Support For Scotland's International Festivals

9th February 2022

Scotland's major festivals are to benefit from a share of the Scottish Government’s £2m Festivals Expo Fund.

The funding has been awarded for events that run across the year including Edinburgh’s international, book, film and fringe festivals as well as Glasgow International Festival and Celtic Connections.

Since the annual fund was set up in 2008 it has given out over £30 million to support the development of Scottish-based artists and practitioners to create a legacy of important new work for a range of Scotland’s international festivals.

Funding this year will also support festival resilience plans following the Covid-19 restrictions.

Culture Minister Neil Gray said:

"As many of our world-class festivals return to full operation following the pandemic, the Festivals Expo Fund plays an important role in building innovation across the sector.

“This helps to maximise the opportunities both nationally and internationally for emerging and established creative artists to showcase and tour their work at home and abroad."

Sorcha Carey, Chair of Festivals Edinburgh said:

“The welcome news today from the Scottish Government's Festivals Expo Fund opens up a world of opportunity for our country's artists and thinkers, by helping us invest in their talent and showcase their work on our ​world-renowned platforms.

“After two years of event restrictions and financial hardship for artists, freelancers and cultural organisations, including our festivals, this Expo investment lays a solid foundation for revival in our 75th anniversary year and speaks strongly of Scotland as a creative, outward-looking nation.”

Lorna Duguid, Multi-artform Manager at Creative Scotland said:“The support from the Scottish Government Expo fund is invaluable to Scottish artists and companies in enabling them to present work to international audiences and promoters.

“As Scotland begins to recover from the pandemic this opportunity to reconnect with audiences around the world is more important than ever as part of the recovery for the arts and creative sectors.

“The funding will enable the festivals to extend their reach and provide ambitious and innovative programmes for audiences at home and abroad.”

The 2022-23 Festival Expo Fund has a budget of £2 million.

The fund is managed by Creative Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Details of the 2022-23 allocations are as follows:

Operator(s)
Funding Awarded

Glasgow International Festival
£140,000

Edinburgh Jazz & Blues
£120,000

Edinburgh International Film Festival
£110,000

Edinburgh Art Festival
£140,000

Edinburgh International Festival
£110,000

Edinburgh International Book Festival
£110,000

Scottish International Storytelling Festival
£140,000

Celtic Connections
£110,000

Imaginate
£110,000

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
£550,000

Festivals Edinburgh
£200,000

Edinburgh Science Festival
£130,000

Hogmanay
£ 30,000