Published: 13 Mar 2020
In response to the growing Covid-19 pandemic, the world’s leading performing arts festival The Edinburgh International Festival is opting to cancel all its launch events, initially set to run from 18th to 25th of March in Edinburgh and London. Instead the Festival is creating a digital event to be broadcast live on 18th March, 12pm on facebook.com/edintfest to its global online audience, who will be able to pose questions to the to the programming team. This will follow the unveiling of their 2020 programme at 10am that morning, on eif.co.uk, for the Festival taking place on 7-31 August 2020 in Scotland’s capital.
To reassure customers the International Festival has also temporarily updated its refund policy. If an audience member is unable to attend any event at the 2020 Edinburgh International Festival for any reason related to the Coronavirus outbreak, the full cost of the ticket will be refunded.
Said Fergus Linehan, Festival Director at Edinburgh International Festival,
“In light of the current Coronavirus outbreak, we will cancel all gatherings associated with our 2020 programme launch. Prioritising the wellbeing of our city, our audiences and artists, all launch events will shift online to an interactive format.
“At this point, the Festival is almost 5 months away. For now we remain committed to running the International Festival as planned. In hope that the pandemic will be curbed by August, we must continue to provide security for our artists and for our sector. We hope that in August, our Festival will provide a much-needed moment of joy after what will have been a challenging summer. To reassure our audiences, we have also revised our refunds policy to offer anyone with Coronavirus related concerns a ticket refund.”
About Edinburgh International Festival
Edinburgh International Festival is the world’s leading performing arts festival, featuring the finest performers from the worlds of dance, opera, music and theatre for three weeks each August in Scotland’s capital. Created in 1947 to celebrate the human spirit, the International Festival remains an annual cultural exchange and global celebration, for an international audience exceeding 400,000 per year.
Committed to being inclusive and accessible, the International Festival offers free events, discounted pricing, accessible performances and year-round community learning and engagement programmes.
This year’s Edinburgh International Festival will take place across the city from 7-31 August 2020.
Hugo Mintz, Head of Communications, hugo.mintz@eif.co.uk
press@eif.co.uk / eif.co.uk
Edinburgh International Festival 2020 runs Friday 7 – Monday 31 August
Join the conversation – eif.co.uk / #edintfest / @edintfest
