Edinburgh restores souls as the world comes together as one

The House of Cleopatra promote their show which is running every day at Assembly Checkpoint. The immersive show celebrates the legendary queen of ancient Egypt in a mix of historical drama and high-energy musical spectacle. | Getty Images

With riots and violent disorder sparked by misinformation on social media after the fatal stabbing of three girls in Southport and a backdrop of ongoing anti-migrant rhetoric online and from politicians, it’s heartening to see the the streets of this melting pot city awash with artists, performers and visitors from every corner of the globe at the Edinburgh International Festival. Any riot you think you’re seeing is probably a silent disco.

Since its inception in 1947 in the aftermath of the Second World War, the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe have continued their mission to bring people together through art and transcend political and cultural boundaries, to let art refresh souls. It’s grown to become the world’s biggest arts festival.

So far I’ve been lucky enough to see a whole world of talent in the completely random selection of festival highlights I’ve witnessed, chosen entirely by word of mouth recommendation of family and friends and through invitation. 

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After kicking off with the Assembly launch where Afrique en Cirque and Ari The Spirit of Korea wowed with their gasp-inducing combinations of music and movement, Irish Fringe stalwarts and Blarney kissers singer Camille O’Sullivan and comedian Jason Byrne moved me to tears - of laughter in the case of the latter - before I fell in love with opera at Carmen, performed by a new iteration of the auld alliance in Parisian Opéra-Comique and The Scottish Chamber Orchestra. 

I’ve cracked up at the comedy on our doorstep from Scottish comedians Connor Burns and Mark Black, and witnessed The Lyceum’s production of The Outrun propel  Orcadian Amy Liptrot’s words from page to stage. British hip hop artist, Natives author and social entrepreneur Akala, with his Scottish/Jamaican British roots, delivered a keynote critique of the forces that have brought us to where we are now and that legend in silk dressing gown and slippers piano maestro maverick Chilly Gonzales rounded off a sublime set with an Usher Hall-shaking encore of fellow Canadian Bryan Adams’s Summer of 69.   

Still to come is the Scottish/English/US collaboration of Nina Conti’s New Mexico road trip debut film Sunlight with Shenoah Allen, then another iteration of The Outrun in the form of Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden’s UK film premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, a Janis Joplin rockumentary by Australian Janice Smithers and her band, US singer Cat Power delivering the songs of Bob Dylan, then more homegrown talent with Jack Lowden and Sean Gilder in National Theatre of Scotland’s The Fifth Step, Laura Smyth the cockney comedian, Verdi’s requiem, and whatever else happens along the way. 

Yes it’s my job but you don’t need to pay out a fortune to enjoy the diversity that is Edinburgh in August. As veteran broadcaster Kirsty Wark told me as she prepared to present BBC Radio Four’s Front Row arts show from the Edinburgh Festival this week: 

“I always think Edinburgh is a place with every single nationality, especially during the Festival, and I think that’s incredibly important just now. And just walking down the street is an enriching experience, even if you don’t have money to go to lots of performances. It’s just seeping in this atmosphere - we all walk the same streets.”