The Edinburgh Festival Carnival is preparing to return to city streets for the first time since 2023.

Organisers at Edinburgh Festival Carnival have confirmed that this weekend’s parade will be able to go ahead as planned following the fire and subsequent road closure on Princes Street.

The event is preparing to return to city streets at 1pm on Sunday, July 19 following a three-year hiatus.

Edinburgh Festival Carnival, organised by Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, had originally planned for more than 1,000 performers to parade from The Mound down Princes Street before heading into West Princes Street Gardens.

However, a fire at a historical building on Thursday, July 9 has led to the closure of Princes Street for the past week, with City of Edinburgh Council announcing that the road closure will remain in place into August at the earliest.

Organisers at Edinburgh Festival Carnival are “optimistic” that an alternative route through the city centre will be found ahead of Sunday’s event due to the ongoing closure on Princes Street (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA)

placeholder image — Organisers at Edinburgh Festival Carnival are “optimistic” that an alternative route through the city centre will be found ahead of Sunday’s event due to the ongoing closure on Princes Street (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA)

This closure will have an impact on the Festival Carnival, however organisers previously said that they were “optimistic” that an alternative route would be found to allow the event to go ahead as planned.

It has now been confirmed that the Carnival will go ahead, with the route beginning at the top of The Mound as first planned.

Instead of heading down the western length of Princes Street, the parade will join Princes Street and head eastwards towards St David Street before turning back on itself to march up Princes Street until Frederick Street, where it will turn again to reach the entrance to West Princes Street Gardens.

Lothian Buses has already issued diversions ahead of Sunday’s parade, with services appearing to avoid the west end of George Street due to a road closure.

Most of Sunday’s diversions will be in place from 12.30pm until 4.30pm on Sunday afternoon with the exception of the Airlink 100 route, which will be subject to diversions between 8am and 4.30pm.

The diversions as shared by Lothian Buses are:

Airlink 100 - unable to serve Waverley Bridge and will instead terminate at George Street [Stop GL - Opposite The Dome]
Service 9 - Between Bellevue and Bristo Place, buses will divert via Broughton Street, Leith Street Gyratory, Leith Street, North Bridge, South Bridge and Chambers Street.
Services 23 & 27 – between Dundas Street and Home Street, buses will be diverted via Queen Street, North/South Charlo e Street, Princes Street, Lothian Road and Earl Grey Street.
Services 1, 4, 19, 26, 34, 44- Between Princes Street (West End) and Abbeyhill, buses will divert via South Charlotte St, North Charlotte St, Queen Street, York Place, Picardy Place, Leopold Place and London Road.
Services 10, 11, 16, 25 - Between Princes Street (West End)and the Leith Street Gyratory, buses will divert via South Charlotte Street, North Charlotte Street, Queen Street and York Place.
Services 3, 30, 31, 33 - Between West Maitland Street/West Approach Road and Nicolson Street, buses will divert via Torphichen Place, Morrison Link (Services 3, 31 & 33), West Approach Road, Lothian Road, Earl Grey Street, Lauriston Place, Forrest Road, Bristo Place, Potterrow and Nicolson Square.
Service 29 - Between Howe Street and North Bridge, buses will divert via Queen Street, York Place and Leith Street.
Service 37- Between Nicolson Street and Queensferry Street, buses will divert via Nicolson Square, Potterrow, Bristo Place/Teviot Place, Lauriston Place, Lothian Road, South Charlotte Street, Charlotte Square and Hope Street.
Service 24 - Between Lothian Road and Queen Street Gardens, buses will operate via South Charlotte Street, North Charlotte Street and Queen Street

Performers parade along Princes Street in Edinburgh in the Edinburgh Festival Carnival. Performers from more than 13 countries, take part in the event. Picture date: Sunday July 17, 2022. | Andrew Milligan/PA

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It was announced earlier this year that the Edinburgh Festival Carnival would be returning for the first time since 2023 after receiving a cash boost from the upcoming introduction of the Visitor Levy.

Culture and communities convener, Cllr Margaret Graham, said: “I’m delighted to see the return of the Mardi Gras and Edinburgh Festival Carnival Parade to the streets of Edinburgh in 2026. For many years, the Edinburgh Festival Carnival (formerly the Festival Cavalcade) was one of the most important community events associated with Edinburgh’s festival season, and it’s fantastic to welcome it back alongside the Mardi Gras as we kick off another exciting summer in the city.

“This is one of the many reasons why we introduced the Tourist Visitor Levy – to help sustain and enhance our reputation as one of the most vibrant and enjoyable destinations in the world. Thanks to the funds it generates, we can invest in events like the Edinburgh Festival Carnival and Mardi Gras that bring communities together.”