The Edinburgh International Festival went out last night with its traditional cacophony of loud explosions, screaming pyrotechnics, and a vigorous orchestral accompaniment in the annual Edinburgh Festival Fireworks Concert display.
An estimated 200,000-250,000 watched the festival's grand finale, the last Festival Fireworks Concert to be sponsored by the Bank of Scotland.
As Edinburgh castle was showered in four tonnes of explosive colour, in West Princes Street Gardens at the foot of the castle rock, Clark Rundell led the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in a choreographed programme of movie soundtracks by celebrated composers Bernstein, Herrmann, Waxman and Korngold.
100,000 fireworks later, the festival can reflect on what - given the recessionary times - has on the face of it been a strong year. The EIF earned its highest ever ticket sales income with over £2.67m taken at the box office, almost a 3% rise on last year. The Fringe also reported having a good year at the box office last week.
Half of ticket buyers came from EH postcodes, with many booking for friends and relatives from elsewhere as well as for themselves
“We’ve had a successful year financially which is fantastic, but what is more important, I believe is that we have more than measured up to our name," said EIF director Jonathan Mills.
"We have helped to transform Edinburgh, bringing the vibrant, vital cultures of the New World to its residents’ doorsteps, and we have showcased this wonderful city to the world. We’ve welcomed artists, audiences and politicians from all over the world to the city; in our audiences alone over a third of the world is represented.”
The Festival welcomed record numbers of diplomats, delegations and cultural leaders from Mexico, Finland, Australia, Korea, Abu Dhabi, Netherlands, Slovenia, India, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, China, Chile, Singapore, Italy, South Africa, Indonesia and Switzerland, alongside UK and Scottish politicians, attending meetings and performances.
Big numbers
Over 2,300 artists travelled here to showcase the cultures of the New World, in addition to the 700 Scottish artists who performed at the festival.
Many Festival performances garnered 4 and 5 star reviews including The Gospel at Colonus, Songs of Ascension, Porgy and Bess, Bliss, Idomeneo, Rhapsodies in Red, White and Blue, Grupo Corpo, Água, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The series of concerts at Greyfriars Kirk Treasures and Traditions which travelled from Guadalupe to Bolivia via Rio picked up a Herald Archangel Award.
Nearly 1 in 3 events were sell-outs, with a fifth of available seats remaining empty. Sell out shows included Vieux Carré, Caledonia, Sun Also Rises, Porgy and Bess, many of the Greyfriars events, Sarah Connolly, Steven Osborne, Simón Bolívar String Quartet, El Niño, Idomeneo, Russian National Orchestra, Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Mahler Symphony No 8.
In terms of the biggest production, Mahler Symphony No 8 saw over 300 people on stage, while the Gospel at Colonus and National Theatre of Scotland's Caledonia (in spite of its luke-warm critical reception), were each seen by over 9,000 people.
Listen again on Radio 3
Festival performances continue to be broadcast into September on BBC Radio 3. Those yet to come include El Niño, Joyce DiDonato, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Idomeneo and Llyr Williams.
These are just part of an increased coverage of the Festival by the BBC which has included a special edition of Classics Unwrapped, Brian Taylor’s Big Debate, In Tune and extended coverage through The Review Show and Culture Show.