Edinburgh International Festival 2012 aims to unite the world

• Edinburgh International Festival 2012 runs Thursday 9 August – Sunday 2 September in Scotland’s capital city.

 

• The full Festival 2012 programme will be unveiled on Wednesday 14 March, three events give a taste of what to expect.

 

• Festival 2012 welcomes artists from across the globe, including Australia, America, Russia, Japan, Europe and the Middle East in an uplifting exploration of the power of the arts to transcend geographical boundaries and differences – uniting people from around the world.

 

Talking about Festival 2012, Festival Director Jonathan Mills said: ‘From almost the moment I was appointed to the Edinburgh International Festival, I thought that 2012 represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Festival and for Scotland. In that year the UK hosts both the world’s greatest cultural events and the world’s greatest sporting events, with the Festival spanning the period in between London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

‘With all that in mind, I determined early in my directorship of the International Festival that we should plan on a scale of ambition that was commensurate with this opportunity, creating a programme that was uplifting, vibrant and energetic, in order to ensure that the benefits of the Olympics are spread across the country and that the Festival delivers on this opportunity for Scotland. I think we will do that in the programme, and I look forward to fully revealing next year’s Festival at our launch on Wednesday 14 March 2012.’

 

Three productions as part of Festival 2012 are unveiled giving people a taste of what to expect. All three form important contributions to the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad, the London 2012 Festival.

 

Two of these productions also contribute to the World Shakespeare Festival. Polish theatre company TR Warszawa returns to the Edinburgh International Festival after its successes in 2008 with The Dybbuk and 4:48 Psychosis, bringing 2007: Macbeth directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna.

 

The Chekhov International Theatre Festival/Dmitry Krymov’s Laboratory/School of Dramatic Art Theatre Production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (As You Like It), commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, marks Dmitry Krymov’s directorial debut at the Edinburgh International Festival.

 

As part of Festival 2012, Edinburgh’s iconic mountain, Arthur’s Seat, will be spectacularly transformed by NVA’s Speed of Light, a groundbreaking participatory project that will bring communities together from all over Scotland and elsewhere to celebrate sport and culture.

 

Up to 5,000 runners have the chance of a lifetime to run a choreographed route around the paths of Arthur’s Seat at night in specially constructed self-powered light-suits. Registration is now open for those who would like to take part, visit speedoflight2012.org.uk for more information and to register to take part.

 

The audience will also generate their own light through the movement of bespoke walking staffs as they ascend to the summit, where they will be able to view this stunning new work. NVA’s Speed of Light is one of Scotland’s official contributions to the London 2012 Festival and the Cultural Olympiad. It is one of only four national projects commissioned by the Legacy Trust UK’s Community Celebrations programme, which aims to build a lasting legacy from the UK’s hosting of the Games.

 

Festival 2012 closes on Sunday 2 September with the Virgin Money Fireworks Concert, the largest fireworks concert in the world, launched from Edinburgh’s stunning castle.