EACH summer hordes of tourists descend on Edinburgh for the festival. According to analysis from taxi firm Uber, most of them, this year, have come from the rest of the UK, though many arrive from the United States, Australia and China. What do they make of our capital city?
Elizabeth Froy, Cambridge, England
“I love Edinburgh as a city. It feels to me like a European capital. I mean I’m not saying that with any Brexit or other political stance. There’s something about the scale of it and the sense of place. It feels big but small at the same time. It’s unbelievably friendly. It’s very whacky actually. If this was Bath, in England, everyone would be super wealthy and it would just be commercialism everywhere. Whereas Edinburgh doesn’t feel like that. I’m really jealous.
The only thing I would say that is disappointing on one level is that it feels like the whole of the UK's middle class have come to Edinburgh. It’s really middle class isn’t it? It’s partly cost and it’s probably partly about who wants to access the arts and why. The people who come are quite homogeneous. I think it’s the nature of the beast, though.”
Theresa Bertocci, USA
“The programme is so big it’s overwhelming. I was an English major so I love the theatre. We chose a show that was a collaboration between a Scottish theatre company and one from Brooklyn, so the story is about an American woman visiting Scotland. It dealt with a few issues like gun control, sustainability, environmental things. One thing I was hoping to get a little more feel of here, at the festival, was the politics. They talked about Brexit a little bit last night, but I feel maybe I would be interested to see what the Scottish take on that.”
Kelsie, New Zealand
“This city if pretty overwhelming just because there’s so much going on. I came because they say that Edinburgh is the best festival for comedy in the world and I love stand up. I also love the street performances. I’m travelling on a budget so all the free shows are ideal for me. I arrived yesterday and went last night to see a show The Coin Operator Girl, and then I was roped into jumping into the back of a van that was set up as a stage. They were like every ten minutes we have a comedian come in and I’d just bought a bagel and they said you can eat your bagel in here – so I did.”
Jasmine Hew, Malaysia
“It’s so interesting. I like this city. In our country we wouldn’t get anything like this street performance. Nothing that would be as free as that. I like the buildings too, and the weather. In Malaysia we don’t so much have seasons, so we feel different, so when I come here and see the grass I hope I can have a picnic. So we have had three picnics already.”
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