The organisers of Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) have postponed the announcement of this year’s programme because of the coronavirus but still, plan to go ahead with the 2020 festival.
The line-up of shows and artists at the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) from 7 to 31 August 2020 was due to be revealed on Wednesday (18 March), including a digital launch.
In a statement, the festival’s executive director Francesca Hegyi said: “It is important to emphasise that we are still planning to deliver a festival this August but we think it best to wait a number of weeks before launching our programme.
“We are working as quickly as we can to provide certainty to everyone. Our focus remains on presenting the festival, getting artists back on our stages and audiences back into concert halls and theatres as soon as it is safe to do so.
“Please bear with us whilst we navigate staging an international festival at a particularly unusual time.”
On Friday (13 March), the organisers of Edinburgh Festival Fringe said they were still hoping to go ahead with their festival from 7 to 31 August. Its programme is not due to be launched until 10 June.
The Fringe Society’s chief executive Shona McCarthy said: “We are monitoring the coronavirus outbreak closely, taking guidance from both the UK and Scottish governments.
“Our current position is to plan for the Fringe in August as normal, but with an eye to an ever-changing environment. The health and safety of Fringe participants, audiences and staff is – and always will be – our top priority and we will update participants and stakeholders of any changes.”
Mark Ludmon has been a journalist for over 20 years, specialising in writing about theatre and the arts as well as bars, pubs and drink. He has been on the theatre judging panel for London’s Olivier Awards and has a masters degree in English literature, specialising in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama. He has an MA in theatre research, criticism and dramaturgy from the University of London’s Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. You can find him tweeting about theatre as @MarkLudmon and writing about theatre at markludmon.com.
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