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Plenary, 18 Jun 2009

18 Jun 2009 · S3 · Plenary

Item of business

Scotland's Festivals

Somerville, Shirley-Anne SNP Lothians Watch on SPTV

Edinburgh without festivals is simply unimaginable. Our capital city is the world's foremost festival city; it provides a beautiful historic backdrop for an unrivalled mix of cultural events that inspire and engage people from all walks of life.

The capital city's many festivals are integral to its cultural and economic success. They drive tourism, support thousands of jobs and bring visitors not just to Edinburgh, but to the rest of the country. Indeed, in a recent study, 65 per cent of visitors to the city said that the festivals were their sole or a very important reason for coming to Edinburgh. Some 50 per cent were influenced by the fringe alone. It has been estimated that the summer festivals generate more than £200 million of investment and attract more than 1.5 million visitors. This year, when the capital's other major employer, the financial services industry, is facing serious job losses, the importance of successful festivals to the city's economy cannot be overestimated.

I welcome the steps that the Scottish Government has taken to attract more visitors this year—the homecoming campaign has promoted Scotland's festivals in 40 countries as well as within the UK and added events such as the largest-ever clan gathering in Holyrood park to the busy programme. Encouraging people in the UK and Scotland to visit festivals in other parts of our country is particularly important, given the number of stay-at-home holidays that we will have this year.

I also welcome the new expo fund's provision of opportunities to showcase Scottish performers internationally in all 12 major Edinburgh festivals. The expo fund has provided a new platform for talent, from new writers to jazz singers, throughout Scotland. The record-breaking fringe programme for 2009 contains 500 Scottish performances, which is a 48 per cent increase on last year's performances, thanks to the new made in Scotland strand funded through the expo fund.

Those who say that festivals are not what they used to be are right, because they continually evolve, adapt and grow. Diversity is another major strength of our city's festivals, which are not afraid of change. When the international film festival moved from August to June, there were fears about the impact that that move would have, but it proved to be incredibly popular last year. I wish the event even greater success this year.

The fact that the fringe had a tough year last year has already been mentioned. That was due to problems with its box office, and things were not helped by the relentless rain. Problems with sponsorship and tram road works—a speech would not be a speech by me if I did not try to mention the trams—add to the challenges this year. However, as the new fringe chief executive, Kath Mainland, has pointed out, people from throughout the world really care about the future of the fringe and want it to succeed.

Edinburgh's reputation for festivals is not just about the major headline-grabbing events such as the Edinburgh international festival, the fringe and hogmanay. Since I do not think that anyone else has mentioned it, I will put in a plug for the festival of politics, which plays an important role in our festival city.

There are many important community festivals, too. Last weekend, I spent a thoroughly enjoyable Saturday—between the torrential rain showers—at the Leith festival, which is one of the largest community festivals in the city. Its roots date back more than 100 years, but it has expanded beyond recognition in the past five years and it is a tremendous family day out.

We also have the Edinburgh mela in August, which was started in 1995 by the city's ethnic minority communities and is now Scotland's biggest multicultural gathering. I warmly welcome the minister's announcement of further support for it.

Other festivals are designed to deal with certain issues, such as the "Take One: Action!" festival, which is the UK's first major film festival that is dedicated to people and movies that are changing the world. Running at Edinburgh's Filmhouse in September, the festival explores global challenges in which Scotland has a vital role to play, from climate change to world trade.

Although there are difficult economic times ahead that will prove challenging for our festivals, there is no doubt that there has never been a better time for communities to come together to celebrate our culture, our heritage and the future through festivals in Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland.

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Plenary, 18 Jun 2009

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