To mark the opening of the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) on Friday 13th, director Jonathan Mills was photographed on Calton Hill flying the flags of the many countries featured in the EIF's 2010 programme.
It was an opportunity to highlight the tremendous diversity of cultures in this year's programme: from Brazil to Chile, Mexico to Australia and the United States, the EIF 2010 is a journey of discovery through the diverse contemporary cultures of North, Central and South America, and Australasia.
There is an underlying ecological theme in the Samoan choreographer Lemi Ponifasio’s work “Birds with Sky mirrors” which is only part of the rich tapestry of cultural diversity that makes up this year's International Festival programme.
To quote Jonathan Mills. “You can actually get sunburnt in Edinburgh simply going to our festival this year, because it is going to be so hot, so sexy, so humid!”
The Edinburgh International Festival runs from the 13th of August to the 5th of September. The Opening Concert at the Usher Hall is a performance of John Adams's oratorio El Nino