Oasis chaos proves why Edinburgh's festivals cannot be crammed into August, says top cook

Carina Contini, co-owner of Contini on the city’s George Street, as well as Cannonball Restaurant & Bar and The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant, said the timing of the Oasis reunion gig in the middle of next year’s festival period suggested that August is “the only window for the arts in Edinburgh”.

Ms Contini called for the festivals to be timed so that they are spread across the year, arguing that the demographics of each festival’s target audience are different.

The cost of hotel rooms has already rocketed from the peak prices already charged during the festival for the three nights Oasis is due to play at Murrayfield Stadium next summer. Ms Contini said: “Scheduling musicians, comedians, actors is often done at an international level but is our only window for the arts in Edinburgh, August? Based on the release of the Oasis live ‘25 date you would think so. 

“I’m old enough to remember when Edinburgh Festivals were staggered over more than one month. The demographics for each Festival are different. There may be a little overlap but generally they attract very different audiences. Tattoo guests visiting from America or Australia are not heading off to see Jason Byrne. Nicola Benedetti’s audience at the Usher Hall may be enjoying top authors at the Book Festival, but are they not mainly UK locals anyway?

“Why are we not giving these visitors another excuse to come to our beautiful city across the shoulder months of the busy season, not just all together for the same three weeks. We’d become an oasis of bliss, not the quagmire it’s often criticised as.”

She pointed to overtourism of the city, an issue which has affected many popular visitor hotspots in recent years. Some cities, including Barcelona, in Spain, have seen residents take to the streets to protest against the number of visitors.

Research from Visit Scotland showed around 700,000 people attend Edinburgh’s festivals.

Ms Contini added: “With so much criticism of over tourism, is it time for a rethink how we place our festivals and spread them out over the year?

“Edinburgh the Festival city, yes. How about Edinburgh; the city of Festivals, all year round. Overnight we’d become less crowded, more sustainable and give visitors more reasons to visit. Only ever the best, little but often. From a hospitality viewpoint it would be a dream.”

Research has shown that the festivals, which include events such as the Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe, the Hogmanay festival, the Tattoo and the city’s celebrations of jazz, film and literature are worth £407m to the economy each year. In 2008, the Edinburgh International Film Festival moved from its traditional August slot to June, however, after its organisers fell into administration in 2022, it was decided that a one-off iteration of the festival would be brought back as part of the Edinburgh International Festivals in August this year.