Programme - Arts Festival Summit 2025

Focus Edinburgh: The Festival City  

Taking mainly place at The Hub, the first day of the Summit will focus on Edinburgh and its festivals and explore how it gained its world-renowned reputation as The Festival City. We will hear from a range of different voices and perspectives to gain a greater understanding of the interaction between the festivals and the city and to explore the different aspects that contribute to Edinburgh’s success story as well as looking at the challenges it faces. We will broaden the focus beyond Edinburgh to consider the role that festivals play in society and how they remain relevant and vitally important in an ever-changing world. 

In the afternoon, delegates will have the opportunity to explore the city and its cultural venues and meet with the different festivals and their partners.

8.30-9.15 | Registration at The HUB 

The registration desk will open as of 8.30 at The Hub. Enjoy a welcome coffee and networking time/warm up. 

8.30-9.15 | Breakfast Talks - Festivals and Emerging artists

What we do for artists and what artists think we do for them? A conversation between producers and the EFFEA artists, with Donika Rudi Berishaj (ReMusica Festival).
The early morning Breakfast Talks will allow you to dig into very practical and concrete questions around festival making and points you would like to discuss discretely with a small group of colleagues around a cup of coffee.  

9.15-11.15 | The arts, festivals, and the city: from artistic vision to the city’s strategy. The Edinburgh arts and festivals community at work

• Keynote talk: Nicola Benedetti, Festival Director, Edinburgh International Festival
• Panel discussion with Lori Anderson, Director of Festivals Edinburgh, and Paul Lawrence, Chief Executive of the City of Edinburgh Council, looking at the impact of Edinburgh’s festivals on the city and the way the city supports its festivals. 

11.15-11.45 | Coffee break 

11.45-12.45 | The Edinburgh International Festival’s origin story

Festivals bringing global perspectives to local contexts, as spaces of connection, community and discovery.  

13.00-14.30 | Lunch at The Hub

13.30-14.30 | Meet and Greet – Pitching Time at The Hub

During lunch, we invite you to meet and listen to presentations of a number of projects and ideas from festival organisers on a variety of subjects, and to discuss possible collaboration and co-production opportunities with them.

14.30-15.00 | Introduction to the Walk and Talk Community Meet up at The Hub

Discover Edinburgh’s festival family in small groups, visiting spaces and places associated with various festivals to discuss their programmes and their partnerships.
 

15.00-17.30 | Walk and Talk in small groups  

18.00 | Evening programme to be announced 

21.30 | Golden Quiz night hosted by Tamar Brüggemann and Peter Florence 

Focus on the Future of Festivals  

The second day of works will centre around the future of festivals and their place in society: things exist by grace of their relations. The day will delve into the role of arts in societal topics of sustainability, inclusion, well-being and freedom of speech, discussed from the point of best practices, failures, perspectives and innovative proposals. 

8.30-9.15 | Welcome coffee, networking time/warm up at The Hub  

8.30-9.15 | Breakfast Talks

The early morning Breakfast Talks will allow you to dig into very practical and concrete questions around festival making and points you would like to discuss discretely with a small group of colleagues around a cup of coffee.  

9.30-10.15 | Arts Festivals Summit Plenary - The Arts through the eyes of the others: Festivals and their place in society at The Hub  

Introduction to the day  
Keynote by Elena Polivtseva, independent researcher and a co-founder of Culture Policy Room: Things exist by grace of their relations: What are the arts through the eyes of the others? Which role? What purpose? Listen to Elena Polivtseva’s take on the state of culture 2025 (referring to the State of Culture Report by Elena Polivtseva, published by Culture Action Europe).
Introduction to the 8 parallel workshops

10.30-12.30 | The Summit Workshops - in parallel 

1. Festivals Care! Arts and Health: This workshop will reflect on the contribution of the arts to health and the impact the arts have on societal well-being. Facilitated by Rarita Zbranca, Cultural Centre Cluj and expert in the field of arts and health, in the framework of the Creative Europe supported project CARE – Culture for Mental Health. 

2. Workshop on Festivals and environmental sustainability: The workshop will zoom into how festival’s day to day activities could integrate the green goals and in this way become more sustainable and environmental friendly. Facilitated by Peter Florence and Tamar Brüggemann, Initiators of the European Festivals Forest.

3. Workshop on Festivals and artistic freedom of speech: This workshop will look at the important topic of artistic freedom of speech, polarisation, and (self-)censorship. This workshop is co-hosted together with Pearle*. 

4. Workshop on Festivals and their money: Budgeting in times of cuts and crisis. Why festivals are business. Facilitated by with Natalia Oszkó-Jakab.

12.30-14.30 | Lunch at The Hub

13.30-14.15 | Meet and Greet – Pitching Time at The Hub

During lunch, we invite you to meet and listen to presentations of a number of projects and ideas from festival organisers on a variety of subjects, and to discuss possible collaboration and co-production opportunities with them.

14.30-16.30 | The Summit Workshops - in parallel 

5. The Music Focus: Music festivals' future: What challenges, what innovative models, questions and proposals in the field of programming, audience involvement, partnership development, structures and business models in music festivals today. Exchange of experience and ideas.

6. Workshop on Festivals and AI: Explore the challenges and opportunities that AI (Artificial Intelligence) platforms are bringing to festival programming, planning, and experience. 

7. Workshop Festivals and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging (DEIAB): We will present and discuss how festivals are dealing with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging (DEIAB) and see which possible actions festivals can put in place in this field. 

8. Workshop EFFE Seal for Festival Cities and Regions at the City Chambers: The workshop will explore how festivals contribute to local cultural policies, the values policymakers assign to them, and how these expectations are implemented in practice. 

16.30-17.00 | Arts Festivals Summit Plenary- The EFFEA Stage: emerging artists at the core of festival making at The Hub 

The European Festivals Fund for Emerging Artists - EFFEA will unfold opportunities for transnational co-operation around emerging artists.

17.00-18.30 | Arts Festivals Summit Plenary

The Summit will conclude collecting the lessons learned from the workshops and turning the eyes to the future: the "History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity" by Roman Krznaric, social philosopher and writer, and introduced by Peter Florence.
 

19.00 | Evening programme to be announced 

Taking place at The Hub, the third day will put EFA’s work offer as a network of festivals and festivals makers central throwing light on the various invitations EFA is formulating towards the festivals’ community. 

8.30-9.15 | Breakfast Talks

The early morning Breakfast Talks will allow you to dig into very practical and concrete questions around festival making and points you would like to discuss discretely with a small group of colleagues around a cup of coffee.  

9.30-10.00 | EFA Members General Assembly (for EFA Members only) 

The EFA Members General Assembly is to discuss all legal and financial affairs of the association and includes the Spring Catch Up inviting new members. 

10.00-12.30 | Let’s talk EFA (open to all delegates) 

EFA Members invite all delegates for a series of conversations around a work beyond the Summit that offers a variety of cross-border collaboration platforms and conversation frameworks strengthening the role of the single festival collectively.

End of the Arts Festivals Summit and departures 

Wednesday 30 April 

• 14.30 | Walking tour with James McVeigh, Festivals Edinburgh – given that most of the EFA Summit will have been spent in Edinburgh’s Old Town, this walking tour will introduce you to the highlights of the New Town.
   
• From late evening as sun goes down | Beltane Fire Festival – an immersive celebratory ritual/performance, set outdoors and with no physical curtains or barriers which revels in the birth of the Summer and the fertility of the land, linked to the ancient Celtic traditions of the lunar calendar.
   
• 19.30 | Moulin Rouge: The Musical - Enter a world of splendour and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory! Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage in the Edinburgh Playhouse, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE
   
• Late nights | The Jazz Bar - Established in 2005, The Jazz Bar showcases world-class multi-genre live music in a cool and atmospheric setting. Harnessing Edinburgh’s kaleidoscopic creative talents into a massive offering of year-round live gigs, there is something for everyone in this multiple award-winning basement venue. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE

Thursday 1 May  

• 19.30 | Scottish Chamber Orchestra – Leader Lorenza Borrani and Principal Viola Max Mandel take to the spotlight in what many consider Mozart’s finest creation: the Sinfonia Concertante, K364, at the Queen’s Hall. BOOK YOUR TCKETS ONLINE. tickets are likely to sell out, so book your tickets fast to claim your spot. You find the reduction code (half price) in your registration for the Arts Festivals Summit.
   
• 19.30 | Scottish Ballet: The Crucible - Scottish Ballet is set to bewitch us once again with the return of their award-winning production of The Crucible, after thrilling audiences in London and the USA. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE
   
• 19.30 | Loud Poets - For over ten years, Loud Poets has been showcasing the best spoken word poetry from Scotland and beyond. Expect fist-thumping, heart-wrenching, side-tickling poetry performances with live musical accompaniment. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE
   
• 19.30 | Moulin Rouge: The Musical - Enter a world of splendour and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory! Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage in the Edinburgh Playhouse, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE
   
• Late nights | The Jazz Bar - Established in 2005, The Jazz Bar showcases world-class multi-genre live music in a cool and atmospheric setting. Harnessing Edinburgh’s kaleidoscopic creative talents into a massive offering of year-round live gigs, there is something for everyone in this multiple award-winning basement venue. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE

Friday 2 May

• 19.30 | Scottish Ballet: The Crucible - Scottish Ballet is set to bewitch us once again with the return of their award-winning production of The Crucible, after thrilling audiences in London and the USA. Enhance your experience of The Crucible with a pre-show talk at 6.30pm. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE
   
• 19.30 | Royal Scottish National Orchestra: John Williams  - Hollywood maestro Richard Kaufman takes the RSNO to the movies with a blockbuster tribute to the supreme film composer of our time. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE
   
• 19.30 | Moulin Rouge: The Musical - Enter a world of splendour and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur, and glory! Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life onstage in the Edinburgh Playhouse, remixed in a new musical mash-up extravaganza. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE
   
• Late nights | The Jazz Bar  - Established in 2005, The Jazz Bar showcases world-class multi-genre live music in a cool and atmospheric setting. Harnessing Edinburgh’s kaleidoscopic creative talents into a massive offering of year-round live gigs, there is something for everyone in this multiple award-winning basement venue. BOOK YOUR TICKETS ONLINE

You also have the option to travel to MANCHESTER for the following events with Factory International

be aware that the train - BOOK TRAIN ONLINE - will take 3,5 to 4 hours

• 30 April - 18.00 | guided tour of the Aviva Studios - free access
• 30 April - 19.30 | Hamlet Hail to the Thief. Tickets (30€) can be booked during your registration for the Summit
   
• 1 May - 18.00 | guided tour of the Aviva Studios - free access
• 1 May - 19.30 | Hamlet Hail to the Thief. Tickets (30€) can be booked during your registration for the Summit

• Edinburgh Castle - Edinburgh Castle is one of the most exciting historic sites in Western Europe. Set in the heart of Scotland's dynamic capital city, it is sure to capture your imagination.
   
• National Museum - With thousands of amazing objects across multiple galleries, the Museum offers you a world of discovery all under one roof.
   
• National Gallery - Immerse yourself in this breath-taking art collection. Experience paintings by internationally renowned artists such as Vermeer, Titian, Rembrandt, Velázquez and the Impressionists. Explore the newly opened Scottish galleries where you can encounter the very best of Scottish art from 1800 to 1945.
   
• National Portrait Gallery - A neo-Gothic palace dedicated to exploring various aspects of the Scottish story, this gallery is a hidden gem right at the heart of Edinburgh. The art tells you stories of the land and its people, through the medium of imagery.

• Arthurs Seat - experience a proper hill walk in the heart of the city. Arthur's Seat's rocky summit – formed from the remains of a volcano - towers over Edinburgh, with fabulous views in all directions, and the extensive parkland surrounding it is an oasis of calm as a retreat from the busy city.
   
• The Real Mary Kings Close - Shrouded in myths and mysteries, The Close and its underground warren of streets, homes and passageways offer a truly unique 5-star visitor experience
   
• Palace of Holyroodhouse - the official residence of King Charles when he is in Scotland. It's steeped in history and a must for anyone who wants to discover more about Scotland's past.
   
• Scotch Whisky Experience - award-winning, five star visitor attraction at the top of Edinburgh's Royal Mile, where they've been inspiring visitors to Edinburgh about the joys of Scotch whisky for over 35 years.