Edinburgh International Festival

We welcome the world to Edinburgh to experience our hand-picked programme of the finest performers in dance, opera, music and theatre. Through their artistry we create space for reflection and reconciliation, debate and celebration, bringing people of different cultures and viewpoints together.

Feel the vivid culmination of storytelling and spectacle with this year’s opera programme, featuring Verdi’s A Masked Ball, the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s The Galloping Cure, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Strauss’ Elektra in concert; discover dance that will leave you reeling, including San Francisco Ballet’s re-imagined Pandora myth Mere Mortals; or be amazed by theatre that reaches new heights with Internationaal Theater Amsterdam’s Angels in America, Geoff Sobelle’s tauntingly irreverent Clown Show and many more.

And, of course, marvel at music without parallel as the world’s finest orchestras and musicians gather in Edinburgh for spectacular concerts at Usher Hall, intimate performances from across the globe at the Hub, and world-class morning recitals at The Queen’s Hall. Our 2026 programme features a vibrant and diverse offering of music from artists across continents and genres, from the next generation of world-class performers as part of Rising Stars to residencies by three of the world’s most exceptional orchestras: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Our offering of Early Music this summer includes performances from the Venice Baroque Orchestra, leading baroque ensemble Dunedin Consort and Jordi Savall with the Hespèrion XXI ensemble, as well as two concerts celebrating the work of prolific composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Alisa Weilerstein rises to the feat of performing all six of the Cello Suites in a single concert; Víkingur Ólafsson plays selected Bach keyboard works alongside Beethoven's Sonata Op. 109.

Explore the rest of our programme here.