The St Andrew Square Garden will host free outdoor films this June with Elvis, Rocket Man, Dirty Dancing and Top Gun – Maverick all included in the programme.
The three day spectacular will have something for the children and young at heart with Back to the Future and The Wizard of Oz, to cult titles Mean Girls and Local Hero, alongside family favourites Encanto, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical, Lyle Lyle Crocodile and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Picnics are a good thing to take with you – but there will also be some pop up refreshments on sale.
Roddy Smith, Chief Executive of Essential Edinburgh said: “Essential Edinburgh is delighted to bring this fantastic event to St Andrew Square for the 13th year. We have a new name, and a new look for 2023, but the same epic outdoor movie experience. Square Cinema is only possible thanks to the superb partnership between Essential Edinburgh, our supporters and the production team at Unique Events. As always it is a fantastic mix of movies that can be enjoyed for free in the stunning surroundings of Edinburgh’s most famous Square. We look forward to welcoming you to what is one of the best free events of the year.”
Launched in 2011, the free cinema in St Andrew Square Garden was created in partnership by Essential Edinburgh and Unique Events, to bring film lovers into the city centre to celebrate the capital’s rich culture and creativity.
Full programme, and terms and conditions of entry, available onwww.SquareCinema.co.uk.
Walt Disney and Greyfriars Bobby
In April 1960 Walt Disney visited Edinburgh to scout locations and carry out research for the film.
An advertisement was placed in national newspapers inviting owners of Skye Terriers to put their dogs forward for audition for the part of Bobby.
Bobby’s original name was Tam, a stray dog from a village in the North of Scotland. A 19 year-old girl had recently acquired him from an animal rescue centre and her father spotted the advert. They contacted Disney offering Tam’s services and Walt Disney decided he was perfect for the role.
During the 1960s and early 70s, Bobby made regular appearances in schools and at charity events helping to raise money for good causes. He made his final public appearance at Greyfriars Kirk in 1972.
Bobby died in June 1974 and there was a grand funeral. He was buried on Merrilees’ property, a former railway station at Dolphinton in the Scottish Borders where a gravestone and a replica Greyfriars Bobby Statue were placed. In 2008, both the monument and gravestone were removed from the property.
In 2020, it was announced that planning permission had been granted to build houses on the land. David Hunter (Chief Inspector John Turner’s nephew) received permission from the landowner to try to find and recover Bobby’s remains before the building work started.
Hunter and some local volunteers formed a search team and began scanning the area and digging in June 2021.
After 18 months, the team decided on a date that would be their final dig and in January 2023, the team finally discovered the lost grave. The remains were cremated, placed inside a specially commissioned casket and brought ‘home’ to Greyfriars Kirk.
In a film review at the time Variety said “Greyfriars Bobby sets out to melt the heart and does it skillfully. Central character is a little Skye terrier, and this engaging little animal is quite irresistible…..Patiently and brilliantly trained, Bobby wraps up the stellar honours for himself and the humans, knowing they don’t stand a chance, wisely are content to play chorus.”
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