For over 44 years the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival has provided a platform to showcase the very best Jazz and Blues artists that the world has to offer. Held over 10 days and with over 170 performances a year EJBF is one of the largest jazz festivals in Europe and creates moving and memorable experiences for the 70,000 people who visit us annually.

The psychedelic and psychedelic-influenced festival’s third instalment will bring chaotic post-punk outfit DEADLETTER, vaporwave psych-pop artist George Clanton, South London math-post-punk trio Honeyglaze, the experimental post-punk sounds of Do Nothing and San Diego’s psych-rockers Crocodiles to Edinburgh next August. Also joining them on the day will be melancholy project Bubble Tea and Cigarettes, psych dream-pop duo Deary, psych-groovers Goblyns, Belgian five-piece Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers, Cornish psychedelic collective Blind Yeo and Dublin’s garage-punk trio Adore alongside Edinburgh’s dream-shoegazer Swiss Portrait, soulful-americana singer-songwriter Linzi Clark and Glasgow’s raw-mince-rockers BIN JUICE. Taking place across multiple Edinburgh venues, and with many more acts still to be announced the festival promises another unforgettable day filled with mind-bending sounds, trippy visuals and a celebration of all things psychedelic.

Setting the standard for classical concerts, opera, contemporary music, dance and theatre, the festival's theme for 2025 is 'The Truth We Seek', with productions include 'Mary, Queen of Scots' by Scottish Ballet, Opera Australia's Orpheus and Eurydice, and New York's National Youth Orchestra 2.

Thousands of performers from around the world fill venues across the city with theatre, comedy, circus, cabaret, dance, music, family shows, spoken word and more. From big names to emerging artists, this is the largest fringe festival in the world.

Scotland's largest annual celebration of visual art, offers work by the best contemporary Scottish artists as well as exhibitions of the most important international artists and movements of the 20th century and other historical periods. Plus talks, performances and parties. Major presentations for 2025 include Linder at Inverleith House, Aubrey Levinthal at Ingleby, Jonathan Baldock and Guy Oliver at Jupiter Artland, Wael Shawky at Talbot Rice Gallery, Mike Nelson at Fruitmarket, and Andy Goldsworthy at National Galleries Scotland.

An exciting programme of shows, cabarets, site-specific events and workshops designed for all ages to experience and enjoy the wonder of magic and illusion.

An exciting programme of film and events, giving audiences the chance to encounter new work in venues across the city.

Now in its third year, the Edinburgh Women's Fiction Festival is a literary festival celebrating writing for, by, and about women. It is an inclusive event that welcomes everyone who finds joy in reading women's stories - commercial, romance, historical, literary, book club and beyond. Our festival showcases authors of genres that are often overlooked, and our aim is to give readers the opportunity to connect with their favourite writers.

Five-day music festival produced by the Soundhouse Organisation, incorporating performances by some of the best musicians from Scotland, some of the most exciting newcomers, and offering a full programme of workshops.

Experience Scottish, French and Hungarian folk music and dance at the Dunedin International Folk Dance Festival in its 27th edition, taking place 17-20 July, with indoor and outdoor performances. The Festival’s Gala Opening Performance & Ceilidh at the Mary Erskine School in Edinburgh is one of the highlights, with folk dance and music performances from ‘Les Pierrots de la Vallee’ – from Normandy, France and ‘Csata Táncegyüttes’ – from Isaszeg, near Budapest, Hungary. These visiting groups will perform alongside two Edinburgh dance groups, Dunedin Dancers and ‘New Scotland’, featuring the range of Scottish dance – country dancing, highland, hard shoe stepdance and ceilidh with live music. The opening showcase, and only scheduled indoor performance, takes place on the evening of Thursday 17 July in the Mary Erskine School Hall, Ravelston Dykes EH4 3NT. Tickets are £22 full price; £17 concession and £5 for under 18s. You can book tickets through the EventBrite link on Dunedin Dancers website www.dunedindancers.org.uk or at the door on the night (if not sold out). All the other festival performances are in the afternoon: outside The Scottish Parliament (Fri 18 July), St Andrew’s Square (Sat 19 July), and Stirling Castle (20 July), and are free – though admission to Stirling Castle needs to be paid. Ideal for families looking for activities during the school holidays. The 27th Dunedin International Folk Dance Festival is organised on a voluntary basis by Dunedin Dancers in association with Edinburgh University New Scotland Country Dance Society (EUNSCDS). NB: The use of ‘Dunedin’ comes from the Gaelic name for Edinburgh ‘Dùn Èideann’ – which also inspired the city in New Zealand’s name and alliterates nicely with ‘Dancers’!

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay is one of the most iconic celebrations. It’s where locals and visitors from all over the world come together to enjoy a whole host of music and cultural festivities. The multi-day festival is jam-packed with live bands, DJ’s and street theatre to fireworks and free events. This year’s programme includes the Torchlight Procession, the infamous Street Party, Concert in the Gardens with the legendary Texas and special guest Callum Beattie, along with Night Afore Disco and the Mega Silent Disco.

We are a weekend visual art open studios trail along the upper valley of the Water of Leith. Created by local volunteers, the POSt art trail provides a unique opportunity for visitors to connect with artists in their own studios, see live demonstrations, and purchase original works directly from the creators. The trail features diverse studio spaces, including six working artist studios and four generously donated exhibition spaces.

Info Bear Scot Fest takes place from the 2nd to 5th October 2025. BearScots is Scotland's group for bears, cubs, chubs and their admirers. Founded in the spring of 2000, we hold monthly bear events in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and host the annual "BearScotFest" extravaganza in October. The group also runs regular trips and visits across Scotland and around the UK for our members, such as our "BearScots BBQ" in late summer. Events To follow