The evidence is clear: Edinburgh loves its festivals – Steve Cardownie

Despite the wet blanket brigade and other assorted naysayers, the popularity of Edinburgh’s festivals in the city and country is clear from the ticket sales.

I was pleased to see that Shona McCarthy, the chief executive of The Edinburgh Fringe Society, mounted a vigorous defence of The Fringe Festival in Monday’s paper.

In the face of some uninformed criticism, Shona pointed out that last year over a third of Fringe attendees came from Edinburgh, with a further 21 per cent coming from other parts of Scotland.

She also pointed out that this year’s programme boasts a total of 963 “Scottish shows” with “around 700 of these originating from here in Edinburgh”.

Cllr Cammy Day, City of Edinburgh Council deputy leader, regaled us with his sampling of the recent “Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, the Carnival and Mardi Gras, or one of its many fantastic performances”.

Council surveys have provided us with ample evidence that the vast majority of people who live in the city not only welcome our festivals but are proud of them.

They will always have their detractors, the naysayers and the wet blanket brigade, but the Festivals are the envy of many cities throughout the world and ensure that Edinburgh’s reputation is to be strived for and not scoffed at.