NEW venues and event spaces are expected to be created under a landmark deal between Edinburgh Festival organisers and the city council.
Cultural elements will be built into new developments, empty buildings across the city would be made available to festivals and more events would be held in public areas in future years following the signing of the concordat.
More support for the city’s live music scene both during and outwith Edinburgh’s main festivals is to be prioritised while new “good neighbour” guidelines are expected to be drawn up to minimise disruption for residents from events.
Edinburgh would become a “Green Festival City” under the new vision, which is also expected to see world-class digital infrastructure installed across the city to ensure the festivals can deploy the latest technology.
Other projects in development include an accommodation strategy aimed at tackling the soaring cost of staying in the city during the main festivals and cutting the cost of securing licences and permits for events.
Festivals Edinburgh director Julia Amour said: “It’s great to see the key areas firmly on the agenda for the new council,” she said. “The city landscape plays a crucial role in the success of the festivals and our jointly agreed priorities enable us to continue to work with partners to ensure that we offer world class experiences for everyone.”
A spokeswoman for the city council said the agreement between the council and Edinburgh’s festivals would help pinpoint “shared priorities” to strengthen the city’s cultural offering.
She added: “As we celebrate yet another extremely successful festival period, it’s fitting that we take stock of the many different elements that make Edinburgh work so well as a ‘Festival City’ and how we can continue to build on this, which is particularly timely as we mark its 70th year.”
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