ATA Press Conference for the Sarajevo Film Festival in the early 1990s, his founder, Bosnian director Haris Pašović, was asked about the reason for holding such a festival during the war. He replied, he told the Los Angeles Times, it was: “Why war during the Film Festival?” Sarajevo Under Siege is an extreme example, but the important point is that art festivals are important, especially in times of crisis.
Covid issues, austerity and care even the most successful festivals in the UK are struggling. This week, Chona McCarthy, outgoing CEO at the Edinburgh Festival, argued that the margin should be given the same support as major sporting events as the Olympic Games. This is followed by warnings from Nicolas Benedette, classic violinist and parent director, the international festival, that his position at a global level is threatened with financing discounts.
It is a story similar to the Edinburgh Book Festival. Like many of the largest literary festivals in the United Kingdom, it was exposed to the sponsorship of the Baillie Gifford Investment Management Company, due to its links to the companies participating in the fossil fuel industry and Israel. The Hi Literary Festival, which was called “The Woodstock of Reason” by Bill Clinton in 2001, is also subjected to a serious threat.
The Edinburgh Fringe was founded in 1947 with a spirit of optimism after the war, the largest arts festival in the world, selling 2.6 million tickets last year. Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry, Eddie Isfard, Steve Kojan, Hana Jadsby and Billy Konoli started from Scotland here. In 1966, a legend, a play entitled Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, died of an unknown theater writer for one audience. Recently, the accidental television songs include that this will harm, the small ringtone and the polypage, whose creator, Vibi Waller Jisr, said that “the margin of Edinburgh has changed my life.”
The fact that the margin, unlike most festivals, is not coordinated or funded (each offer is the responsibility of its producers) does not mean that they are without costs. Chaos has always been part of the spirit of Let’s-Put-on-A-Show, but it is not a sound work strategy. Today, artists cannot withstand the costs of staying in Edinburgh, the construction cannot book tickets due to the weak WiFi, and it is difficult for everyone to wander. It is not a joke.
Events require wide infrastructure and investment. Glasgaw will host the Commonwealth games again only next year because the Australian state of Victoria has withdrawn, which blames the high costs of height. The new tourism tax in Edinburgh, along with subsequent trains and the use of university accommodations offered by Mrs. McCarthy, will help the margin in practical ways. But you should do more to save her soul. Tony Lancaster, who takes over next month, You should make sure that they are not only Airbnb hotels and owners who laugh the way to the bank.
Cultural institutions such as margin are more than earning money and stars. In our time from misinformation, artificial intelligence and isolation, such gatherings of people, talents and ideas are more vital than ever. After the attack on Salman Rushdie, he was walking on the stage at the Arts Festival in New York in 2022, as it is one of the last areas of the remaining democracy “where one can speak one mind freely and hear the story of another person. Let’s give them a sporting opportunity.
