It's time to make Edinburgh the focus again in August, not the festivals - Liam Rudden

AS Manchester and areas of the north of England are plunged back into lockdown, there seems little doubt that the decision to cancel this year’s Edinburgh festivals was the right one.

Edinburgh

Imagine had it not been the case; millions of visitors crammed into pop-up bars as theatre-goers and comedy-lovers are sardined into the sauna-like venues that pass for performances spaces in the Capital in August. Hardly healthy at the best of times, so really not worth thinking about right now.

Which is why I admit to being bemused by the constant calls to reinstate events at every whisper of an easing of restrictions - it’s all a bit desperate when there is so much at stake, and so more this year’s hiatus could be used to address.

That the Capital will take a massive financial hit is not disputed, neither is the fact that such an economic loss will impact on the city for long to come. Both would have been further exacerbated had the festivals been allowed to go ahead and resulted in another Covid outbreak and lockdown.

Common sense dictated back in March that the festivals would be untenable this year, it’s now time to accept that reality and concentrate on ensuring we have the best festival season ever to look forward to in 2021. It’s time to be realistic, if the panto season, which doesn’t start until December looks unlikely to happen, already more than 35 pantomimes have been postponed until next year with many more expected to follow suit in the next few days (if insiders are to be believed), Edinburgh needs to move on.

Yes, there may be a lockdown easing in the last week of August, but equally, there might not be, so let’s use the enforced hiatus to our advantage. It offers a massive opportunity to restructure Edinburgh’s festivals, which for many years have been operating on an unsustainable model that continues to over-saturate an already saturated market that leaves many performers, and smaller companies, coming to Edinburgh in the knowledge that no matter how good their show and ticket sales, they will go away loosing money. At the same time, of course, it’s the same select organisations reaping the benefits each year.

So let’s use this year to fix what needs fixing, to create a manageable model built on creativeness and not greed. As a good friend who relies on tourism for his livelihood said to me just the other day, this current global pandemic gives us a unique opportunity to enjoy an Edinburgh summer in a way that locals and visitors alike have been unable to do for many, many years.

I understand what he means. Walking around the city recently proved an unexpected pleasure, relaxing and thoroughly engrossing. Devoid of hustle and bustle, Edinburgh was once again the focus. Obscured by tacky advertising hoardings, as it is every August, it is easy to forget just how magnificent our home is.

Yes, the festivals have their part to play in that magnificence and now is the time to plan and ensure that they do so in a manner that is sympathetic to the city while ensuring that Edinburgh itself retains the starring role.

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