Edinburgh Festival Set to Seek Truth Through Artistic Encounters

From August 1–24, 2025, Edinburgh once again takes center stage as the world’s Festival City, welcoming over 1,700 artists from 42 nations—including 600 from Scotland—for 24 days of world-class opera, music, theatre, and dance. With 133 performances, the 2025 Edinburgh International Festival offers audiences thought-provoking, participatory, and unconventional ways to experience the arts. This year’s unifying theme, The Truth We Seek, invites reflection on personal, social, and political truths in a time of uncertainty and misinformation.

Festival Director Nicola Benedetti, now in her third year at the helm, describes the theme as a call to explore “the elusive nature of truth, in our personal and public lives,” adding, “In an era of ‘alternative facts’ and manipulated narratives, the arts offer us something deeper: a poetic and metaphorical wisdom that is both more nuanced and more precise.”

This year’s Festival is as immersive as it is impressive. From an eight-hour choral epic to outdoor promenade dance and circus-infused opera, audiences are invited to engage with performances beyond the traditional stage.

Highlights include:

• Orpheus and Eurydice, a fully staged Australian production that reimagines Gluck’s opera through breathtaking acrobatics.

• Dance People, a site-specific promenade piece that transforms the Old College Quad into a dynamic dance space.

• Breaking Bach, which blends 18th-century period instruments with hip hop to offer a new take on the Baroque master.

Participation is at the heart of many events. Audiences can influence real-time repertoire during Classical Jam, or contribute their dreams to inspire Hanni Liang’s piano recital, Dreams. Those seeking deeper engagement can join the Veil of the Temple, a meditative eight-hour choral experience, or participate in a choral workshop that feeds into the Festival’s grand finale: Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

The 2025 programme features seven world premieres, eight UK and Scottish premieres, and two European premieres, cementing the Festival’s reputation as a global launchpad for groundbreaking work.

Among the most anticipated:

• Make It Happen, a new play by James Graham starring Brian Cox and Sandy Grierson, set against the 2008 financial crisis in Edinburgh.

• Mary, Queen of Scots, a narrative ballet from Scottish Ballet with choreography by Sophie Laplane, blending haute couture with punk aesthetics.

• A commemorative season for the Edinburgh Festival Chorus, celebrating its 60th anniversary with performances in Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Elijah.

The Opening Concert features the Monteverdi Choir, National Youth Choir of Scotland, and Festival Chorus in John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple, performed in its entirety for only the second time ever in the UK.

Other notable events include:

• The Big Singalong, a free outdoor event in Princes Street Gardens led by Stephen Deazley.

• The Ceilidh Sessions, led by Barokksolistene, celebrating the Gaelic storytelling and music tradition.

This year sees the most significant presence of Polish artists in the Festival’s 78-year history, in celebration of the UK/Poland Season 2025. Featured artists include the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, VOŁOSI, Piotr Anderszewski, and 2024 BBC Young Musician of the Year Ryan Wang.

Additional operatic offerings span continents and genres:

• Book of Mountains and Seas, a UK premiere by Chinese composer Huang Ruo with puppeteer Basil Twist.

• Concert performances of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito and Puccini’s Suor Angelica, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra, respectively.

Residencies offer orchestras a sustainable and integrated presence. Featured in 2025 are Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra 2, London Symphony Orchestra (led by Sir Antonio Pappano), and NFM Leopoldinum.

Aurora Orchestra makes its Festival debut with Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. Presented in-the-round with an interpretive conversation and a full performance from memory, the piece underscores the Festival’s exploration of truth in art and society.

Dance offerings include:

• The Scottish premiere of Figures in Extinction, from Nederlands Dans Theater and Complicité.

• A site-specific dance work by Omar Rajeh in Dance People.

• A Festival debut from Australian disabled dancer Dan Daw, exploring identity and kink.

Theatre offerings confront issues like colonialism and climate change with:

• Cliff Cardinal’s radical retelling of As You Like It.

• A nonverbal, visually stunning piece by FC Bergman titled Works and Days.

• A revival of Faustus in Africa! by Handspring Puppet Company and William Kentridge.

At The Hub on the Royal Mile, the Festival curates intimate global music experiences, featuring artists from 16 countries including Kathryn Joseph and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, as well as musicians from Australia, China, and across Africa.

Accessibility is a core focus of the 2025 edition. Over 50,000 tickets are priced at £30 or less, and thousands of free tickets are reserved for young musicians, NHS workers, and community groups. £10 Affordable Tickets are available for every show, ensuring no one is left behind.

The Festival presents its first-ever Dementia-Friendly concert with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, in association with Alzheimer Scotland. In total, there will be 33 accessible performances, including BSL interpretation, audio description, captioned and relaxed performances. The free Access Pass provides personalized assistance for attendees needing support.

Councillor Val Walker, Culture and Communities Convener, praised the Festival’s commitment to inclusivity and creativity: “Everyone deserves to enjoy our world-class cultural offer regardless of circumstance.”

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson lauded the Festival as “a global celebration of the performing arts,” and confirmed Scottish Government support through the Expo fund, with £80,000 pledged to this year’s programme.

Dana MacLeod of Creative Scotland commended the Festival’s “imaginative programme,” noting its enduring commitment to connection and cultural dialogue.

General booking is now open with priority access for Members and supporters already underway. With events spanning the monumental to the intimate, and welcoming audiences of all backgrounds, Edinburgh International Festival 2025 promises to be a transformative celebration of truth, art, and humanity.

Visit eif.co.uk for full programme details and ticketing information.

Main image: Nicola Benedetti. Photo by Laurence Winram