This was as good as Leo Warner of 59 Productions had quietly told us it would be, but all the better, as we knew the work that had gone into making both the music and the images, and the precision that it took to put on the show.
Projectors had been aligned, the music was cued and Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop had taken her place in the audience when the show began exactly on 10pm and kept going till midnight on a loop.
The images started with something very recognisable in the searchlights signifying World War Two and progressed from there to images of flowers giving the opening event its name.
Everyone had the chance to see it several times from a variety of positions across St Andrew Square, and to listen to the music specially commissioned and composed by Nick Powell.
And if you want to watch the whole loop as filmed live by Edinburgh International Festival then have a look at this video (with added fireworks from the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo!).
And tomorrow night the opening concert by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra complete with the Edinburgh Festival Chorus promises wit, warmth and wonderful singing from The Usher Hall with Haydn’s Surprise Symphony. The Opening Concert will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 11 September 2017.
Watch the video of the opening night here.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
