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Edinburgh International Festival has announced its new programme for 2025, which runs from 1 to 24 August 2025.

This year’s theme is “The Truth We Seek”, with contemporary reflections on the world presented alongside time-honoured tales, a place where fact meets faith and fiction.

133 performances, 7 world premieres, 8 UK and Scottish premieres, 2 European premieres and over 1,700 artists from 42 nations are presented at this year’s Festival.

Highlights include the world premiere of new play Make It Happen by James Graham (Dear England, Sherwood) starring Brian Cox (Succession, The Score) as Adam Smith, and Sandy Grierson (Lanark, Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey) as Fred Goodwin.

Make It Happen was first announced in January. Directed by Andrew Panton, Make It Happen charts the rise and fall of The Royal Bank of Scotland, led by Fred “The Shred” Goodwin.

The play promises to be a bitingly funny new satire that delves into the unchecked growth, spiralling greed and nail-biting hubris that brought the world’s economy to its knees.

Also in the 2025 Festival programme is a new narrative ballet from Scottish Ballet; Festival debuts from rising classical stars, violinist Maria Dueñas, mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, and 2024 BBC Young Musician of the Year Ryan Wang; an opera incorporating circus performers in Orpheus and Eurydice; a site-specific promenade dance work at Edinburgh’s Old College Quad; and Bach through a new lens in Breaking Bach, where hip-hop meets 18th-century period instruments.

The Festival is now in its third year under Festival Director and celebrated Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti.

More about Make It Happen by James Graham

Edinburgh International Festival 2025 – Programme highlights

  • Two major world premiere productions in UK theatre and dance: Make It Happen, an eye-opening take on the 2008 financial crisis set in Edinburgh, starring Brian Cox (Adam Smith) and Sandy Grierson (Fred Goodwin), written by one of Britain’s most in-demand playwrights, James Graham; and Mary, Queen of Scots, an iconic story of one of Scotland’s most famous women, unconventionally told with choreography by Sophie Laplane that blends classicism with modernity, and costuming that nods to haute couture and punk.
  • In a landmark year for choral music, marking the 60th Anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, this renowned chorus of singers from around Scotland performs at the monumental Opening Concert, as well as Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah (this year’s grand Closing Concert). The programme also includes the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists performing works by Handel and Bach.
  • This year’s Opening Concert features the aforementioned Edinburgh Festival Chorus, Monteverdi Choir and the National Youth Choir of Scotland, offering a rare chance to hear John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple in all its eight-hour glory, a colossal universal prayer performed in full for the second time ever in the UK.
  • The International Festival’s opening weekend welcomes all to Princes Street Gardens’ Ross Bandstand for The Big Singalong, a free event led by Stephen Deazley, artistic director of Edinburgh’s Love Music Community Choir. The following day, Norwegian folk ensemble Barokksolistene returns to lead The Ceilidh Sessions, an afternoon of music and storytelling inspired by the Gaelic ceilidh tradition.
  • The most substantial programme of Polish artists in the International Festival’s 78-year history is featured in celebration of the UK/Poland season 2025. Performances include two concerts from one of the Festival’s resident orchestras in 2025, NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, and a showcase of Polish artists and repertoire from the Wrocław Baroque Ensemble, VOŁOSI, Piotr Anderszewski, Bomsori Kim to 2024’s BBC Young Musician of the Year, Ryan Wang.
  • Operatic works include a fully staged Australian reimagining of Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice featuring acrobatics; the UK premiere of Book of Mountains and Seas from Chinese composer Huang Ruo, puppeteer Basil Twist and Ars Nova Copenhagen, and two operas in concert: Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus and Puccini’s Suor Angelica with the London Symphony Orchestra, with a line-up of international soloists.
  • Residencies bringing leading orchestras to the International Festival for an extended, more sustainable stay that features multiple performances and community engagement. This year, three outstanding orchestras provide distinctive insights into their collective sound and ambitions: Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra 2, Poland’s NFM Leopoldinum, and the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of new Chief Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano.
  • Intimate morning recitals at The Queen’s Hall feature International Festival debuts from on-the-rise young virtuoso María Dueñas and Canadian mezzo-soprano Emily D’Angelo, as well as a cohort of exceptional Scottish artists including the Dunedin Consort with John Butt and Scottish percussionist Colin Currie with peerless vocal group The King’s Singers.
  • A wider orchestral programme that stretches the globe to welcome the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, and the NCPA Orchestra from Beijing, with conductor Myung Whun Chung and Bruce Liu as piano soloist. The London Philharmonic Orchestra returns to the International Festival for the first time in a decade under the baton of Edward Gardner with a stunning programme that features pianist Beatrice Rana performing Rachmaninoff’s inspired Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and Holst’s The Planets, a seven-movement orchestral suite journeying through the cosmos to explore our true place in the universe.
  • Aurora Orchestra makes its International Festival debut with Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, in the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. A work that grapples with the pursuit of truth under oppression, audiences are seated on beanbags as Aurora delve into the symphony from the inside out with a conversational presentation in the round, and then in full later that evening, performed entirely from memory.
  • The Scottish premiere of Figures in Extinction from the internationally acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater, visionary choreographer Crystal Pite and ground-breaking theatre-maker Simon McBurney (Complicité), which confronts powerful truths about humanity’s impact on the world and art’s meaning in the face of mass destruction.
  • A stellar dance offering continues with works that expand the experience for audiences: Maqamat and Omar Rajeh take performance outdoors to Edinburgh University’s College Quad in promenade with Dance People; the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment combine hip hop with Bach in Breaking Bach with choreographer Kim Brandstrup, and an International Festival debut from Australian disabled dancer Dan Daw about identity and kink.
  • Leading theatre-makers exploring truth via the climate emergency, colonialism and politics, with Cliff Cardinal’s take on Shakespeare in As You Like It A Radical Retelling, a spectacular nonverbal work from Belgian theatre collective FC Bergman in Works and Days and a remount of acclaimed play Faustus in Africa!, 30 years after its original premiere, from Handspring Puppet Company and William Kentridge.
  • The Hub, the International Festival’s headquarters on the Royal Mile, brings together a hand-picked variety of global musical styles and traditions, experienced up close in an intimate performance space, including Up Late gigs from artists such as Kathryn Joseph and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. In a truly international programme, musicians from 16 countries including Australia, China, Poland, Norway and across East to West Africa come to the home of the Festival.
  • This year, for the first time, a Dementia-Friendly concert will be presented for people living with dementia, their caregivers, family and friends. This performance from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, in association with Alzheimer Scotland, enables those who have dementia to enjoy familiar repertoire in a relaxed and flexible environment. The wider 2025 programme features 33 accessible performances, including nine audio described performances, seven BSL interpreted performances, thirteen captioned performances and four relaxed performances.

What They Said

Nicola Benedetti, Festival Director, Edinburgh International Festival said: “Our 2025 Edinburgh International Festival invites you to explore The Truth We Seek—a journey into the elusive nature of truth, in our personal and public lives. In an era of ‘alternative facts’ and manipulated narratives, the arts offer us something deeper: a poetic and metaphorical wisdom that is both more nuanced and more precise. This Festival—born in the city of the Enlightenment—has championed artistic expression as a means of discovery, insight, and mutual understanding. This year, we proudly present seven world premieres, exceptional international and Scottish artists, and celebrate 60 years of our Festival Chorus as well as the brightest emerging talent. Join us this summer as we seek and find truth together. Your curiosity will be rewarded with thought-provoking, and potentially transformational, experiences that you simply won’t find anywhere else.”

Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Val Walker said: “I’m delighted to see the 2025 programme for the Edinburgh International Festival be unveiled. This promises to be an exciting new chapter in the Festival’s rich history with nearly 2,000 artists from around the world returning to Edinburgh this August. The fact that over a quarter of these artists are from Scotland is also a cause for celebration. It’s particularly encouraging to see that accessibility for all continues to be championed with initiatives such as free tickets for young musicians, NHS colleagues and community groups, along with £10 Affordable Tickets for all performances. Everyone deserves to be able to enjoy our world class cultural offer regardless of circumstance. Opening weekend of the International Festival will see a fantastic free event held in Ross Bandstand where all are welcome to the Big Singalong. From dance to classical music, opera to theatre and beyond there is an absolute wealth of talent, intrigue and spectacle on display this summer and I’d encourage all our residents and visitors to make the most of it. The International Festival is a stalwart of the Capital’s cultural calendar and as a Council we’re proud to continue our support.”

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “The Edinburgh International Festival has stood as a global celebration of the performing arts, and their power to bridge cultural and national differences since 1947. That role is as relevant as ever, so I very much welcome the Festival’s commitment to affordability and accessibility in this year’s programme. The International Festival is where it all began for Edinburgh’s Festivals so whether you are coming from near or far, I encourage everyone to enjoy the best of what Scotland and the world has to offer, across the genres of classical and contemporary music, dance, theatre, and visual art.
The Scottish Government’s Expo fund is designed to help showcase Scottish artists and our festivals to the world, and I’m very proud to continue that support with £80,000 for this year’s International Festival.”

Dana MacLeod, Creative Scotland’s Executive Director of Arts, Communities and Inclusion said: “Congratulations to the International Festival team for this imaginative programme which brings important conversations by world-leading artists and extraordinary creative experiences for audiences to the capital city. Borne out of a belief in the power of the arts to connect and provide hope in a divided world, the International Festival’s original ethos remains true today, with international and homegrown talent presenting stimulating work, reflecting and celebrating the world we inhabit. A long-time supporter, Creative Scotland is happy to have been able to confirm a funding commitment to the International Festival for the next three years”.

Links:
Edinburgh International Festival
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Main photo: Edinburgh International Festival - Nicola Benedetti (Photo Laurence Winram). Brian Cox - Make It Happen (Photo National Theatre of Scotland)

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