Festivals set for Princes Street Gardens return
Plus: Covid memorial path and three city firms named best in Britain
Eight weeks of summer shows to replace Festival fireworks
The Festivals are set to return to Princes Street Gardens with an 8-week run of shows at the Ross Bandstand.
The summer programme is designed to accommodate all the Festivals - with the potential for Book and Film Festival events alongside Fringe and International Festival ones - in a bid to make better use of the historic bandstand.
The mainly small-scale concerts and performances would effectively replace the Festival fireworks concert which has been scrapped after failing to secure a post-Covid sponor. There would be space in the programme for two nights of major concerts.
The summer shows are part of a wider plan to make better use of the ageing bandstand which has lain largely unused since the pandemic.
The background: The number of concerts at the bandstand have been limited in recent years after safety fears over rockfalls from the Castle restricted access and a backlash from conservationists against what they saw as overuse of the Gardens.
Bouncing back: The council is in the early stages of exploring options for regenerating the ageing bandstand, including developing plans for a voluntary levy on tickets to support the Gardens. It has been in talks with the Watchtower Group - which stages the Fly dance music festival in the Gardens - about developing the expanded summer programme starting this year.
April and September: Major events would also be staged in the Gardens in April and September under a more flexible approach to using the Gardens being proposed by the council’s soon-to-be chief executive - currently its director of place - Paul Lawrence. The proposals will be debated by councillors on Thursday.
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
WONDERS OF NATURE: Not only did the Northern Lights treat us to one of its most spectacular shows in recent times in Edinburgh on Friday night (and again for some lucky folk on Saturday), a humpback whale was spotted surfacing on Saturday off Inchkeith. Isn’t nature spectacular? The return of resurgence of whales and dolphins in the Firth of Forth is one of our great success stories.
RED CARPET STAR: The UK premiere of Saoirse Ronan’s The Outrun - which includes dramatic scenes filmed at First Stage Studios in Leith - will open this summer’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, which runs 15-21 August. It is hoped the American-Irish star will appear on the red carpet for the screening of the drama based on Orcadian writer Amy Liptrot’s acclaimed memoir.
HOUSING CUTS: The city council does not expect to approve any new social housing in the next year after the Scottish Government cut its budget for supporting such development. The city’s housing convener councillor Jane Meagher said the funding cut was largely to blame although the local authority had to “bear part of the responsibility”. Shelter Scotland said such an outcome would be “shameful”.
NEW COUNCIL BOSS: City of Edinburgh Council has named its new Chief Executive to succeed the soon-to-retire Andrew Kerr. Paul Lawrence, currently Director of Place, was confirmed in the role last week. He will take up his new job on June 17. He has been director of place since 2015, with responsibilities including planning, housing, transport, regulatory services and environment, as well as economic development and culture.
COVID MEMORIAL: A Covid Memorial pathway is set to be installed along the footpath at Wardie Bay as part of a national project commemoration project Remembering Together. The pathway will include artwork inspired by artist Skye Loneragan’s work with the community. It will feature a bronze pavement plaque and sculpture as well as features, such as the pavement art pictured below, inspired by residents’ contributions.
BREWERY BUILDING: Edinburgh’s last major brewery site, the Caledonian Brewery, will be converted into 168 flats and houses under plans submitted to the council by Artisan Real Estate. The old brewery buildings will be repurposed with new sustainable homes built in the grounds. The considerable amount of beer-making equipment still on site will be donated to independent breweries.
MAVISBANK SAVED: Its courtyard used to be filled with rusting cars being sold for scrap, but now the magnificent shell of 18th century Mavisbank House, near Loanhead, is to be saved thanks to a £5.3m grant. The award from the National Heritage Memorial Fund will allow the Landmark Trust charity to stabilise the remains of the Grade A Listed building which narrowly missed out on securing funding through the BBC series Restoration in 2003. The Trust, which is appealing for help to raise the remaining £1.16m to complete the project, hopes to eventually restore the mansion as holiday accommodation along with public access.
HILLEND CUTS: The redevelopment of the Midlothian snow sports centre is to be scaled back after soaring construction costs saw the price of the project shoot up from an original £14m to £37m. The plans for redeveloping main building at Destination Hillend are to be reviewed and cutback, but the Alpine coaster is still set to open.
OCEAN FLATS: Two more tower blocks - a 15-storey block of 112 build-to-rent flats and a 16-storey, 404-bed student accommodation - would be built near Ocean Terminal under plans submitted to the city council by . City officials are recommending DS Harrison Developments’ plans for the vacant plot between Ocean Drive and Albert Dock are approved by councillors on Wednesday, with a condition they contribute almost £600,000 towards Edinburgh’s Trams.
THE BUSINESS
BEST IN BRITAIN: A pioneering Edinburgh startup that is revolutionising carbon capture has been named the best small business in the UK. CCU International won the Innovation Award and overall Best Small Business prize at the UK finals of the FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards, hosted by TV presenter Tess Daly at Blackpool Winter Gardens. CCU International takes carbon dioxide straight from industrial chimneys and exhaust stacks and turns it into useful products, such as sustainable aviation fuels.
Three city winners: Two other Edinburgh firms were also named best in their class in the UK. Sustainability advisors Beyond Green won the Diversity and Inclusion Award, while Boogie Beat Music and Movement Edinburgh, Mid and East Lothian were Franchise Business of the Year for their inspiring workshops for all ages.
Sustainable fuel: CCU uses its next-generation, proprietary technology to refine captured CO2 for reuse in industry or convert it into valued commodities, including aggregates for building materials and ingredients for household products like shampoo and toothpaste.
‘It won’t work’: Beena Sharma, co-founder and CEO of CCU International, said: “When our chief technical officer Professor Peter Styring first developed this technology 15 years ago, we were told again and again ‘this isn’t going to work’. In the 15 months since we spun out the company to apply the technology commercially, we have won contracts with Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and all the big blue chip companies.
“We have managed to do in 15 months what our competitors haven’t been able to do in 15 years. Our ambitions now are global and we have plans for major growth”.
Beyond Green: B Corp-certified Beyond Green are sustainability advisors who help firms future-proof their operations and build their values into their business. They empower their clients to make informed decisions about their environmental impacts and take an inclusive approach to project delivery, as evidenced by their Disability Confident Leader membership and VIBES Good Practice Award.
Boogie Beats: Primary School teacher Mairi Curle and her team run their fun and engaging Boogie Beat Music and Movement classes across Edinburgh, Mid and East Lothian. They provide sessions for schools, nurseries and children’s parties, as well as intergenerational workshops in care homes and day centres.
DESTINATION DUBAI: Flights between Edinburgh and Dubai are to relaunch. The return of daily flights to Dubai from the capital will resume from November 4 after being suspended since the pandemic. Emirates is to run a daily service using an A350 aircraft, which will include 32 lie-flat beds in business class, as well as premium economy and economy seats.
ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL: King Charles III has been announced as the patron of the Royal Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland, organisers of the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston, in the society’s 240th anniversary year. The late Queen was patron for 70 years, and the King’s decision to follow demonstrates the family’s commitment to Scottish agriculture and rural life.
GROWING FINANCE: Private banking and asset management group LGT Wealth Management has moved to a new Edinburgh headquarters at Capital Square. The 9000 square feet of grade A office space is now home to more than 50 staff, advising clients across Scotland, with room to double that number. Owned by the Liechtenstein royal family, it last year bought abrdn’s discretionary fund management business in a £140m deal.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
TIM BURTON-INSPIRED BALLET: Matthew Bourne’s sumptuous ballet based on the Tim Burton film, Edward Scissorhands has been enchanting audiences around the world since its premiere in 2005. Recommended for audiences aged eight and upwards, prepare to have your heart melted from tomorrow until Saturday at the Festival Theatre.
MRS MACBETH: Following runs in New York and London, another chance to catch Zinnie Harris’s smash hit reimagining of Shakespeare’s classic story of ambition and consequences. Macbeth (An Undoing) puts Lady Macbeth centrestage in a twist that casts new light on the story. Catch it at the Royal Lyceum from tomorrow until Saturday, 25 May.
STAR MAN: Jack Docherty, The Bafta-winning star of Scot Squad and Absolutely, brings his acclaimed one-man show back to Edinburgh after proving a sell-out hit at the Fringe. The master storyteller takes his love of the Star Man as a jumping off point to explore everything from first love to AI. David Bowie and Me: Parallel Lives is at the Traverse from Thursday to Saturday.
QUICK BITES
SPIRITED OPENING: New city bar Chancho Agaveria opened its doors to customers in the past few days. The new venture on 7 Bernard Street in Leith offers a selection of agave spirits, cocktails and beers.
STAR CHEF: The top US chef Rodney Wages is to officially open his new restaurant Avery for bookings later this month, on May 21. Wages has moved his Michelin starred restaurant, also called Avery, to Scotland’s Capital after visiting on holiday with his wife. The new restaurant will offer a 15-course tasting menu.
Good news on the return of the summer shows in Princes Street Gardens. It's a spectacular setting to enjoy any form of music.