Edinburgh Big Beach Busk 2019: 17 of the best pictures as visitors brave strong seaside winds
Ten years later it is one of the biggest busking events in Europe – but it is about more than music. Now, a festival in itself, the Big Beach Busk is an annual fixture in Portobello and the wider Capital’s social calendar. Crowds braved the high winds at the mile-long promenade over the weekend as the population of Portobello swelled with visitors from near and far. Described as “an all day flash mob by the sea” this year’s Big Beach Busk marked a decade of the small, grassroots festival. The Busk brings together around 400 artists. This year the line-up included China Blue, Alex Stewart and the The U3A Ukelele Group. Scotland’s longest running women’s samba band Beat That gave up an invite to a festival in Italy to take part. Locals also raised over £1000 to help support a fundraising drive launched by the family of eight-year-old Sol Barrie-Douglas, who has battled brain tumours since 2016. Paul Lambie posted on the Facebook page that he wanted to grow the festival but retain its strong community roots. He said: “With regular annual growth how do we keep this brilliant busk going without it becoming a monster?”