Image Credit: VisitScotland, Kenny Lam
World-leading cultural brands
From the Fringe and Hogmanay to science, music and the Royal Military Tattoo, Edinburgh’s annual festivals are world-renowned.
In 2022, Festivals Edinburgh commissioned BOP Consulting to update its impact studies for the city’s 11 biggest events with a new focus on their post-pandemic cultural, social and economic effects. BOP’s primary research gathered internal management information and surveyed a statistically robust sample of 22,000 people drawn from the festivals’ audiences.
This confirmed the Festivals’ status as world-leading cultural brands – second only to the Olympic Games and on a par with FIFA World Cup in terms of scale and economic impact – and important engines of the Edinburgh and Scottish economies, particularly their tourism and hospitality sectors.
Read more: Economic Impact of the Edinburgh Festivals 2023 (External PDF)
£367 million
net economic impact to Scotland
3,237,000
total attendances
4.6 nights
average stay by visitors to Edinburgh
31%
of staying visitors from outside Scotland
5,850 FTE
Jobs supported in Edinburgh and
5,000 FTE
Jobs supported in Scotland
This research highlights the importance of communal events and unique cultural experiences in the post-pandemic world. The Edinburgh Festivals are well placed to serve that demand – 92% of audiences surveyed previously considered them ‘must-see’ events that let them discover new things.
Enabling this ‘cultural discovery’ is a key strand of the Festivals’ DNA that drives their impact and delivers a £33 return for every £1 of public investment they receive.