit for the expansion of its concert programme in recent years.

But it does seem fair enough to wonder whether the shows booked into Murrayfield in August will end up causing problems for other events and Edinburgh's ability to handle so many people in the city at the end time.

The post-pandemic popularity of Edinburgh as a tourism destination, the revival of the city's festivals and new controls on the short-term letting of accommodation have already combined to send the cost of accommodation soaring to record levels in recent years.

The Fringe Society has spent years lobbying for "Olympic-style" solutions in Edinburgh to help ensure the city can offer cheap and affordable accommodation to performers in particular without anything game-changing being delivered.

Their plight will be more difficult this summer given the additional of the Murrayfield concerts, which will almost certainly create logistical challenges, particularly when it comes to getting people in and out of the city safely.

But with every challenge comes opportunity. With most festivals activity focused in the Old Town and southside, businesses in Edinburgh's west end will reap huge benefits from the Murrayfield gigs.

Given that they are almost certain to bring many Oasis and AC\DC fans to Edinburgh for the first time, they are also a golden opportunity to encourage them to make the most of the city, its attractions and its other cultural events.