Edinburgh Summer Sessions 2019 in Princes Street Gardens: line-up, tickets and banned items

Following a spectacular debut last year, the Edinburgh Summer Sessions returns to Princes Street Gardens for 12 days of incredible music in August.
Will you be heading out to catch any of these performances? (Photo: Shutterstock)Will you be heading out to catch any of these performances? (Photo: Shutterstock)
Will you be heading out to catch any of these performances? (Photo: Shutterstock)

With the likes of Florence and the Machine, Lewis Capaldi and Madness set to perform, this is everything you need to know.

The line-up and dates

The official line up for the Summer Sessions is as follows:

- 7 and 8 August: Florence and the Machine, with support from Self Esteem

- 10 August: Primal Scream, with support form Johnny Marr

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- 11 August: Chvrches, with support from We Were Promised Jetpacks and The Ninth Wave

- 13 and 14 August: Lewis Capaldi, with support from The Snuts

- 15 August: James, with support from Fatherson and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly

- 16 August: Courteneers, support act yet to be announced

- 18 August: Madness, with support from Lightning Seeds

All the gigs are unreserved and standing shows - space will be available on a first come, first served basis and will be controlled via a wristband system. There will be extra space in the surrounding standing areas.

Tickets

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There are a variety of tickets available to choose from for each artist - you can choose either standard tickets or VIP tickets.

The VIP tickets provide:

- A secluded area away from the main festival arena and guarantees access to the inner bowl, which is the standing area closest to the stage

- An exclusive VIP bar

- A variety of food offers

- Seating

- Toilet facilities

- Entertainment between main stage set by the VIP garden DJ

In addition to standard and VIP tickets, the Summer Sessions also offer a payment plan option for those looking at tickets.

You can pay £8 on your first payment for your ticket, followed by two more instalments over two months in order to make your festival trip more affordable.

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You can get tickets for all of the artists on the Summer Sessions website here.All under 16s must be accompanied by an adult aged 21 or over. Under fives will not be permitted to the event.

For those attending with someone aged between five and 16, you are encouraged to complete a guardianship form, which can be found here. Rules and regulations

There are some rules and regulations event goers should be aware of prior to the event, such as:

- No food or drink is allowed to be brought into the venue, but there will be food and drink stands where you can purchase refreshments

- You cannot leave and then re-enter the gardens

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- There are no cash points within the venue, but all the bars (and some food concessions) will accept card payments

Banned items

In the interest of health and safety, there are a few items that you shouldn’t bring with you to the event. These items are:

- Weapons

- Drones

- Professional cameras with removable lens

- No bags bigger than A3 size (40cm x 30cm)

- Flares or other smoke emitting devices

- Fireworks

- Drugs, including “legal or herbal highs”

- Glass, metal or hard plastic bottles

- Folding or inflatable chairs

- Laser pens

- Selfie sticks

- Umbrellas

- Flags

Event goers are also warned not to:

- Participate in underage drinking

- Crowd surf

- Throw objects

- Engage in anti-social behaviour

How to get there

The Princes Street Gardens are situated in the middle of Edinburgh city centre and is easily accessible no matter how you choose to travel.

Bus

There are loads of bus stops on Princes Street that will get you to the gardens, but the services that will best serve you are: 1, 22, 30, 34, 124, N22, N30, N34, X5, X24, X25

Train

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If you’re travelling to Edinburgh via the train, the venue is within easy walking distance no matter which of Edinburgh’s two stations you go to.

Waverley station is an eight minute walk from the gardens and Haymarket station is a 15 minute walk.

Car

While the gardens are easily accessible through public transport, if you need to bring the car, then there are five car parks that are situated within a 20 minute walk.

NCP and Q Park have car parks nearby.