Mark Watson and Honeyblood launch Edinburgh’s Festv, a new platform bringing world festivals into your home

He’s been a popular fixture of the Fringe for two decades and now he’s signed up for the launch of a new streaming international arts festival platform, based in Edinburgh.

Stand-up comic Mark Watson and up and coming indie rocker Honeyblood are set to headline a showcase of talent to herald the arrival of Festv, on New Year’s Day.

The platform’s aim is to 'celebrate and capture the joys of arts festivals worldwide' and then stream them directly to your laptop, tablet, phone or smart TV, allowing stand-ups, musicians and theatre makers an opportunity to share their work either as it happens or as recording.

The streaming service will launch at 9pm, on January 1 with the showcase, which was recorded in the Assembly Roxy, earlier this month.

"Our purpose is to lighten the world with shared moments of joy and virtual togetherness," says co-founder Derek Douglas, who first had the idea for the service.

Himself a Fringe producer, he explains, "I started thinking about how we could connect more with festival goers and give them information about what's hot and not during the Edinburgh Festival. About four years ago I saw a company do a small scale TV-type show from one of the venues we were performing in and thought, 'We could do that'.

"The idea kept growing and when Covid-19 hit the time seemed right to develop an app to give festival goers more information and a channel that could connect people to the festivals they couldn't get to. The idea is growing all the time and it is quite remarkable to see where it is now as we prepare to launch."

Comedian Watson, who headlines the launch showcase, adds, "Festv celebrates what’s special about festivals... the joy in discovering new performances, love from a crowd, and that feeling of togetherness.”

Isla Traquair

Joining the funnyman and Honeyblood for the service’s inaugural stream will be Gary McNair, Hope Azeda, break dancer Tony Mills and installation artist Laura McGlinchey.

Douglas hopes the show will be the start of an international journey for Festv, which plans to work closely with partner festivals around the globe.

"Festv has not only been developed for the Edinburgh Fringe, we have started thinking about fringes all over the world and other events too. So Festv will stream content from Africa, South America, USA and Australia,” he explains, adding, "We are already in discussions with a number of arts and music festivals about hosting and sharing their content."

Co-founder Alan Kittle became involved in the project when Douglas’ 2020 Fringe programme was curtailed by lockdown. He says, “When Derek shared the damage to his theatre businesses and Fringe plans, I was confident my consumer marketing experience would be critical.

Mark Watson

"Of course, Derek’s situation is echoed in every corner of the performing arts world. Optimistically though, consumers are ready to watch streamed shows and demand access to great new work, our mission is to meet that need."

The launch stream will be hosted by former Channel Five news anchor Isla Traquair, who is also executive producer. Traquair, who currently splits her time between the UK and North America, says, “Edinburgh is the heart of the international festival scene, so it felt fitting to film the show here and at such a beautiful venue.”

Pre-order Festv Launch Showcase here

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription