Edinburgh International Festival Fireworks to end after 40 years of Edinburgh Castle event

Organisers confirm traditional end to the Edinburgh festival will no longer continue

Edinburgh International Festival organisers have confirmed that the traditional fireworks display to mark the end of the annual arts festival will no longer continue.

First held in 1982, the fireworks display at Edinburgh Castle in August can no longer go ahead due to the lack of a sponsor for the much-loved event, which attracted thousands to the city centre to watch, with thousands more watching from parks and other vantage points across the city. While thousands would also attend a concert by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra at Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens during the display.

The event had been cancelled for the past three years due to the Covid pandemic, but many locals and visitors to the city were hoping the fireworks display would return this year.

The festival fireworks concert in 2018. Photo by Andrew O'Brien.

However, earlier this week, the new director of the Edinburgh International Festival revealed environmental concerns were a key factor in a decision to shelve the event’s traditional fireworks finale and suggested it may not return in its previous format.

That has now been confirmed, with a spokesperson for the world’s largest arts festival adding that another major event could replace the traditional fireworks display in the future.

They said: “The International Festival won’t be staging the fireworks this year. The fireworks have always been dependent on a major sponsor, and we do not have one to support the event this year.

“We will be speaking with the other August festivals and the City of Edinburgh Council to see what form a large-scale closing event might take in the future, that would replace the fireworks.”