Edinburgh International Festival launches Global Ideas Stage with big names
Ken Burns, Gordon Brown, Bryan Stevenson and Amy Goodman will join a panel hosted by Professor Sarah Lewis and festival director Nicola Benedetti
Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) has revealed one of the final building blocks of its already-teeming programme: the Global Ideas Stage, which will combine discussion with live performances from acts in EIF’s 2026 programme. The event will take place at the newly redeveloped King’s Theatre on Tuesday 11 August.
The inaugural edition of Global Ideas will invite four special guests to the stage, the American documentarian Ken Burns, former British prime minister Gordon Brown, social justice activist Bryan Stevenson, and the broadcast journalist Amy Goodman. Their discussion, which will be co-chaired by Professor Sarah Lewis and festival director Nicola Benedetti, will revolve around EIF’s theme All Rise, which seeks to interrogate and debate the United States Of America as it celebrates 250 years of independence.
Nicola Benedetti, Festival Director, Edinburgh International Festival said: ‘This year's Edinburgh International Festival examines both the dark and dazzling possibilities of the American Dream, under our theme ‘All Rise’, marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.
‘Exceptional artists from across the United States and around the world present stories and artistic achievements born from – and inspired by – its cultural melting pot, with all the friction and energy that this inspires. When we rise, we question. Our first ever Global Ideas Stage brings together a curated group of influential thinkers as we tackle urgent universal questions around justice, liberty and the role of the arts in expressing ideas.
‘This inaugural gathering is a testament to our belief that when the abstractness of art and the pragmatism of conversation come together, the deepest impact is possible. With a call to action that resonates far beyond one nation, our Global Ideas Stage and full Festival programme celebrates the peak of human creativity, proposes how we can rise above adversity and implores us to stand together.’
EIF’s full programme was announced in March, and will feature 147 performances from across the globe, including its largest-ever representation of American artists. ‘Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) has announced its full programme for 2026, with the theme “All Rise” aiming to examine the ideas and impact of the US,' we wrote. ‘Inspired by the 250th anniversary of American independence, festival director Nicola Benedetti described a goal to ‘remythologise’ a US story that reaches beyond American exceptionalism towards contradictory narratives of freedom, ingenuity, prejudice and hypocrisy.’ Read the full article here.
Edinburgh International Festival, various venues, Friday 7–Sunday 30 August.