That Edinburgh Castle inspired Emerald City in Wizard of Oz shows power of imagination – leader comment

The work of Edinburgh-born Hollywood artist George Gibson is to be celebrated in his home country for the first time with a special event at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in April.

Edinburgh Castle helped inspire George Gibson's design of the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz (Picture: Lisa Ferguson)

When Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion sang about being “off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz”, their ultimate destination, the source of all their hopes, was the Emerald City.

And, according to George Gibson, the Edinburgh-born artist who designed backdrops for the famous film, he based the city’s gleaming green spires on his childhood memories of Edinburgh Castle.