Edinburgh’s leading business organisation has welcomed today’s announcement that the city’s world-renowned Edinburgh International Festival is to return as a live event this August.

The Festival is to use three Covid safe specially designed and erected outdoor pavilions to stage a programme of live mainly musical events, with each pavilion hosting several event each day. The pavilions will enable social distancing, and the events will involve shorter performances without breaks, contactless ticketing and regular cleaning of the venues.

Liz McAreavey, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is tremendous news for the city. Last year the Festivals created innovate digital offerings but there is no substitute for the excitement generated by live events. We now hope our other festivals, including the Fringe and the Tattoo, can also return.

“Edinburgh’s festivals are vital to the city’s economic, cultural and social health, to our tourism and hospitality sectors, and play a major role in maintaining and enhancing Edinburgh’s reputation as an outward focused, international city. They generate hundreds of millions of pounds for the economies of Edinburgh, Scotland and the UK, and they support thousands of jobs in our creative industries sector, so this is news which our business community will support and welcome.”