The best of Edinburgh festival season in 2026
Edinburgh blossoms into a riot of colourful, cultural festivals come August, bringing together world-class musicians, bestselling authors, comedians, dancers and more, as Lucy Ribchester explains
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In Scotland’s capital during August, it certainly feels like you’re never more than three feet away from a festival. Edinburgh’s summer festivals are legendary around the world for their eclectic line-ups and the opportunity to see acclaimed artists alongside emerging talent. They’re the place where global superstars first cut their teeth in student theatre, where you can watch the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra one night, catch a debut author talk the next morning and see two separate dance versions of Hamlet before lunch.
Things are already underway by late July with the Edinburgh Jazz And Blues Festival (17–26 July). Jools Holland is a headliner this year, to be joined by swing, manouche, funk and soul musicians from all over the world. The festival’s annual carnival afternoon transforms Princes Street Gardens into a celebration of costumes and dance.
Honorary Edinburgh festival Fringe By The Sea (31 July–9 August) takes place half an hour’s train ride away in North Berwick. As well as attracting phenomenal headliners (this year Louis Theroux and Belle And Sebastian) the multi-genre seaside event has a proper festival atmosphere, with marquees, food trucks and kids’ zones.
Edinburgh International Festival (7–30 August) is your portal to soaking up high culture. A carefully curated programme of top-tier artists means the work is always of a high standard, even when it’s divisive. San Francisco Ballet are in town for 2026, alongside a new version of Ibsen’s An Enemy Of The People starring Wagner Moura. Some £10 tickets are available for all events and the festival offers discounts for NHS and charity workers.
EIF’s wayward twin, the Edinburgh Fringe, (7–31 August) is the capital’s largest festival, playing host to over 3500 shows over three weeks. The Fringe is where you’ll find yourself in a pitch-black shipping container taking in an interactive audio experience one minute, and the next you’ll be watching a world-class Australian circus in a big top. It was created with a free-wheeling ethos (anyone can register to perform) and that’s the spirit in which to approach it as an audience member. Many long-established operations such as Assembly, The Pleasance, Underbelly, The Stand, Gilded Balloon, C Venues and Summerhall have their own collections of Fringe shows taking place in different sites around Edinburgh. If you find the range and sheer number of shows daunting, don’t worry: everyone else does too.
There’s no denying that most festival ticket prices have been steadily rising over the past few years. Thankfully Edinburgh also plays host to Free Festival (6–30 August), making stand-up, kids’ shows and theatre more accessible to all, through a ‘pay what you can’ and unticketed programme. Some major stars have made their name in the past at Free Festival, so it’s definitely one to take a punt on.
For an altogether less raucous affair, Edinburgh International Book Festival (15–30 August) is back once more in the leafy grounds of Edinburgh University’s Futures Institute. This year the festival is branching out into music as well, through collaboration with Scotland’s trad music Celtic Connections festival.
A more leftfield literary experience and the chance to discover new authors can be found at Edinburgh Book Fringe (14-31 August). This burgeoning gem of a festival takes place across some of the city’s brilliant indie bookshops, including Leith’s Argonaut and the Old Town’s Lighthouse Books. All events are free.
Look out for a retrospective of early 20th-century Welsh artist Gwen John at the National Gallery Of Scotland as part of Edinburgh Art Festival (14–30 August), which fills the city and its surroundings with intriguing visual delights. Also on the programme, Glasgow-based drag artist Sgàire Wood is taking over the magical Jupiter Artland.
Food and drink gets in on the act with Edinburgh Folk And Food Festival (dates tbc) and Foodies Festival (7–9 August). Both celebrate the good things in life, combining food stalls, demos, tasters and music in outdoor settings.
Taking place over just one week, Edinburgh International Film Festival (13–19 August), the world’s oldest continually running film festival, is the place to head to catch an arthouse gem. Short films, features, retrospectives and filmmaker Q&As make up the bill, which is usually crowned with a starry opening-night premiere.
And August wouldn’t be August without the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (7–29 August) in its iconic location on Edinburgh Castle’s esplanade. This year, the theme is ‘A Call To Gather’, and brings together storytelling, music and military pageantry from across the world. Whichever festival you’re at in the city centre on a given evening, you can be sure to see or hear the Tattoo’s nightly fireworks or fly-past zooming overhead.
This article is featured in The Guide To Scotland’s Festivals, our comprehensive guide to help you plan your cultural year. Find print editions of The Guide To Scotland’s Festivals at all good stockists across Scotland, or read it in full online; main picture: Andrew Perry.